Vanderbilt Developing AI, Computing, Data Science College
Credit: Image Credit: Douglas Sacha / Moment / Getty Images- Vanderbilt University didn’t specify when it would launch the College of Connected Computing.
- The university will begin searching for a dean in August.
- The faculty-led Connected Computing Task Force will advise the university on potential programs, departments, and research infrastructure.
Vanderbilt University is planning to establish an artificial intelligence (AI) college, the university’s first new college since 1981.
The elite Tennessee university announced in a March 25 press release that it will build the College of Connected Computing for AI, computing, and data science. However, it didn’t specify when.
“Of all the factors shaping society, few are more influential than the rapid emergence of advanced computing, AI, and data science,” Chancellor Daniel Diermeier said in the press release.
“To continue to carry out our mission, prepare all our students for their careers, and advance research across the university, Vanderbilt must contribute even more to the study, understanding, and innovative application of these fast-changing disciplines.”
Vanderbilt will begin recruiting faculty in the coming months and look for a dean beginning in August to lead the interdisciplinary AI, data science, and computing college.
The college is still in its earliest stages. The Connected Computing Task Force, a faculty-led advising group, will recommend departments, degree programs, and research infrastructure specifics to the university.
“The decision to establish this new college is rooted in conversations with faculty,” C. Cybele Raver, provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs, said in the release. “We are continuing that faculty engagement with this working group, and we’re fortunate to have the advice of some of the best minds in these fields as we embark on this exciting journey.”
Less than a week earlier, the University of South Florida (USF) announced it’s also developing its new College of Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity, and Computing. USF plans to open the college on all of its campuses in fall 2025 if everything goes as planned with governance and board of trustees approval.
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