Vol. 19, No. 23

March 9, 2000

Senate approves minors,
discusses general education

The University Faculty Senate dealt quickly with routine educational issues Monday, and then began a detailed examination of the proposed new general education program that will continue at a meeting next Monday, March 13. After passing 16 announcements for challenge involving mainly name changes and revisions to existing degree programs, the senate approved two new minors in the College of Arts and Science and disestablished the master’s degree in international relations offered by the Department of Political Science and International Relations. The new interdisciplinary minor in American material culture studies will require 19 credit hours at the 300 level or above from the following departments: anthropology, art conservation, art history, Black American Studies Program, consumer studies, English, geography, history, museum studies, sociology and women’s studies. The new minor will prepare students for careers in museums, cultural resource management, advanced graduate work, teaching and related fields. Open to music majors as well as nonmajors with appropriate background in keyboard and musical studies, a new minor in church music requires an audition for departmental approval. In other business, the revised procedure for electing senate officers, which was passed at the February meeting, was overturned after Beth Haslett, a member of the Committee on Committees and Nominations (COCAN), questioned whether the resolution satisfied rules of due process and due notice. The revised procedure allowed COCAN to nominate no more than one person for each of the four elected positions, although faculty members could then nominate themselves as opposing candidates. When President Mark Huddleston said that there were “insufficient procedural errors to overturn” last month’s vote, Haslett then asked the senate to vote to reconsider the procedure. Haslett said that more participants were needed in the senate and “making life easier for COCAN is not the purpose of this resolution.” The senate voted 30 to 18 to reconsider the resolution. Senators then began to discuss the nine resolutions supporting a new general education program for undergraduate students. Among the proposals are multidisciplinary theme courses for freshmen; a discovery learning experience, such as research projects, internships or study abroad; and a capstone experience, such as a senior seminar or group project. The resolutions include the creation of a Committee on General Education that will oversee a three-year pilot period for different components of the general education program. The committee would be expected to report back to the senate with recommendations by Sept. 1, 2003. –Cornelia Weil