University of Florida Eliminates Computer Science Department 628
DustyShadow writes "The University of Florida announced this past week that it was dropping its computer science department, which will allow it to save about $1.7 million. The school is eliminating all funding for teaching assistants in computer science, cutting the graduate and research programs entirely, and moving the tattered remnants into other departments. Students at UF have already organized protests, and have created a website dedicated to saving the CS department. Several distinguished computer scientists have written to the president of UF to express their concerns, in very blunt terms. Prof. Zvi Galil, Dean of Computing at Georgia Tech, is 'amazed, shocked, and angered.' Prof. S.N. Maheshwari, former Dean of Engineering at IIT Delhi, calls this move 'outrageously wrong.' Computer scientist Carl de Boor, a member of the National Academy of Sciences and winner of the 2003 National Medal of Science, asked the UF president 'What were you thinking?'"
Computers are a fad. (Score:5, Funny)
n/m
Official Response from UF: (Score:5, Funny)
NERDS!!!!!
Re:The Department of Redundancy Department (Score:5, Funny)
Like this one? They're cutting CS to save $2m. Meanwhile, their $99m/yr athletics program is getting a modest boost... roughly $2m.
I think even their underwater basket weaving majors can do the math on that one.
Re:The Department of Redundancy Department (Score:4, Funny)
He probably went to UF...
Official protest from the students: (Score:3, Funny)
Hey! We're not nerds. We're geeks!
Re:Computers are a fad. (Score:3, Funny)
Re:The Department of Redundancy Department (Score:3, Funny)
My freshman year at USF was also the inaugural year of our football team. I remember the commentary going around the campus newspaper about the money we were being offered by UF and FSU to play their football teams (not a prayer of winning). The whole thing would have been an embarrassment to our school for losing all season if we'd accepted offers like those, and looking back I still don't think that being offered the equivalent of 1/3rd of UF's CS department so that they could've won one more game in a season was a valid expenditure on their part, even for advertising "Look at us, we're the Gators! We aren't computer literate but we stomped all over that first year newb football team. They use computers, look what good it did them!"
Re:Computers are a fad. (Score:5, Funny)
640K comp sci grads should be enough for any country.