Role of the College Council re the School of Education Proposal
The Executive Committee of the College Council had a long discussion at
its December 18 meeting concerning the decisions and ambiguities
involved in actually forming the proposed School of Education. For
instance, what parts of the old College of Education will the School
actually incorporate or not, and why; what role will the School play
vis-a-vis the proposed Center for Teacher Education as well as other
departments in the College that provide teacher training; how might the
reorganization redefine the roles of associated staff; and who will have a
say in these decisions?
The key question the Executive Committee discussed was "what role
should the College Council play in such matters?" For example, how does the
Council determine which specific issues have college-wide implications and
fall within the purview of the Council? What general principles might it
propose concerning who participates in making or informing which sorts of
decisions, including whether units should merge or disassociate? Most
generally, what is the Council's vision of governance in the College and
of its own place in it? The decisions about the proposed School of
Education are important not only for the units involved but also for the
precedents they set regarding College governance.
These are the issues the Council had begun to address in its December 11
meeting and that it will continue exploring in the January 6 meeting.
