After months of uneasiness and challenges, the departments of electrical and computer engineering and computer science will finally merge.
The University announced in September the plan to merge the two departments to form the School of Electrical
Engineering and Computer Science at LSU. The plan was approved by the LSU System Board of Supervisors earlier this month.
Richard Koubek, dean of the College of Engineering, which currently houses the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, said both colleges were asked by Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Jack Hamilton last semester to look into the possibility of combining units.
He said each college formed a merger committee made up of students and faculty that worked together to create a plan.
“A lot of enthusiasm and discussion went into that,” Koubek said.
Talks of the merger were originally met by criticism from students.
“Now that the dust has settled and we know what it looks like, I think people will be more accepting of it,” Koubek said.
But some students and administrators are still wary of the change.
Tyler Longwell, computer science sophomore and president of the Association of Computing Machinery, said he’s still concerned the merger will be detrimental to both departments.
“There aren’t really that many upsides,” he said.
Longwell said he’s worried the Department of Computer Science will be required to abide by the regulations of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department when the two merge.
“Computer science just got done finishing revamping its curriculum,” he said. “ACM has been fighting for that, and now that we may have to rewrite it.”
But Koubek said he doesn’t expect either department’s curriculum to change.
Kevin Carman, dean of the College of Science, which houses the Department of Computer Science, said in an e-mail that most students will go on unaffected.
“After the merger, undergraduate students will work with engineering advisers, but otherwise the change should be transparent,” Carman said. “The biggest change will be in the administrative structure of the new program, and that will no doubt take some time for the faculty and staff to work through.”
Going forward, Carman and Koubek will continue to work together to keep students and faculty from being negatively affected.
“I will work closely with Dean Koubek to assure that the transition is as smooth as possible, and that we keep all commitments to our faculty and students,” Carman said. ”Such commitments include scholarships, professorships and start-up packages for junior faculty.”
While he’d rather the computer science department remain in the College of Science, Carman said he’s optimistic that faculty members in the college will continue to collaborate despite being separated.
Koubek said he hopes to see the two departments work together to form a stronger school and raise the University’s status among other institutions.
Carman agreed.
“This merger could be a boost in our ongoing goal of enhancing our research collaborations with the College of Engineering – a goal to which Dean Koubek and I are both deeply committed,” Carman said.
 
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Contact Rachel Warren at [email protected]