A University Faculty Forum to discuss the "Initial Report of the Task Force on Computing and Information Science: Cornell in the Information Age" has been set for Wednesday, Sept. 15, from 4:30 to 6 p.m. in Call Auditorium of Kennedy Hall.
The forum, which is open to all members of the Cornell community, will give the faculty an opportunity to think through these complex and important issues, said J. Robert Cooke, dean of the faculty.
"I organized this University Faculty Forum to provide an opportunity for broad-based faculty input on an issue that truly touches the interests of every academic department and nearly all faculty members," Cooke said. "The computing and the information sciences are transforming society and the university. We need to enable faculty leadership and then to mobilize university resources in an appropriate manner ---- and not in reverse order."
Cooke said the format for the forum would be a panel critique of the report, followed by a faculty discussion with comments from the floor. Chris Shoemaker, professor of civil and environmental engineering, will moderate the panel. Panel members include Abby Cohn, chair of the Department of Linguistics; Robert Constable, formerly chair of the Department of Computer Science and newly appointed dean for computing and information science (CIS); Geri Gay, associate professor of communications; Stephen Pope, professor of mechanical engineering; and Stephen Wicker, professor of electrical engineering.
Constable said he is delighted the dean's office has organized the forum. "This is a tremendously exciting time for Cornell. We have an opportunity to do something in CIS that will strengthen the entire university, something that only a few universities can attempt right now. The new FCI (Faculty of Computing and Information)-like enterprise, whatever it is called, will be shaped by faculty activity in computing and information science. A bold new move will help us attract the best students and faculty to the university.
"This semester many colleagues from around the campus are discussing how to shape the structure and participate in this enterprise. I think we all sense that there is an information revolution unfolding in our lifetimes and that it will have a profound impact on universities. The Cornell faculty and administration are determined that we will remain leaders in this area," Constable said.
The initial report of the task force recommended "the establishment of a new kind of academic home for computing and information research, scholarship and teaching at Cornell. We are calling this home the Faculty of Computing and Information (FCI)," the report said. "The mission of the FCI is to create broad-based programs of education and research that span the campus."
The report recommended that "such a home would serve to bring together experts in computing with researchers and scholars in a variety of disciplines, including but not limited to three interdisciplinary focal areas: digital arts and culture, human and social systems, and computational science.
The report also recommended that the FCI have an undergraduate teaching role "more like that of a department than that of a college, in that it would offer majors and minors in existing colleges. We further envision that the FCI would offer these programs in several if not all colleges at Cornell," the report stated.
Members of the task force include Daniel Huttenlocher, task force chair and professor of computer science; Robert Richardson, vice provost for research; Polley Ann McClure, vice president for information technologies; Sarah Thomas, university librarian; Constable; Thomas Coleman, director of the Theory Center; John Abowd, professor of labor economics; Tim Murray, professor of English; Saul Teukolsky, professor of physics; Kerry Cook, associate professor of soil, crop and atmospheric sciences; Gay; and Marcia Lyons, visiting assistant professor of digital fine arts. The task force expects to issue a second report, reflecting campus input, in November.
Cooke, meanwhile, said he affirms the task force vision for this topic, including "its transforming role for society, its importance to all of higher education and especially its importance to Cornell. I agree with you that this opportunity is worthy of a major institutionwide initiative."
He also agreed with the task force that "The university does need an expanded, comprehensive, well-funded, high-quality research unit in computing and information science (CIS) of universitywide responsibility."
However, while he recognizes that the FCI proposal is a work in progress, Cooke said he is concerned that some aspects of the "college-like" organizational model the task force is recommending might be cumbersome in dealing with multiple colleges and departments and shared faculty. It also could lead to unnecessary competition and jurisdictional confusion, he said.
Instead he is proposing a "virtual college," or "virtual department" that he said "could become a generic organizational model to nurture collaborative work in many other emerging areas. ... The Faculty of Computing and Information Sciences certainly could serve this purpose -- analogous to the university faculty, which has a dean of the university faculty who controls no faculty lines."
He also pointed to the collaborative efforts of the Graduate School across departmental boundaries as a successful model.
Cooke said, "The real colleges or departments could be invited to participate in one or more 'virtual' colleges or departments. To be formally identified with a virtual college, the real unit would voluntarily commit some of its resources (dollars, physical plant, faculty research or teaching effort, courses, etc.) for an extended time span. In other words, the 'dean,' 'vice provost,' or whatever title might be appropriate, would coordinate the program through the units that manage the actual resources."
The leader of the 'virtual' unit would coordinate the securing of external grant support and administer matching university and external resources, he added.
Both the initial task force report and Cooke's alternative proposal are available at the web site http://UniversityFaculty.cornell.edu. Cooke would like to post faculty comments on this issue on the site and will include links to student and staff opinions and comments from that site.
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