College of ComputingOctober 26, 2000

P r o P o s a l

College of ComputingProposalOctober 26, 2000

Jeffrey Lasky, Director, IT Lab

Edith Lawson, Chair, IT

Michael Lutz, Chair, SE

Wiley McKinzie, Dean, CAST

Carol Richardson, Chair, ECTET

Walter Wolf, Chair, CS

College of Computing ProposalOctober 26, 2000

IntroductionDue to forty years of extraordinary reductions the unit costs of processing, storage, and

networking, computing has become ubiquitous. In parallel, due to the almost limitless

scope of software-based applications, computing also has become pervasive. Together

with the emergence of the Internet, these forces define an inflection point in the history

of computing: an irreversible global shift the use of digital platforms in most of society’s

endeavors. In turn, this shift driving the escalating demands for qualified computing and

network professionals. These demands show no signs of abating; indeed, continuing

advancements in computing technology and the resulting expansion of computer use

guarantee robust demand for computing professionals into the foreseeable future.

At RIT, evidence of this demand is visible in the growth of CAST’s computing programs:

computer science, information technology, and software engineering (the latter

joint with KGCOE). Likewise, our programs New Media and the planned program in

bioinformatics validate the expanding scope of computing. As a leader in career-

oriented technical education, RIT must embrace computing and other critical 21st

century technologies; otherwise, RIT risks losing its leadership position more forward-

looking universities. Given this state of affairs, strategic imperative for RIT to articulate a

clear acknowledgement of computing’s centrality the future successes of the Institute.

By doing so, RIT will more likely meet the expectations of students and their parents, as

well as our alumni, business and government partners, and other supporters.

The creation of a College of Computing simple and effective way to realize this

acknowledgement. Several of RIT’s competitors, including Carnegie Mellon, Georgia Tech

and soon Cornell, have created Colleges based on the computing disciplines. They and

others already have understood that the world of the future will be primarily a digital

one and thus are positioning their institutions accordingly.

The proposal first expands on the rationale for creating the college. This is followed

by discussion of the new college’s components. The final section focuses on issues of

college organization and administration.

RationaleThe creation of a computing college will provide a coherent focus for the computing

disciplines at RIT. This is important for a number of reasons. First, the disciplines

themselves are beginning to converge as they reflect the commonality of an underlying

digital science. This emerging convergence is apparent in the areas represented at

professional meetings and in professional journals, as well as in computing curricula. Our

computing faculty embrace convergence and need to develop jointly new innovative

programs, provide additional academic enrichment activities for students, and work

collaboratively on applied research projects. Generally speaking, these activities are not

taking place. Missing is a shared computing culture that would promote and support

synergistic work. A computing college will provide the identity that is critically necessary

for the growth of such a culture.

Second, widespread competition for our candidate

students must be expected. The demand for qualified

graduates has not only pushed up salaries but has

also increased the visibility of the computing field.

Even though our computing programs are innovative,

high quality, and sizable in terms of faculty, students,

and facilities, the programs have not yet achieved a

level of visibility that is consistent with their relative

distinction. We believe the most significant factor

impeding increased visibility is the amorphous nature

of CAST. The establishment of a computing college

will immediately sharpen and focus attention on RIT’s

notably achievements in computing education. The

resulting increase in visibility will protect and improve

our competitive position, help recruit scarce faculty, and

better support fund raising initiatives.

Third, CAST has approximately 6,000 students and over 30 degree granting programs.

Any Dean of CAST must attend to many diverse matters and so cannot allocate a

preponderance of time to any one area. However, the potentials of the computing

disciplines continue to be so vast that they require a Dean’s full-time attention to

maximize their contributions to RIT. The College of Computing will begin operations with

the approximately 3,000 students that are currently enrolled in the CAST departments of

computer science, information technology, and software engineering. The remainder of

CAST in turn will be a more manageably sized college of approximately 3,000 students

and better able to pursue its traditional mission as an incubator and home for innovative

academic and instructional delivery programs.

College of Computing ProposalOctober 26, 2000

The proposed academic components of the College of Computing are simultaneously

core disciplines and enabling disciplines. As such, the new college will be available to

participate in any RIT program where computing an enabling technology. The college’s

contributions can range from providing computing and networking service courses to

joint program development, needed and determined by the other colleges. The ongoing

planning process for the proposed program in bioinformatics strongly demonstrates the

benefits of sharing RIT’s core computing competencies across the Institute. Over time,

we expect the emergence of additional computer- enabled programs at RIT and so the

entire RIT community will continue to benefit from the creation of this new college.

Presently, RIT is the leader in computing education. However, other institutions are

pursuing leapfrog strategy, entering the marketplace with College-level computing

units. Northeastern University led the way by establishing its College of Computer

Science in the early 80’s. This was followed by similar developments at tier-I research

schools, most notably Carnegie-Mellon University (whose School of Computer Science

is on par with the colleges at CMU), and Georgia Tech, where the College of Computing

was explicitly created to address both the science and applications of computing. More

recently, the University of Nebraska at Omaha created the College of Information Science

and Technology, and work is underway to define an umbrella unit at Cornell.

