SORAYA MURRAY

The Division of Undergraduate Education at UC Santa Cruz is pleased to announce the appointment of Soraya Murray as the new Provost of Porter College, effective July 1, 2024. Murray, an esteemed interdisciplinary scholar with a passion for mentorship, will bring a unique perspective to her new role.

“As a talented and collaborative leader, Soraya will serve as a champion for the Porter College community,” said Vice Provost and Dean of Undergraduate Education and Global Engagement Richard Hughey. “She is someone who will put our students first, individually and collectively, and will help them build meaningful connections to thrive as undergraduates and beyond.”

Porter College, founded in 1969, has a mission to foster achievement in all areas of study, with a special dedication to achievement in the arts.

I’ve been offline for a while, but I have been busy with many projects! In the next few weeks, I’ll be updating my page to share some of what I’ve been working on lately…

MORE SOON…

Rob Swigart, born in 1941, is an American writer and educator, as well as an archaeology scholar, satirist, and futurist. He earned his doctorate in comparative literature from the State University of New York at Buffalo in 1972 and has been a professor of English at San José State University since then. Swigart has published sixteen books and is a founding board member of the Electronic Literature Organization.

Among his many varied achievements, Swigart authored the interactive novel Portal (1986), developed by Nexa Corporation and published by Activision for home computers including the Amiga, Commodore 64, Apple II, IBM PC, and Macintosh. In this interactive computer experience, the player takes the role of an astronaut who returns to Earth after a failed mission and a hundred-year voyage back, only to find that all the humans have disappeared. Tapping into the global network called Worldnet through a barely functioning terminal, the unnamed astronaut engages HOMER, a holographic AI, digging into its memory to unravel the mystery of what has transpired. In the interview, Swigart reflects on his foundational work on the interactive novel; how his interests in anthropology, futurism, and science fiction informed his embrace of the form; and Portal’s continuing relevance for a new generation of game designers