Last month's Summit on Minnesota's Economy, convened by University
president Mark Yudof, brought together 1,200 leaders from business,
academia, government, and labor for a daylong forum about Minnesota's
future.
The summit generated many thoughtful discussions
about how the public and private sectors can work together in the
knowledge-based
New Economy.
Although their views on many issues diverged, summit participants
and observers alike agreed that the University plays an essential
role in keeping our economy strong. As President Yudof observed,
the University generates the most fundamental and essential technology
transfer by producing an educated workforce and attracting smart
and creative people who want to stay in the state. Groundbreaking
research, technology transfer, capital investment, and economic
development follow in the wake of intellectual capital.
A week after the summit, the president gave his annual State of
the University address, in which he outlined his 2002-03 biennial
budget request to the legislature. Of special importance to IT and
our students is his proposal to add 17 new faculty members to the
Department of Computer Science and Engineering (CSE). It's a budget
item that addresses some of the concerns and issues raised during
the economic summit.
Over the past seven years, the number of computer science majors
has doubled. Computer science majors now are the largest single
student group within IT, and more students are pursuing minors in
computer science and information technology. Consequently, the demand
for courses has soared, but there's been no increase in the number
of CSE faculty.
Nevertheless, the department has made every effort to meet these
challenges and also to keep pace with changes in the field by revising
its curriculum, developing new programs, and emphasizing research
in emerging areas of computer science.
The addition of 17 faculty will allow us to increase the enrollment
of computer science majors by 50 percent within three years and
to serve more computer science and information technology minors.
That's good news for Minnesota employers, who already are scrambling
to fill high-tech jobs.
Through strategic recruitment of faculty, we'll target
several emerging information technology areas and attract
more dynamic young researchers like assistant professors
Zhi-Li Zhang and Victoria Interrante, who are among
the computer science newsmakers cited in this issue.
Faculty innovations like Professor Ahmed
digital watermarking system—also covered
in this issue—lead to the establishment of high-tech
firms and more jobs for an educated workforce.
It's a pivotal time for the department, its faculty, and the students
they serve. If approved, the president's budget will go a long way
toward giving them the resources they need to help shape Minnesota's
high-tech future.
