IU Kokomo expands in response to new information technology field
June 22, 2006
KOKOMO, Ind.—With the fall 2006 start of its Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Informatics degree program, IU Kokomo joins other Indiana University campuses in responding to a whole new information technology trend, said Dean of Arts and Sciences Susan Sciame-Giesecke, Ph.D.
Sophisticated computer systems have become standard tools for most businesses, industries, and public service agencies. These organizations need employees who can use information technology (IT) to find, organize, analyze, and present data in a meaningful fashion for their particular operations. That is the role of informatics professionals, said Sciame-Giesecke, “to become experts in a field, and the practitioners/managers of that field’s data technology.”
The concept of informatics is not new, emphasized program chairman Robert Roales, Ph.D. “IU Kokomo already had a chemical informatics course,” he said. “Anywhere that there are facts and data, someone has to turn those facts into something you can work with to solve problems.” An informatics degree prepares graduates for a range of work, Roales said, including database and software development, bio- or chemical technology management, multimedia communications, human-computer interface design, technical writing, and system/network administration.
One campus computer lab will be dedicated to informatics courses, and a new full-time faculty member in informatics, Andrew Kurtz, has been hired. Computer information systems faculty John Ross, Ph.D., and Julia Tinsley will also teach informatics core courses. Making up 34 credit hours of the degree program’s required 122, the core curriculum examines information technology from several perspectives—computer literacy, systems architecture, mathematical foundations, and social and organizational uses of information.
Informatics majors will also earn 15–18 credit hours in a “cognate area” (concentration) of their choosing. IU Kokomo offers nine cognate areas: biology, chemistry, cognitive science (philosophy and ethics), mathematics, nursing, new media communications, public and environmental affairs, and sociology.
Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Stuart Green predicted that, by introducing informatics courses, IU Kokomo will “open the door to developing informatics components in other majors, such as business, nursing, and others.
“Over time, informatics should attract a significant number of students to IU Kokomo,” Green said.
For more information, contact the Department of Natural, Information, and Mathematical Sciences at (765) 455-9371.
