Honoring a Foundational Pillar

After more than three decades driving meaningful change at the University of San Diego, the Shiley-Marcos School of Engineering will bid a heartfelt farewell to a foundational leader. As his phased retirement draws to a close, Professor of computer science (CS) John Glick will retire at the end of the 2026–27 academic year, with Fall 2026 marking his final semester in the classroom.

Glick’s legacy is deeply entrenched in USD’s computer science history. Arriving in 1993, he was the university's sole CS doctorate holder in the College of Arts and Sciences until Eric Jiang joined five years later. Classes were small — sometimes three or four students — and mostly taught by math faculty. Over the decades, Glick’s leadership guided the program from its infancy through the dot-com boom and into its transition to the Shiley-Marcos School of Engineering — serving eight years as mathematics department chair and eight as computer science chair.

While Glick’s impact on the department is immeasurable, his own path to computer science was unconventional. He initially earned a degree in chemical engineering, but, while working on his master’s thesis at Northwestern University, he was introduced to data structures and algorithms. "That is when I fell in love with computer science," he admits.

He went on to earn a doctorate in the field from the University of Minnesota. After working at Sandia National Laboratories, Glick realized his true calling was in higher education. His very first job offer came from USD.

Throughout his tenure at USD, a steadfast dedication to his students has remained his guiding light. "I love my job. I love teaching," Glick says. "I will miss getting to know students over the course of a class and watching them grow from beginning programming students to accomplished graduates."

“It has been exciting to see the growth of the computer science program over the years — of course, it hasn't been linear,” he notes, pausing to consider what lies ahead. “Enrollment in computer science nationwide has been cyclic for decades, which helps make the current downturn in interest seem less threatening to the field.”

Glick maintains confidence in the department’s future. “Computer science has wonderful young faculty who are not only great teachers and research mentors but who are also very thoughtful about how computer science is changing and how our curriculum should evolve.”

When asked about his plans for retirement, there is no hesitation.

"My wife and I have already booked round-the-world plane tickets — business class — starting next spring with 13 stops planned." He adds with a chuckle, "I'd like to say that I'll finally become fluent in Chinese, my wife's native language, but as my wife and daughter say, 'We all know that's not going to happen.'"

After all he has given to USD, we wish Dr. Glick a trip-of-a-lifetime journey! Bon voyage, dear friend.