Working Up

by Dwayne Phillips

It must be difficult running a college and deciding what departments to create and what degrees to offer.

It seems only yesterday that colleges started offering degrees in Data Science. Data Science was the sexiest job of the century or so said an article in Harvard Business Review. I guess they missed as it wasn’t even the sexiest job of the first quarter of the century.

Now colleges are offering degrees in Artificial Intelligence. Uh, let’s see, most employers consider AI to be a part of Data Science. Or do they? I am confused. And I am not the only confused person wandering blindly about and bumping into ivory towers on college campuses.

Should colleges be behind the times and offer courses in the new stuff that fit in the old fundamental stuff? Should data science and AI be offered as classes in Mathematics or Computer Science? I remember when Computer Science classes were offered in Mathematics. But then, I am old and slow and not qualified to run a college and setup departments and offer degrees and keep up with the times.

Seems like these hot topics should not be college degree programs. We can do better.