Dale Reed Bio

Dr. Dale Reed is a Clinical Professor of Computer Science at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC), where he has served since 1996. He holds dual degrees in English and Computer Science from North Park University and a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Northwestern University, where he worked on an Expert System to do sound equalization.

Reed has secured more than $3 million in career grant funding to expand equity in computer science education and strengthen workforce pathways into technology. As Principal Investigator of an NSF-funded Summer Science Camp, he led programs serving inner-city Chicago students, with 90% reporting increased interest in STEM careers. As co-PI of the NSF S-STEM CS Scholars program, he recruited and supported 27 Latino, African American, and female students at UIC, with 86% entering technology careers. 

At UIC Reed helped grow the UIC undergraduate computer science enrollment from 187 students in 2005 to over 1,500 in 2018, leading the national growth average by 6%.  He has delivered more than 300 presentations to over 10,000 high school students over 12 years to expand awareness of computing careers. As curriculum lead for the Break Through Tech (BTT) program—one of the largest grants in the College of Engineering’s history—the team increased the percentage of women in UIC computer science from 19% to 28% over five years.

A founding member of the Chicago Computer Science Teachers Association, Reed helped build a citywide CS educator network through eight years of Google-funded CS4HS seminars and was part of the coalition that made computer science a Chicago Public Schools graduation requirement (2009–2016). He helped scale the Exploring Computer Science (ECS) curriculum across the country and served as a national ECS Professional Development mentor facilitator. Most recently, through the $1M Google.org-funded Chicago Tech Circle initiative, he helped implement a Data+AI course for non-technical students that democratizes AI education and builds job-ready skills, with 88% of students saying they would recommend the course to friends.

Reed served on his neighborhood school Local School Council (LSC) for 11 years. He served on the College Board Development Committee that established AP Computer Science Principles and was a member of the AnitaB.org Board of Trustees (2019–2025), serving as Vice-Chair from 2023–2025.  Reed can juggle and ride the unicycle, though not yet at the same time, and rides a skateboard or folding bike around campus.