William Frawley to direct new undergrad studies office

A new Office of Undergraduate Studies has been established this fall in the Office of the Vice Provost for Academic Programs and Planning to serve as the administrative home of the Honors Program, Undergraduate Research Program, the Center for Teaching Effectiveness and the General Education Initiative, as well as other relevant undergraduate academic programs and initiatives, Acting Provost Daniel Rich has announced.

William Frawley, chairperson of the Department of Linguistics and director of the Program in Cognitive Science for many years, will direct the new unit. He also has served as faculty director for Academic Programs and Planning since September 2000.

The Office of Undergraduate Studies will be responsible for consolidating and enhancing University-wide undergraduate programs and providing a unified vision and direction for current and future initiatives.

Rich called the new office "a significant move forward by the University to provide programmatic coherence and administrative oversight–as well as to demonstrate institutional commitment via both structure and resources–to the varied activities that constitute the Delaware undergraduate experience.

"Several years ago, in its report to the Faculty Senate, the Ad Hoc Committee on General Education urged the University to establish an Office of General Education," Rich said. "As we planned for this over the past year, we saw how committed the faculty were to both current and new efforts and how well the organization of such an effort was proceeding. We thought that the establishment of this office was the natural next step in the University's future."

"I am very excited about having the opportunity to lead the University's efforts at developing the signature Delaware academic experience," Frawley said. "The University of Delaware is unusual in that it links cutting-edge research with excellent undergraduate instruction–all supported by advanced technology and other important and well-developed resources. Delaware is thus uniquely positioned to educate the 21st-century student. I am pleased to be able to play some part in this effort."

The office will coordinate programs, curricula and resources associated with the major components of the Delaware undergraduate experience and also serve as a liaison on undergraduate affairs between the faculty and administration and between the University and the community.

The Office of Undergraduate Studies also will capitalize on the University's successes in the Undergraduate Research Program, Honors Program and the Center for Teaching Effectiveness, connecting these units more with each other and with the rest of the University.

The new General Education Initiative will be a major focus of the office, as the faculty and University work in concert to implement the 10 goals of General Education [www.udel.edu/facsen/ reports/] in four ways: Freshman Experience Programs (LIFE [www.udel.edu/life] and Pathways [www.udel.edu/pathways]), Core Competencies, Discovery Learning and Capstone Experiences. Faculty development grants for these activities and the General Education Institute [www.udel.edu /cte/gei], as well as instructional development grants from the Center for Teaching Effectiveness [www.udel.edu/cte/hightechgrants 2001.html] will be administered out of the office.

The Office of Undergraduate Studies is located in 212 Gore Hall, where it shares facilities with the Center for Teaching Effectiveness.