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In retrospect, this shouldn't be surprising; after all, information is the essence of a university. We create it through our scholarship. We store it in our libraries. We explore it with our students in the classroom. We apply it in service to our community. And we share it with industry in order to improve society and the quality of life. A technology that permits new and better ways to achieve these goals is bound to play a crucial role.
As an example of the wide sweep of information technology within the University, consider the following. While no one is surprised that computers are used in science and engineering, few realize that the University of Virginia is a world leader in the application of computers to humanities scholarship. We believe that within a decade, using computers as tools in humanities scholarship will seem as natural as computers do in the sciences today, and Virginia is the vanguard of this profound transformation.
It is not enough for the University to have computers and networks. Because the technology is moving so rapidly, only those schools with premier academic and research programs in computing will remain at the forefront. The discipline of computer science and engineering is at the epicenter of the revolution, and the value of a premier program in it cannot be overstated. It was, for example, faculty in Department of Computer Science that identified, helped create, and initially ran the Institute that has given Virginia its world leadership in the application of this technology to the humanities.
Fortunately, the University has committed to strengthening its Information Technology -related Departments (Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, and Systems Engineering), and the result has been dramatic. These departments have significantly improved their stature and reputation in both education and research, and are already nationally recognized as leaders in undergraduate education, and one of the top few in experimental systems, our main research thrust.
Our faculty have garnered an impressive roster of honors and accomplishments, as well as media attention. We are dedicated to educational excellence as well as scholarly excellence. We have, for example, undertaken a complete reform of the undergraduate computer science curriculum that is a National Science Foundation "flagship" project. Its hallmarks include a high degree of mathematical rigor reinforced through use; an emphasis on a philosophy of engineering; hands-on experience with industrial systems in team-oriented laboratories; increased personal attention, including undergraduates in research projects; and a carefully crafted progression of material as the students advance through the program.
We are also solidly committed to community service, both inside and outside the University. Recent examples include the Grounds-Wide Tele-Tutoring System that enables students to receive remote interactive help over the Internet, the highly successful InterCom project which leverages the World- Wide Web to facilitate electronic commerce and bring new businesses into our state, and the tele-medicine effort which could eventually save lives by enabling doctors and surgeons to remotely treat otherwise inaccessible patients.
For all of our progress over the last several years, both the amount and the quality of our space are becoming a serious handicap. We are attracting international visitors and post-doctoral fellows, yet we cannot house them properly. Our new curriculum depends on hands-on, team-structured laboratory sessions, but we cannot add any more because our laboratories are already scheduled late into the night. Our practical, engineering-oriented research means that we build things, so we have recently been forced to convert graduate student study space into a laboratory. New ideas for electronic classrooms that require network connections and laptops at each student's desk have been put on hold due to lack of proper space. Innovative plans for university-industry collaboration and student co-op programs have been similarly shelved until appropriate space can be found.
In summary, we are poised to break into the top national rankings, and several visiting review panels have independently concurred with this assessment. However, lack of space, and especially the right kind of space, is a serious obstacle. A new building will enable us to effectively leverage our considerable momentum, help us recruit additional top faculty and graduate students, serve as a catalyst to achieve new levels of excellence, and enable us to fully engage in the transformations that are sweeping the University.