SiliconBeat

JDS Uniphase boosted the size of its board from nine to ten and named Penelope Herscher to the extra seat, according to an SEC filing today. Herscher (pictured) is chief executive of FirstRain, a search-driven research firm. Prior to that, she was chief marketing officer at Cadence Design Systems, which she joined after it acquired Simplex Solutions, where she was chief executive from 1996 to 2002. She also serves on the board of Rambus.

To welcome her to the board, Herscher gets restricted stock units that were valued at $150,000 the day they were granted that vest over three years. She was also given a pro-rated portion of the annual restricted stock grants given to directors that was valued at $50,000. She will serve on the board’s compensation committee.

Read this column from our colleague Mike Cassidy who spoke with Herscher for a column he wrote in May about female CEOs in tech. Unfortunately, still news in 2008.