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18215 Bayview Drive
Los Gatos, California 95030
March 3, 1979
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Chancellor Robert L. Sinsheimer
University of California, Santa Cruz
Santa Cruz, California 95064

Dear Chancellor Sinsheimer:

\JIt has come to my attention that Dr. Sharon Sickel is currently being
reviewed for tenure.  She has certainly earned it.  She is an excellent teacher,
helpful advisor, and respected researcher.

I am currently working as her teaching assistant in I.S.107, Computational Logic,
a course which she has designed.  She puts a tremendous amount of care into the
presentation of material to her classes.  This care is evidenced by well thought
out lectures, and is appreciated by the students who take her classes.  There is
a temptation for many teachers to prepare a class well once, and then teach that
same class over and over.  Dr. Sickel gives the same attention to a course every
quarter it is taught, conscientiously revising and refining the course material
based on past experiences with it.  She also considers what can be included,
or at least introduced, of current research in the area.  I have heard many
students comment that she is one of the best teachers they have ever had.

Dr. Sickel is also my thesis advisor.  She has spent many hours listening to my
grumblings and suggesting solutions to my problems.  Besides being available
for consultation, she has offered me opportunities to attend special workshops
and seminars that I might never have known about
otherwise.

There are more students working independently under the direction of Dr. Sickel
than any one else I know of.  She is advisor for at least five senior thesis 
projects, probably more, as those are only the ones  I happen to know about.
She meets for four hours each Monday night with an undergraduate research group
working on several aspects of logic programming.

I attended the Fourth Workshop on Automated Deduction recently in
Austin, Texas.  Dr. Sickel not only organized the entire conference as program
chairman, but presented a paper as well.
Although I may not be considered competent to judge the quality of my advisor's
research, I feel I can at least report on how her work is received by some
of her peers.  
Her research was referenced several times by other speakers--a clear
indication that her work is regarded highly.

Santa Cruz needs professors, like Sharon
Sickel, who are at the frontiers of their field in their research and
are still willing and able to communicate their knowledge and enthusiasm
to others.  
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Yours sincerely,



Ruth E. Davis

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CC: G. Gaspari, Dean; Division of Sciences