Curriculum Committee Minutes
April 10, 2001
Present: Clark, Hale, Kirkpatrick, Kontogeorgopoulos, Lenderman, Mehlhaff, Neff-Lippman,
Pasco-Pranger, Pinzino, Stevens, Tomhave, Warning (chair), Washburn
Visitor: Ricigliano
Warning called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m.
Approval of Minutes
Minutes were approved for 3/27/01.
African-American Studies Program Subcommittee Report: Curriculum Review
Pinzino summarized the structure of the Program and its minor curriculum and reported the
answers given by the Program coordinators in response to the concerns of the Subcommittee. In
response to an inquiry about how the Advising Committee functions, the coordinators explained
that it does not meet formally but rather conducts its business either when Committee members
run into one another on campus or by e-mail. In response to a concern about the coherence of
the minor, the coordinators asserted that each student brings coherence to her own set of classes
in the minor; the Subcommittee continues to be concerned that this puts too much responsibility
on the student, and recommends that issues of coherence be addressed in advising. The
Subcommittee and the Program coordinators agreed that a shared gateway course for the minor
would be desirable but is not currently feasible for staffing reasons. The Subcommittee inquired
about the minor's capstone project and the coordinators explained that the projects were
designed and approved on a case-by-case basis. The Subcommittee expressed concern about
the legitimacy of an African-American Studies program in which the great majority of both
students and faculty is white; the coordinators acknowledged this as a concern and pointed to the
Program's sponsorship of African-American guest speakers on campus and of field trips to
exhibits and events of relevance to the Program. The Subcommittee inquired about certain
courses included in the Program which focus on the African-American experience for only a
portion of the course; the coordinators maintained that they trusted that faculty who submit
courses for inclusion in the Program do so for good reasons, but agreed to the Subcommittee's
suggestion that they periodically review Program courses to make sure they haven't drifted away
from their relevance to the Program. In response to concerns about assessment, the
coordinators will ask minors about their experience in the Program at the annual year-end pizza
party. Pinzino reported that she retained some misgivings about the way the Program functions,
but thought that her discomfort was due to personal differences of organizational style between
her and the coordinators and so was prepared to move approval of the curriculum review, PascoPranger inquired whether the Program would retain some continuity of organization when the
coordinator changed; Hale suggested that the Advisory Committee would provide some
continuity. Washburn asked how courses were approved for the Program; Pinzino answered that
faculty members submitted syllabuses to the coordinators for review. ACTION: Pinzino M/S/P
approval of the African-American Studies Program's curriculum review.
Engineering Program Subcommittee Report: Curriculum Review
Clark summarized the structure of the Engineering Program in which students complement three
years of coursework at UPS with two additional years at one of five cooperating schools and
finish with two Bachelor's degrees, one in their UPS major, and the other in Engineering. Clark
reported no concerns with the review and, after discussion of a few details of how the Program
works, ACTION: Clark M/S/P approval of the Engineering Program's curriculum review.
Natural World Subcommittee Report
Livingston reported on the exchange between the Subcommittee and the Chemistry Department
concerning fallow-year reapproval of CHEM 102: Chemistry in Context. The Subcommittee had
some concerns about the rigor of the course in which chemistry is introduced on a need-to-know
basis in order to treat particular topics. The Department considered withdrawing the course from
the curriculum, but has decided to retain it and the chair of the Department has assured the
Subcommittee that the course is sufficiently rigorous. Hale inquired why the Department wants
the course in the Core; Livingston answered that it depends on Core status for its enrollment.
Mehlhaff explained that the course is topic-driven and was designed by the American Chemical
Society as an outreach to non-scientists. The course has traditionally been taught in the summer
and filled a need for a course through which science-phobic students who had put off fulfilling
their Natural World requirements might finish their degrees; this need has diminished since the
institution of the Science in Context core requirement, and it was this diminished need that
caused the Department to consider eliminating the course, not any lack of confidence in its
appropriateness for the Natural World core rubric; the Department expects, however, that the
need will return if and when the proposed new core is instituted. Warning inquired whether
challenging the rigor of a course is within the Committee's purview. Livingston asserted that the
guidelines of the rubric imply a certain amount of rigor. Stevens added that if a lack of rigor would
mean that the course didn't fulfill the purposes of the core category, then it would seem that the
Curriculum Committee should have something to say about it. ACTION: Livingston M/S/P
reapproval of CHEM 102: Chemistry in Context for the Natural World Core category. This
concludes the Natural World Subcommittee's 1999-2000 fallow year course review.
At 9:42 Stevens M/S/P adjournment.
Respectfully submitted,
Molly Pasco-Pranger