The Computer Sciences Program at Purdue University
Sam D. Conte · 1964
The Computer Sciences Program at Purdue University was initiated in the Fall of 1962. It is predicated on the conviction that there is a rapidly expanding body of knowledge centered about the computer which is capable of development into a science of computing, that there is a clear and urgent need for programs in the Computer Sciences, and that the development of such programs will hasten progress towwards a Theory of Computation.The Computer Sciences Program at Purdue is administered by a Department of Computer Sciences, one of 3 departments in the Division of Mathematical Sciences. The location of this program in the Division of Mathematical Sciences is a reflection of our belief that Computer Sciences as a discipline is more closely related in methodology and philosophy to mathematics than to any other discipline. This belief is strengthened by the clear evidence that the leaders in research and development in computing today were largely trained as mathematicians. The formation of a separate department of Computer Sciences to administer this program is a recognition of the fact that substantial difficulties arise when such programs are organized within the framework of an existing department. These difficulties center around the problems of attraction and promotion of faculty members, the relative expense of such programs, the interdisciplinary nature of Computer Sciences, and the administrative problems of servicing large numbers of students with various types of backgrounds.