The Department of Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science in the Helen Way Klingler College of Arts and Sciences will become two departments on July 1.
The separation will see the creation of the Department of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences and the Department of Computer Science. Sitting chair of the MSCS department, Dr. Rebecca Sanders, will remain chair of MSSC and Dr. Iqbal Ahamed will serve as chair of COSC.
“The college is excited about the transition from a single department of Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science into two new entities: the department of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences and the department of Computer Science,” said Dr. Heather Hathaway, acting dean of the Klingler College of Arts and Sciences. “The development of two distinct departments enriches the experience of our students and faculty: students will have a greater array and more specialized classes from which to choose in each department; faculty will have the opportunity to further focus their teaching and research in their areas of expertise. The two departments will be housed in close proximity to one another to allow for their continued collaboration, as well. We expect that our students will benefit the most from this change.”
Each discipline has seen significant growth, necessitating the development of two complimentary but separate entities. Most notably has been the rapid expansion of Marquette’s data science program, culminating with its partnership in the Northwestern Mutual Data Science Institute. The departments will each offer relevant data science programs, including an interdisciplinary data science major, which integrates statistics and mathematics with computer science.
“Over the years, MSCS developed a strong focus on interdisciplinary, computational and data-driven research and teaching,” said Drs. Sanders and Ahamed in a joint statement. “A natural outgrowth of this history is a collective group of forward-thinking mathematics, statistics and computer science faculty with strong expertise in the application of state-of-the-art approaches to a wide range of contemporary problems. By forming two new departments, we are now able enhance our discipline specific educational and research agendas as well as strengthen our interdepartmental goals.”
The main office for the Department of Computer Science will be Cudahy Hall 201.