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BACKGROUNDER: INDIANA UNIVERSITY'S PROPOSED DEGREE IN INFORMATICS
WHAT:
Proposed new School of Informatics at Indiana University's Bloomington and Indianapolis campuses.
Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (1994 edition) describes informatics as "the collection, classification, storage, retrieval, and dissemination of recorded knowledge treated both as a pure and as an applied science." Informatics differs from related disciplines such as computer science, library and information science, and cognitive science in that it includes core aspects of all of these fields but is more general, and at the same time more basic and applied, than many of the related disciplines. It is more general in that its emphasis is on breadth across issues in all of the related disciplines, and includes also social and ethical issues regarding the "information revolution." It is more basic in that it examines foundational questions about the very nature of information and computation. It is more applied since the aim is to produce qualified information technology professionals to meet the rapidly rising need in this area.
HOW:
Two faculty committees have already issued reports and developed the outline for the new School of Informatics.
The first was led by Richard Shiffrin, the Luther Dana Waterman professor of psychology and director of IU's Cognitive Science Program. The second was led by Dennis Gannon, chairman and professor of computer science. A group of deans and other interested parties discussed and approved the basic parameters as set forth in the "Gannon Report." It is intended that after appropriate faculty consultation, a formal recommendation will be made to the IU Trustees requesting their approval of the new school, and that then the proposed new school will be presented to the Indiana Commission for Higher Education for its approval. These steps are to be carried out during the next year. The Gannon Report can be seen on the World Wide Web at http://www.extreme.indiana.edu/~gannon/informatics/ Info_main.htm
A one-time grant of approximately $1 million from round three of IU's Strategic Directions Initiatives funding will provide start-up funds for the new school. This is consistent with the initiative's purpose of advancing areas of academic and research excellence. Future funding will be sought from the Indiana State Legislature for the 2001-03 biennium, as well as from donors, foundations and grants.
WHY:
IU has more than a dozen well-regarded departments, programs and research centers studying the science and technology of information, and the role they play in society.
Recent research identified a great demand by employers and students for further coordination and offerings in information technology. Undergraduate students now fill every available class on this subject. Current estimates from several recent studies indicate that several hundred thousand positions in the information technology sector of our economy went unfilled this year. Corporate recruiters visiting IU indicate that they could hire five times as many people if they could find more technically proficient graduates. Based on the fundamental changes currently transforming our information-based economy, this demand is not expected to lessen any time soon.
WHO:
J. Michael Dunn, the Oscar Ewing professor of philosophy and a professor of computer science at IU Bloomington, has agreed to serve as IU director of informatics and provide the leadership needed to create the school. It is the intention to appoint him interim dean of the school once it is approved. Dunn brings a wealth of relevant experience to this task. His own research has been on information-based logics; he chairs the University Information Technology Committee and oversaw the creation of a five-year plan for information technology at IU; he has served as a department chairman and as executive associate dean in the College of Arts and Sciences; and he has served in various faculty governance roles, including the Bloomington and University Faculty Councils (where he was co-chair of the Budgetary Affairs Committee) and the Policy Committee of the College.
Darrell Bailey, IU associate professor of music and director of the New Media Program at IUPUI, will serve as associate director of informatics. It is the intention to appoint him as interim associate dean of the school once it is approved. The New Media program at IUPUI will become a part of the School of Informatics. Bailey, who is director of the IU School of Music at IUPUI, managed the approval and implementation of the School of Music's master of science degree in music technology at IUPUI, where he designed a state-of-the-art computer music facility. He is an organist, and his research is on the effect of computer-based music instruction on college student learning.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
What are some of the emphases IU has in informatics research? The Gannon report identifies four principal areas -- distributed information and knowledge systems, the human/computer interface, social and organizational informatics, and foundations of the science of information.
Will the School of Informatics ultimately contain existing departments and schools relating to informatics? There are no plans for this, but who can say what arrangements might evolve over 10 or 20 years? The School of Informatics is conceived as a "virtual school," not containing or replacing existing academic units that will support it.
When will the School of Informatics have any of its own departments or programs? At the start it will contain the New Media Program at IUPUI. This recent addition to IU already is successful, with nearly 100 undergraduate students and 40 graduate students. Over time the school may come to have other academic units. There are also plans for a research center to be associated with the school.
Will the School of Informatics offer degrees? The initial plan is for the school to offer a bachelor's degree in informatics. Students desiring a degree in informatics will be required to take a large number of courses in another school, so as to combine general knowledge of information technology and its issues with subject-specific content. "Double majors" will also be encouraged with other schools. For instance, a student might get a combined or double degree in informatics and music, informatics and fine arts, informatics and environmental science, or informatics and business. Since no traditional discipline can avoid transformation by information technology, there are many opportunities for such interdisciplinary activity. There are no present plans for offering graduate degrees, though ultimately there might be some specialist degrees and maybe a professional masters program.
Will there be more to the School of Informatics than educating undergraduates? Yes, research is an important component. The Gannon report calls for an "Informatics Research Institute" with the aim of supporting collaborative research projects, with both internal and external partners. The larger background of the school and the institute will help bring together researchers and should attract the respect of funding agencies.
Are other universities developing schools of informatics? Similar programs are being established around the globe, including at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, the University of Manchester in England, and Nagoya University in Japan, as well as the University of Michigan and the University of California at Berkeley.
Will the School of Informatics be a multi-campus school? Informatics will be a "university school," with its primary location at IUB, but with a strong presence at IUPUI as well. There are no immediate plans to extend it to other campuses, but this may well happen in the future.
Where will the School of Informatics be housed? For the time being, this is not a big problem. All that has to happen is to identify offices at both IUB and IUPUI that can house a small administrative staff. Efforts have begun to identify appropriate space on both campuses for the future.
Where will the school get its faculty? Initially the school will utilize faculty from the College of Arts and Sciences at Bloomington, and other schools on both campuses. Over time, and once continuing funding is in place, it will have a small core group of faculty.
How will schools be compensated for these faculty? It is anticipated that credit hours generated by faculty teaching in the School of Informatics will be credited back to their schools and used in distributing tuition income under resource-centered management. There may be the need for additional incentives. Just as a baby is not expected to earn a living until it grows up, the School of Informatics will be started as a unit that does not live on the credit hours it generates. Over time, and as its own core faculty is established, the plan is to shift it to an RCM basis.
(George Vlahakis, Office of Communications and Marketing, 812-855-0846, gvlahaki@indiana.edu)