1958-1978
The Department of Computer Science was formed out of the Department of Mathematics. While the Department of Computer Science was not founded until 1978, computing efforts began at Clemson College as early as 1958 when a faculty committee was formed to discuss the possibility of the college renting or purchasing a computer. The committee eventually recommended renting a machine from the Royal McBee company (likely an LPG-30 model). In March 1961, Clemson purchased its first computer, a Royal McBee RPC-4000, which was originally installed in Poole Hall.
The Computer Center, originally lead by Merrill Palmer of the Mathematics Department, was organized between 1961 and 1962. A goal of the Computer Center at this time was to develop computing courses beyond MATH 310: Programming the Digital Computer. Computer Science courses appear as course listings for the first time in the 1966-1967 edition of the Clemson Catalog. Though designated as COMP SC, these courses were organized by the Mathematics Department. At this time, the computer science faculty included M.C. Palmer, C.E. Kirkwood, and E.V. Bartmess.
In 1966, Clemson University purchased an IBM System 360/Model 40 computer. For many decades onward, Clemson computers would be IBM or IBM-compatible machines.
Jack Peck was hired in 1971 as a Department of Mathematics faculty member; he was the first of Clemson’s faculty to hold a Ph.D. in Computer Science and co-wrote the university’s first automated payroll system. Over the next few years, a number of computer scientists were hired as Math faculty, including Joe Turner, Mike Westall, and Eleanor Hare.
In 1977, a planning committee was formed with several computer science-focused faculty members, other faculty from the Mathematics department, and faculty from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering to discuss the creation of a separate Department of Computer Science. Mike Westall speaks about this committee in his oral history interview from about 12:15-19:00. The interested parties discussed the possible problems associated with creating the department, such as the Mathematics department losing students and which courses would be taught by Computer Science vs. ECE. According to Westall, the committee was largely cooperative; they decided that CS would focus on mainframe computer system concepts and software, while ECE would continue to focus on minicomputers, microcomputers, and network communications.
1979-2007
The Department of Computer Science was officially recognized as its own academic department on July 1, 1978. Including Dr. Joe Turner, who served as the Department Head, there were initially eight faculty members (see Dr. Jack Peck and Dr. Mike Westall). The first students to graduate from the B.S. in Computer Science program in December 1980 had been Mathematics majors who had taken Computer Science option courses. In May 1982, the first students graduated with M.S. degrees in Computer Science. In 1983, a second undergraduate program was added, the B.S. in Computer Information Systems.
Also in 1982, the department moves into Edwards Hall and faculty members Harold Grossman, Wayne Madison, and Ed Page begin work with the United States’ Department of Defense. Their initial work developing electronic mail and other communication tools leads to further research collaboration between Clemson Computer Science and the DoD, eventually culminating in an $8M, 25-year project to develop the Test and Evaluation Community Network (TECNET). In the following years, Jack Peck and faculty from the Department of Textiles created the Clemson Apparel Advanced Manufacturing Technology Demonstration Center, which partnered with U.S. Army's Defense Logistics Agency in a $3.5M research project. Jack Peck speaks about this in his oral interview around 20:00; Mike Westall speaks about this in his oral interview around 1:11:00.
The Ph.D. program was approved in 1984, due in large part to the external funding provided by TECNET research efforts. In 1987, the first Computer Science Ph.D. from Clemson was awarded to Tom Wimer. Two years later, Eleanor Hare would be the first woman at Clemson to receive a Computer Science Ph.D. (see her oral interview, 3:00-8:00). Wimer returned to a faculty position at Clarion University of Pennsylvania; Hare continued teaching at Clemson until her retirement.
The department went through several changes in the 1990s. In 1991, a third undergraduate degree was added, the B.A. in Computer Science. This program required the same computing courses in the first two years of study, and then allowed more choice in the junior and senior years; additionally, it required modern language courses and a declared minor. The same year, two courses were added to the undergraduate catalog: CPSC 291 Seminar in Professional Issues I and CPSC 491 Seminar in Professional Issues II. These courses focused on the ethical implications that computing and computer development might have on society. These changes allowed a more liberal arts-style approach to computer science education, which would be foundational in creating the M.F.A in Computing (later called the M.F.A. in Digital Production Arts) and mirrored work done by Dr. Robert Geist and others in their τεΧνη-approach courses.
In 1995, Clemson’s academic programs shifted from being housed by nine colleges to being housed by five colleges: Agriculture, Forestry, and Life Sciences; Architecture, Arts, and Humanities; Business and Behavioral Science; Engineering and Science; Health, Education, and Human Development. Computer Science, previously housed in the College of Science, would now belong to the College of Engineering and Science. There were several departmental and multi-departmental meetings in which a combination of departments and budget centers was discussed (for example, creating a Department of Computer Science and Electrical & Computer Engineering), but ultimately, Computer Science remained its own department.
The M.F.A in Computing began in 1999, spearheaded by Robert Geist (see his oral interview 17:30) and Sam Wang of the Department of Art. The program, later renamed the M.F.A. in Digital Production Arts, utilizes both technical and artistic education and knowledge in order to create digital animation. The first students graduate from this program in 2001.
In the early 2000s, Provost Doris Helms was instrumental in both expanding McAdams Hall to house the department and in the formation of the School of Computing. President James Barker said of Helms, “Almost every good idea we’ve had over the past decade to improve Clemson as an academic institution has come from the creative mind of Dori Helms.” Helms was interviewed by Archives and Special Collections faculty in summer 2023, and spoke of her and President Barker’s work to make Clemson a highly ranked university. Expanding the Department of Computer Science surely served this goal; in January 2007, the Department of Computer Science officially became the School of Computing.