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R-MC was among the first independent liberal arts colleges to establish a computer science department.
Department Chair:
Chuck Leska, PhD
Phone: 804-752-3158
E-mail: cleska@rmc.edu
Computer Science
Information technology is transforming the future—and the present—in ever more significant ways. The computer science major at R-MC has a strong liberal arts approach, combining a focus on current skills and concepts with a thorough foundation in both theoretical and practical aspects of computer science.
Define your focus: Students may choose a major, double-major, or minor in computer science as part of their R-MC studies. The computer science curriculum encourages inquiry by providing opportunities for in-depth research, and all computer science majors complete a capstone project.
Learn through doing: Computer science majors find opportunities to apply their skills in practical settings. Tom Becker '06 served as a Web assistant in R-MC's marketing and communications office. Adam Traub '10, now a software engineer, provided computer tutoring to fellow R-MC students and also completed an internship with Genworth Financial. R-MC computer science students have participated as well in a service-learning project working with school children in Haiti. And through a Schapiro Undregraduate Research Fellowship (SURF), R-MC computer science major Mark Lotts '12 teamed with professor John Rabung in the summer of 2010 to research van der Waerden numbers.
Careers in computer science: With IT expertise in high demand, R-MC computer science alumni are building careers in a wide range of fields. R-MC graduate Ying Shapiro served as IT director for catering at the 2008 Olympics with the food-services company Aramark. Bennett Malbon earned an MBA from Babson College's Franklin W. Olin Graduate School of Business and now provides IT expertise in the health care industry. Andrew Miner is an assistant professor at Iowa State University and recently was awarded an Early CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation to study complex systems.
| "A liberal arts education keeps you flexible."
John Curd '07 majored in computer science at R-MC and now works as an IT consultant in areas from business intelligence and data warehousing to web applications. "The wonderful professors in the computer science department prepared me by providing me with the foundational knowledge that is absolutely necessary to be successful in the IT world," says Curd. "The curriculum puts an emphasis on problem solving which is necessary when developing solutions from the ground up."
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