Tennessee Tech University Department of Computer Science Blog

As you have perhaps heard, an announcement was made regarding the opening of a site in Cookeville, TN by Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), a company headquartered in McLean, VA. When at steady state, their operations will number approximately 300 computing positions. When combined with the 40 to 80 positions brought to Cookeville by Digital Dream Forge in February, the growth in the IT sector in the area has grown immensely with the Lion’s share of these positions being targeted towards Computer Science and other associated degrees such as Business Information Technology. For several months, the Department of Computer Science (CSC) has been part of an effort by the State of Tennessee, City of Cookeville, and Tennessee Tech University (TTU) to bring SAIC to the region. The effort has included the development of a partnership between SAIC and CSC to create a pipeline of graduates that are ready to meet the workforce needs for SAIC in Computer Science, Cybersecurity, and Data Science.

The road to bringing SAIC to Cookeville has been an exciting one. We began talking with representatives from SAIC in late August through the guidance of Melinda Keifer, Stephen Crook, and Alex Sollberger as well as the leadership of TTU President Phillip Oldham. The shepherding team consisted of myself and Dr. Doug Talbert with early assistance from Dean Joseph Rencis, Vice President Bharat Soni, and CEROC Director Dr. Ambareen Siraj. We received later assistance from Associate Dean Darrell Hoy, CEROC Assistant Director Eric Brown and TTU Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations Tracey Duncan.

The main draw for SAIC to Cookeville and TTU has been a combination of our current strengths in producing high quality graduates educated in both cybersecurity and data science, and the potential for growth afforded by establishing a base of operations here in Cookeville. The opportunities for our students include internships, co-ops, and full-time positions, all of which will be located in Cookeville. Long-term, the symbiotic partnership between SAIC and TTU promises to open up opportunities for collaboration in providing professional development and training for SAIC while TTU benefits through access to a partner ready to provide experience, contextual relevance, and technical leadership as we seek to identify research and educational projects of mutual benefit. Of special interest to the Department of Computer Science is that SAIC is looking to help nurture our efforts in data science education into full maturity.

When I came to TTU, my main interest was to focus on relationships. Indeed, a major part of the strategic plan that I authored for the department was to emphasize people. This begins with meeting the needs of our students but also empowering our faculty, building relationships with the alumni and the community, and creating partnerships with industrial and corporate organizations. By having SAIC enter the fold, we have an opportunity to enter the next phase of the transformation of the department with all of the relevant stakeholders in place for moving forward towards building a next generation computing department.

In closing, I invite all of you to welcome SAIC to Cookeville this Friday. The Departments of Computer Science and Decision Sciences and Management are hosting the first ever Computing and IT Alumni Conference. At the conference, Charles Onstott, a Senior Vice President from SAIC will help close the day by providing a vision for SAIC’s move to Cookeville. In addition, our other new computing employer, Digital Dream Forge, will be hosting a networking event on Thursday evening to provide the community with an opportunity to join together in celebration before the conference.