RIT needs to launch a computing college and is uniquely poised to do so. We have strong

and first program claims in information technology and software engineering, a highly

regarded program in computer science, excellent laboratories, innovative faculties, and

large enrollments. There is some urgency in moving forward quickly, in that to delay is to

run the risk of losing our leadership position and becoming just “one of the pack”.

Initially, the computing college will house the departments of computer science,

information technology, and software engineering, along with the IT Laboratory:

Computer science is the core discipline that gave rise to and supports the other

academic computing disciplines. Indeed, inclusion of computer science in the new

college is a sine qua non for the college to be taken seriously, both within the Institute

and throughout the broader community.

At RIT, information technology developed out of computer science. This historical

relationship benefited both departments, as faculty and students interested in the

foundations of computing (computer science) were continually interacting with those

who had to develop, implement, and manage the applications to which these studies

gave rise (information technology). Information technology grew to be, by far, the largest

of the computing departments at RIT. Its distinctive curriculum serves to differentiate

RET from other technological institutions. Inclusion of IT in the new college will serve to

highlight these distinctions.

College of Computing ProposalOctober 26, 2000

Similar comments can be made about the software engineering department. RIT

was the first U.S. university to advance the argument that undergraduate software

engineering was both intellectually viable and attractive to entering students. Presently,

the department is jointly managed by CAST and KGCOE, but its increasing size makes

this arrangement problematical. Given the strong connections between software

engineering and computer science, we believe that software engineering ought to be

housed in the new College of Computing. Nonetheless, the department is committed

to continuing a close association with KGCOE, as there are benefits to all parties from

collaboration in curriculum development and applied research.

The IT Lab provides a unique and essential dynamic to the college. Experience with the

IT Lab’s initial projects shows that the Lab will serve as a center of gravity to help draw

together the related yet distinctive missions of the academic programs into a coherent

college context. Projects such as those sponsored by Sun, Cisco, and IBM tend to require

faculty expertise resident in all three of the academic departments. The Lab then will be

the means by which the potential synergy among the programs will have an opportunity

to be realized in practice. In addition, since virtually all of the Lab’s discussions with

potential sponsors eventually reveal the sponsor’s interest in supporting student

development, each project is designed to support capable students on the project

teams. Integration of the Lab within the college’s administrative structure is the critical

factor for generating enthusiasm and involvement among department chairs and

faculty. The Lab will provide an ideal environment for students to pursue undergraduate

honors and graduate level research work. Overall, the presence of this applied research

unit will increase the visibility of the college, its programs, faculty and students, will

help in faculty recruitment, and will support the college’s commitment to maintaining

leading-edge curricula via sponsored faculty research and professional development.

Future Ph.D. programA new Ph.D. program will be the crown jewel of the College of Computing. Such

program will not be “just another” CS Ph.D. degree. Placing the core computing

disciplines (computer science, software engineering, and information technology) in

a dedicated college will stimulate the integration of these disciplines. In turn, a unique

opportunity is presented to design a distinctive doctoral program in applied computing.

This unique degree, while firmly rooted theory, will be clearly focused on the problems

of the computing and networking industry. The IT Lab will provide an excellent

environment in which to carry out applied research to solve these problems. We believe

a Ph.D. program is an absolute requirement for the College of Computing to achieve

national and international stature.

Proposal October 26, 2000

The primary mission of the college will the education of highly qualified

computing professionals. Faculty research and professional development will be

consonant with this mission.

Within the college, the academic components and the IT Lab will report directly to the

dean, who reports to the Provost. While it is probably desirable to create balance among

the constituent units terms of size, budget, and administration, the details of any such

reorganization will be deferred until the dean is selected and all units have a chance to

reassess their relationships to each other.

At this time, the College of Computing’s initial components exist and are flourishing.

With minimal effort, the new college can be established now by the appointment of an

interim dean and creating a college organization with administrators and staff drawn, in

part, from the CAST Dean’s Office, to house the computer science, software engineering,

and information technology departments and the IT Lab. The necessary academic

governance processes, including the college curriculum committee approval of program

transfers, will then be carried out this academic year to move these CAST programs to

the new college. During the next academic year, search will be undertaken to recruit a

permanent dean to the College of Computing.

ConclusionRIT’s future success requires a strong institutional commitment to information technology

broadly construed. The creation of a College of Computing will testify to this commitment,

and place RIT in a position to lead rather than to follow in the 21st century. Indeed, if we

are to maintain a leadership position in this essential area, the college will be established

no later than Fall, 2001, with a permanent dean installed no later than Fall, 2002.

College Organization and Administration

20 Lomb Memorial DriveRochester, NY 14623-5604585-475-7203http://www.gccis.rit.edu