UW-Madison Creates College of Computing and AI, Names Founding Dean
The University of Wisconsin-Madison has appointed Remzi Arpaci-Dusseau as founding dean of the College of Computing and Artificial Intelligence, which launches July 1, 2026. The college is the first new academic division at UW-Madison in more than 40 years.
The university is backing the launch with $100 million in philanthropic commitments and more than $50 million in annual institutional investment. The college will hire 50 new faculty members, many with joint appointments across campus.
Who leads the new college
Arpaci-Dusseau is a computer science professor and longtime UW-Madison researcher. His work on storage systems, operating systems and distributed computing has influenced both academia and industry. He holds fellowships from the Association for Computing Machinery and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
He has directed the School of Computer, Data & Information Sciences since its creation in 2019 and led the effort to establish the new college beginning in 2024.
"In moments of major change, universities have a responsibility to engage, not stand on the sidelines," Arpaci-Dusseau said. "Universities have long helped develop technologies, and that work must continue. But we also have a responsibility to ask hard questions about their impacts."
What the college will do
The college consolidates existing programs in computer science, data science, statistics, library science and information science. It will create new courses, certificates, majors and degree programs focused on AI's role across industries.
Research priorities include trust, fairness, privacy, environmental sustainability and the future of work. The college will connect AI specialists with experts in philosophy, ethics, business, medicine and engineering.
The college also plans to move research discoveries into practice-translating academic work into applications that benefit communities and industries across Wisconsin and beyond.
Financial backing
The Catalyst Collective, a group of alumni and industry leaders, committed $100 million to the college's launch. Members include Andy Konwinski, cofounder of Databricks and Perplexity AI; John and Tashia Morgridge; Signe Ostby and Scott Cook, cofounder of Intuit; Jeff Tangney, cofounder of Doximity; and Epic, the Wisconsin-based healthcare software company.
The institutional investment of more than $50 million annually provides long-term funding. Combined resources will support faculty recruitment, research capacity, computing infrastructure, new academic programs and interdisciplinary collaboration.
Broader campus impact
The 50 new faculty positions add to a previous hiring initiative, bringing AI-related faculty hires to more than 100 across campus. These appointments will strengthen research capacity and expertise in addressing AI's technical and societal dimensions.
Chancellor Jennifer L. Mnookin said the college will serve as "a hub and resource for the rest of campus" while building core strength in computing disciplines. Addressing AI's ethical questions and workforce implications will require collaboration across departments, she said.
The Board of Regents approved the college in December 2025.
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