Comment: Mathematical Sciences, the result of a merger

At the end of the 1990’s, mathematics at the Faculty of Science was divided between three smaller departments: mathematics, statistics and actuarial mathematics. Then dean Henrik Jeppesen found that these departments were too small, and in 1997 pushed through a merger of mathematics and statistics. This occurred under considerable protest.

Actuarial mathematics joined freely in the new department. Academically and organisationally, not much changed in the years that followed because at the time, management didn’t make any notable efforts to create a joint environment and common understanding of the possibilities that existed in a larger department.

The new University Act and the introduction of hired managers marked the first time that steps towards integration were taken. Soon after his being hired Department Head, Erik Kjær Pedersen got busy with the removal of the unnatural boundaries that characterised the department. This occurred by creating a shared library and administrative section, and as we can see today, a shared concept of the department’s core values.

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