“The first I heard of the reorganization was in the middle of summer, and I thought at the time that it was disastrous,” Dr. Reuben Gamboa, professor and head of the Department of Computer Sciences said.
A summary of the feedback survey on the UW Restructure Proposal was released last week and the results are mixed.
From a pool of students, staff, alumni, stakeholders, and administration, 538 personnel indicated they did not believe the current restructuring recommendations were the correct move.
146 individuals out of the 715 commentators agreed that the proposed plan was a step in the right direction, while 31 left the response field blank.
“The administration proposed eliminating all faculty from three departments, including mine, while simultaneously keeping all the degree programs intact,” Dr. Gamboa said. “I thought that was an odd notion, akin to United Airlines firing all its pilots while reassuring customers that flights would go on as normal. Thankfully that’s off the table now.”
University of Wyoming Provost and Executive Vice President Kevin Carman submitted recommendations regarding the reconfiguration of various UW programs on Oct. 13.
Among the recommendations that were left unchanged from the initial proposal, the Department of Computer Science and the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering are planned to be consolidated into one department as opposed to both being dissolved.
“There are great opportunities to leverage synergies between departments, like developing common courses between computer science and computer engineering,” Dr. Gamboa said. “But there is also a danger that one discipline will overwhelm the other, in which case students will not get to see the different approaches. “
Dr. Gamboa spoke on what he hoped for the reconstruction process.
“What I honestly wish is that we had more time to consider the reorganization and proceed cautiously,” Dr. Gamboa said.
Alongside the changes to the Departments of Computer Science and Electrical and Computer Engineering, a few other programs have been slated for removal.
Master’s degrees in Sociology, Philosophy, and Family and Consumer Sciences are expected to be discontinued under the current plan.
Carman also recommended the discontinuation of Ph.D. Statistics program.
“The intent to replace a Ph.D. in Statistics with a Ph.D. in Data Science is an exciting opportunity for developing a modern graduate degree,” Dr. Ken Gerow, the director of the university’s Statistics program said.
Educational programs are not the only programs being listed for elimination in the restructuring.
The proposed elimination of the Counseling, Leadership, Advocacy and Design (CLAD) department received an overwhelming amount of criticism.
Under the ‘Theme’ heading of the feedback survey, the summary lists common themes among the criticisms such as, “Counselor Education and Learning Design and Tech programs should not be eliminated; in light of both pandemic and already-underserved mental health support structures in state, a very bad idea.”
Those who wish to comment on the recommendations can access a survey available on the Academic Affairs website until Oct. 27.
Carman and President Ed Seidel plan to present the final proposal to the Board of Trustees around Nov. 1.
“We are now collecting feedback on the revised plan and will submit our final plan to the Board of Trustees Nov. 1.” Carman said in an address to university employees on Oct. 22. “The proposal will be available for public comment until the Board takes action on Nov. 19.”
Students and staff are encouraged to explore the proposed recommendations on the Office of Academic Affairs page on WyoWeb.
