Budgets and Fiscal Planning Committee Report on Category I Proposal for the Creation of a School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science

The Budgets and Fiscal Planning Committee met on 23 October, 2002 to discuss the revised Category I proposal to create a School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. In addition to the revised proposal, we had a detailed written response to our questions of 29 May, 2002 about this proposal and an illustration of the budgets or the involved units before and after the merger. (All these documents are attached to this document). The B&FP Committee appreciates the detailed responses to our questions and the extensive development and refinement of the proposal that has taken place over the summer.

After extensive discussion, the Budgets and Fiscal Planning Committee recommends approval of this proposal. The merger of the ECE and CS departments will allow significant savings/efficiencies to be realized. These savings are to be put back into the program to do new things (creation of staff positions in web support, payroll and having corporate relations and accounting technicians for both units) and to meet mandated budget reductions (8.5% over the past two years) and projected future budget reductions. T. Fiez has informed us that the savings in this merger are absolutely necessary to meet present and future budget reductions. It is disappointing to hear of these developments while the College attempts to achieve “top-tier” status.

The Committee expressed concern over the perception that the CS faculty was not enthusiastic about the merger, especially given their potential mobility. It appears, however, that considerable effort has been made recently to engage all CS (and ECE) faculty in the merger and to commit to its implementation.

The designation of the merged entity as a School seems to have no immediate fiscal consequence. This designation appears to be motivated by the large size of the merged unit (relative to other COE departments). Whether this development will serve as a model for other possible mergers remains to be determined.