Officials discuss merging schools

The nationally recognized School of Informatics and the computer science department are discussing plans for a possible merger, which could also include the School of Library and Information Science.\nIf the merger is approved, the new school would be implemented during the 2004-05 academic year.\n"People have been talking about it for a long time," said IU-Bloomington Chancellor Sharon Brehm. \nBrehm said she had informal discussions with faculty in the departments last year to see if a formal discussion process was needed. She said she developed conversational guidelines for the assessment group and used the guidelines to make decisions about the merger. \nThe group has three faculty members from the School of Library and Information Science, computer science and Informatics. Cognitive science and math departments have one member in the group.\nIn the conversational guidelines of the assessment group, Brehm also said an acknowledged goal of any merger is to enhance the national and international reputation of the University. She said the academic disciplines involved should be more interdisciplinary than IU's competitors in information technology.\nThe possible merger between the programs is in the beginning stages, said Brehm.\n"The working group is only an assessment to see how the merger would enhance the programs' academic quality and the state of Indiana as a whole," Brehm said.\nThe official group discussions between the School of Informatics and computer science will be adjourned before Oct. 31. After that, Brehm said, SLIS faculty has the decision to be involved in the assessment group.\nBased on the group's decision to merge the schools, Neil Theobald, Bloomington vice chancellor for budget and administration, in collaboration with Robert Martin, IU-Purdue University at Indianapolis vice chancellor for administration and finance, will review the merger's financial costs. \nDennis Gannon, co-chair of the assessment group and chairman of the computer science department, said computer science and Informatics represent the two sides of information technology. \nGannon said Informatics students will not be affected by the merger, and computer science majors would get their degrees through the School of Informatics and not the College of Arts and Sciences.\n"However, there are many small details to work out," Gannon said. "That is one of the jobs of the committee."\nJaved Mostafa, associate dean of SLIS, said there are three reasons why SLIS would combine with the School of Informatics and the computer science department.\nHe said SLIS has courses shared with both Informatics and computer science. Faculty members in SLIS have joint appointments with both departments, and there is overlapping research cooperation within the three schools. \nEven though SLIS is in the assessment group, Mostafa said SLIS is looking at the merger as an option and is taking an observing role in the assessment.\nMostafa said students need to be aware that SLIS will decide if it will merge.\n"I want to make a point that SLIS is a 50-year school and students need to be aware no one is forcing SLIS to do anything," he said. "The assessment group is a very healthy way to allow (SLIS) to decide if we want to be a part of this".\nDebora Shaw, SLIS interim dean, said the faculty and staff will have a discussion to decide whether the department wants to actively participate in the group that will make the decision. \nShe said the possible merger would not affect the school's two master's and Ph.D. programs.\n"We (SLIS faculty) are very committed to our graduate programs and want to keep highly prestigious programs." she said.\n-- Contact staff writer Devon Thomas at deothoma@indiana.edu.