Faculty hear progress report on external reviews

Academic Council's first report ­ to the modern languages and literatures clusters ­ outlined at Feb. 1 faculty meeting

Spoehr presented a progress report about the reviews at the Feb. 1 faculty meeting. Written reports have been submitted on three reviews completed in 1999 - modern languages and literatures; brain, behavioral and computational sciences; and theater plus Afro-American Studies. A report on a fourth review of the physical sciences is expected shortly.

Spoehr recapped for the faculty the procedures that follow an external committee's visit: Faculty members on the Academic Priorities subcommittee review the reports as well as the departments' self-studies, then present findings to the Academic Council. After deliberating and consulting with President Gee, the Academic Council forwards to each unit a set of guidelines and expectations. Each unit then develops steps it intends to take to improve the quality of its academic programs and research, Spoehr said.

At the end of the first semester, the Academic Council distributed findings and guidelines to the units in modern languages and literatures, Spoehr said. They include:

• Praise for Hispanic studies, Portuguese and Brazilian studies, and comparative literature - "programs which deserve and to which we have committed enhanced support in the form of faculty positions, fundraising, and graduate program support," Spoehr said.

• Concerns about professional development among lecturers and senior lecturers. The concerns will be addressed through a special committee.

• The need for a tenured faculty position to lead the efforts of the Center for Language Studies.

• Space and infrastructure challenges, in particular the desirability of proximity to one another and to the Center for Language Studies and the Language Laboratory.

• Rethinking and revising the curriculum for basic language instruction in the French department. This endeavor was accomplished last summer, resulting in the successful implementation of a new pedagogy last semester, Spoehr said.

• A departmental structure that appears to be working very well - a conclusion that came as "a surprise even to the reviewers, since many arrived for their visit with the preconception that small departments, of which we have quite a lot, are simply not viable," Spoehr said. "Following their suggestion we will not be eliminating any of the current departments or attempting to consolidate them."

• Reviewers noted that some departments were stretched too thinly to be able to offer both high quality graduate and undergraduate programs with their current resources.