Melody Stapleton, Ph.D

Melody Stapleton has served as dean for the College of ECC since fall 2018, after holding the associate dean role, where she spearheaded a college-wide laboratory spaces upgrade initiative.  

Previously, she served as department chair for computer science from fall 2012 to spring 2017. With her leadership the department was rebuilt, to reflect the proud heritage of being the first computer science department in the CSU. Initiatives included reinvigorating the Computer Science Industry Advisory Board, adding 30 new high-level CEOs, stewarding a full six-year Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) accreditation, and tripling the number of tenure-track faculty in the department. 

She joined the faculty at Chico State in 1981 after receiving her PhD in Mathematics from UC, Riverside.  Her area of specialization is Database Management Systems, focusing on Performance Tuning.  She has consulting and industrial experience for many California State Agencies (Air Resources, Toxic Substances Control), Counties (Butte and Mendocino) and cities, developing Information Systems Master Plans and Software Systems, as well as consulting for the Naval Weapons Center at China Lake (NAVAIR).  Recently, she has served as an expert witness dealing with both patent infringement cases and criminal cases involving Internet fraud while working for the US Attorney General. 

She is passionate about facilitating the growth of junior faculty and building interdisciplinary partnerships between departments, colleges, and industry.