Vol. 17, No. 5	Oct. 2, 1997

Committee's focus is on general education goals

What should be the goals of general education at the University of Delaware and how can those goals be achieved?

These questions are the focus of the Faculty Senate's ad hoc Committee on General Education, chaired by Carol Hoffecker, Richards Professor of History.

Currently, there are only two University-wide requirements- English 110 and a multicultural course. In addition, the individual colleges have their own requirements distributed over broad fields of study.

To acquaint the campus community with how general education is handled elsewhere and how a national educational leader views the role of general education, the committee is sponsoring two special presentations this month, with funding from the Hewlett Foundation.

Open to all faculty and students, the programs are scheduled at 4 p.m., Tuesdays, Oct. 14 and 21, Multipurpose Room A of the Trabant University Center.

Richard Kamber, dean of the School of Arts and Sciences and professor of philosophy at the College of New Jersey, and Robert J. Anderson, the school's director of general education, will speak on Oct. 14, and Carol Geary Schneider, executive vice president of the Association of American Colleges and Universities, will speak on Oct. 21.

Kamber and Anderson will speak on "Rethinking General Education: Creativity, Consensus and Student Needs" and will share the model of general education at the College of New Jersey.

Kamber, a graduate of Johns Hopkins University with a doctorate from Claremont Graduate University, led the development, approval and implementation of his college's general education curriculum that has received national attention. He has made presentations on this topic before the Association of American Colleges and Universities, the Council of Colleges of Arts and Sciences and at other institutions.

Anderson, who has bachelor's and master's degrees from Rutgers University and a master's degree from the New School of Social Research, has served on the College of New Jersey's General Education Advisory Committee since 1985 and has been director of general education since 1993. He has spoken on the topic of general education before several groups.

Schneider, executive vice president of the Association of American Colleges and Universities will discuss national trends in general education reform, including the importance of connecting learning to the outside world, which includes education for societal engagement and responsibility.

She also will explore structures and attitudes that impede general education reform and how some institutions have addressed these problems.

Schneider has a bachelor's degree from Mount Holyoke College and a doctorate in early modern history from Harvard University. She has taught at the University of Chicago, DePaul University, Chicago State University and Boston University. At the University of Chicago and with the Association of American Colleges and Universities, she has headed a series of national initiatives to improve undergraduate teaching, learning and curriculum and currently leads a multimillion dollar project, "American Commitments: Diversity, Democracy and Liberal Learning."

According to Hoffecker, "The committee is working to clarify the goals of general education to better prepare students for the personal and professional challenges that await them. The committee's goals statement will be presented to the campus this fall, and if accepted, will serve as the basis for the committee's recommended reforms to general education."

Hoffecker will make a report to the Faculty Senate at its Oct. 6 meeting.