Minutes of the Liberal Studies Committee
Tuesday, November 30, 2004
Members present: Richard Starnes (chair), Fred Hinson, Peter Nieckarz, Charles Wallis, Brian
Dinkelmeyer, Jeanne Kaufman, Debra Burke.
Also attending: Malcolm Abel, Terry Michelsen, Kim Cherry.
I. Approval of Minutes from meeting on 11/16/04
II.
Scheduling the remaining meetings and agenda for F’04
A. Thursday Dec. 3rd 3:00pm, Rogers Room.
1. Pat Brown will present the “Bridge 44 Program” to the committee.
2. Possible vote to approve the proposal.
3. Terry Kinnear will propose a Liberal Studies assessment plan.
4. Finalize Spring Meeting times.
B. Tentative meeting to vote on the Liberal Studies Bridge Program: Tuesday Dec
7th
III. Approval of Course Proposals
A. MUS 406: Applied Minor. (Not a liberal studies course) No Action taken.
B. HT191: Food People and Places: A Cultural Perspective:(freshman seminar): On
hold.
1. Revision of syllabus required: the committee suggested a 15-week
semester and a course reading list.
C. LAW412: Business Ethics and Corporate Responsibility:(P4) Approved.
D. HIST 335: History of Capitalism:(P3) Approved.
E. Course number changes approved:
1. REL307 now PAR327: Native American religions. (P6)
2. REL309 now PAR 325: Religion in Film. (P6)
3. REL309 now PAR 326: Religion and Science: God’s Law and the Law
of Nature. (P6)
F. General education courses deleted from course catalog.
1.MUS 110,111,112,113.
IV. Other Matters.
A. Setting a minimum 2-year term limit for the Chair of the liberal studies committee
was proposed.
B. Topics that need our attention in S’05.
1. Trimming defunct courses form the course catalog. The committee
agreed to remove liberal studies courses from the catalog that have not
been offered in the last three years, in consultation with department
heads.
2. Assessment of the Liberal Studies Program.
a. Track courses that have been approved by the committee.
b. Form a Liberal Studies Assessment Committee. Terry Kinnear
will serve as Chair.
c. The need for updating the Liberal Studies documentation.
d. Ensure that faculty demands on students enrolled in freshman
seminar courses are reasonable, consistent and sufficiently
challenging. Syllabi for these courses need to be gathered to
address these issues.
V.
Meeting adjourned.