Dear colleagues,
We are excited to announce that the University of Oregon is launching a new School of Computer and Data Sciences (SCDS) within the College of Arts and Sciences. The new school brings together the university’s strength in computer science with our five-year investment in data science—an initiative that has included hires across campus, the launch of a data science undergraduate degree program, and significant new research grants and partnerships.
The formation of the school marks a major milestone in the UO’s efforts to meet the growing demand by students, industries, and society for data and computer sciences expertise and career preparation. The SCDS will support the critical need for interdisciplinary work with computer and data scientists across our university.
The school’s university-wide focus is on both the practical and ethical. First, it will explore how we use data and computing to make decisions better and faster. Second, the school will leverage strengths across the university to consider the ethics and social implications of data and computer sciences practices and providing access to these skills and technologies for all.
The current data science undergraduate program, which graduated its first cohort this past spring, will engage undergraduate students with interests in analytics, biology, earth science, economics, geography, linguistics, marketing analytics, music technology, physics, and sociology. It complements our longstanding and in-demand computer science degree programs. The new school will provide a basis for both expanding these programs and creating new programs to meet the growing demand for students in these areas.
The SCDS will officially open in fall 2023, with classes available to students throughout the UO, eventually serving thousands of students through the major and through other educational programs. We will be appointing an interim director in the coming weeks. This person will convene an implementation committee to work through the details necessary for the launch and will help manage the search for a permanent director for the school. For additional information about the new school visit this School of Computer and Data Sciences webpage.
We want all thank everyone who helped make this vision a reality: the Data Science Initiative Visioning Committee and the SCDS Faculty Strategic Planning Committee that unanimously voted to recommend the school formation; CAS Divisional Dean Hal Sadofsky; and Professor Bill Cresko who led the Data Science Initiative and, along with a committed group of data science faculty and staff, was instrumental in its growth and success.
We are immensely grateful to all the many faculty, staff, and administrators who contributed over several years, and to those who will help the school and its students flourish in the future.
Sincerely,
Janet Woodruff-Borden
Acting Provost and Executive Vice President
Chris Poulsen
Tykeson Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences