Our History
foundation everything we are building today rests on.
From a Few Courses to a Discipline (1969–1981)
Computer science first appeared in the TCU catalog in 1969–70, when the Mathematics Department began offering a small program of computing courses. By 1971, both Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Arts degrees in Computer Science had been established — still administered by Mathematics — and the first B.S. was awarded in the spring of 1972 to a graduating class drawn from just 34 majors.
The program grew quickly alongside the computing industry itself. A computer science minor followed in the mid-1970s, and in 1979 TCU introduced a Master's degree in Software Design & Development — recorded at the time as one of the first programs of its kind in the nation. By the fall of 1981, enrollment had climbed to 127 majors, making computer science one of the largest programs in the AddRan College.
A Department of Its Own (1981)
That growth, along with students' desire for a curriculum built around computing rather than mathematics, made the case for an independent department. With the support of Chancellor Bill Tucker, Vice Chancellor William Koehler, and Dean Jim Corder, the Department of Computer Science was established in the fall of 1981, separate from Mathematics for the first time.
Three faculty members were hired to build it:
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Dr. Kurt Schember, Associate Professor and the department's first Chair
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Dr. James Comer, Assistant Professor
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Dr. Tom Nute, Assistant Professor
From that founding faculty of three, the department set out to align its programs with national curriculum standards and to build the small-class, faculty-mentored culture that still defines it today.
Five Decades of Milestones
| Year | Milestone |
|---|---|
| 1969–70 | First computer science courses offered at TCU, within the Mathematics Department |
| 1971 | B.S. and B.A. in Computer Science established |
| Spring 1972 | First B.S. in Computer Science awarded |
| 1979 | Master's in Software Design & Development introduced |
| Fall 1981 | Department of Computer Science established as a standalone department |
| Spring 1982 | First students graduate from the new department |
| Summer 1990 | First ABET accreditation of the B.S. program |
| Fall 2002 | Department moves to the Tucker Technology Center, its home today |
| Fall 2004 | The Computer Information Technology degree adopts its current name, CITE |
| 2017 | Department voluntarily concludes its ABET accreditation after five successful review cycles |
| Fall 2018 | A new generation of faculty begins to join, broadening the department's research |
| Fall 2020 | B.S. in Data Science established — the department's newest undergraduate major |
| Fall 2026 | First Ph.D. in Computer Science launches with eight fully funded students |
Department Chairs
The department has been led by a small number of long-serving chairs, several of whom gave decades of service to TCU:
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Dr. Kurt Schember — founding Chair, 1981
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Dr. James Comer — Chair from 1985 (and again from 2008); retired in 2018 after 38 years of service
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Dr. Dick Rinewalt — Chair from 1998; later Associate Dean in the College of Science & Engineering
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Dr. Donnell Payne — Chair from 2018; retired in 2022 after 34 years of service
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Dr. Michael Scherger — Chair from 2022 to 2025
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Dr. Bingyang Wei — current Chair, since 2025
Where We Are Today
The department that began with three faculty and a single undergraduate major now has nine tenured and tenure-track faculty — growing to eleven by 2027 — pursuing funded research from artificial intelligence and cybersecurity to AI for healthcare and the sciences.
In Fall 2026, TCU will welcome its first cohort of Ph.D. students in Computer Science, the department's first graduate program in over four decades and a milestone for the university's research trajectory. Through TCU's AI² initiative, students and faculty now work with research-grade computing infrastructure right here on campus.
More than fifty years on, what has not changed is the commitment that started it all: small classes, faculty who know their students by name, and an education built to prepare graduates for careers that matter.
Explore
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[Department Overview →] — Programs, research strengths, and facilities at a glance.
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[Chair's Message →] — A note from Dr. Bingyang Wei on where we're headed.
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[People →] — Meet the faculty carrying this history forward.
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