UNC Charlotte’s College of Computing and Informatics announces strategic reorganization
UNC Charlotte has implemented a comprehensive reorganization of the College of Computing and Informatics, a move designed to adapt to the rapidly evolving technological landscape and position the University as a national leader in computational sciences education and research. The restructuring, formally approved by Chancellor Sharon L. Gaber on April 20, 2026, replaced existing departments with new, focused units dedicated to key subdisciplines in computing.
The reorganization plan, which received overwhelming support from CCI faculty and staff (83 percent approval of faculty and 95 percent approval from staff), was developed through extensive deliberation, including a college-wide retreat, moderated listening sessions and multiple rounds of feedback.
“The field of computing is currently navigating a period of rapid change in academic institutions and within the broader technological landscape,” said Bojan Cukic, professor and dean of the College of Computing and Informatics.
“To maintain its position as a leader and one of the largest computing colleges in the country, the college must adapt its organizational structure and academic programs to meet the evolving needs of students and the professional world. Strategy in this era is defined not just by direction, but by velocity. By reorganizing into smaller, more agile departments that actively collaborate with one another, the college can better facilitate faculty development within CCI and broader alignments across the University. Agility matters for updating and developing new academic programs to capture opportunities with fast-moving industry partners and research funding agencies.”
The following new departmental structure officially took effect with the appointment of chairs on July 1, 2026, after an internal application and review process throughout the spring 2026 semester:
- Department of Machine Learning
- Min Shin, chair
- School of Data Science
- Min Shin, interim executive director
- Department of Bioinformatics and Genomics
- Jun-tao Guo, chair
- Department of Human-Centered Computing and Education
- Manuel Pérez-Quiñones, chair
- Department of Computer Science
- Mohamed Shehab, chair
- Department of Cybersecurity
- Weichao Wang, chair
Along with the departmental reorganization, College of Computing and Informatics staff operations have been centrally restructured at the college level. This shift is designed to smooth out uneven workloads, foster a more nimble response to daily operational needs and encourage greater collaboration across units. By centralizing staff operations, the college ensures that each new academic unit maintains ample, resilient administrative support for both faculty and students moving forward.
By transitioning to smaller, more focused units, CCI aims to streamline and improve administrative support, foster cross-disciplinary innovation and address the changing interests of prospective students as well as the specialized skill profiles required by the modern workforce, particularly in the Charlotte region’s enterprise computing sector.
The college’s new structure will be reflected publicly on its official website, cci.charlotte.edu in the weeks ahead following the in-depth overhaul of the site as part of the University’s ongoing website redesign project.
“This reorganization of the College of Computing and Informatics is a commitment to a culture of academic entrepreneurship, leadership and innovation,” said Cukic. “We’ve implemented these changes to better serve our students, our region and UNC Charlotte’s role in the future of the computing field.”