Approval for Reorganization of the Institute for Liberal and Interdisciplinary Studies (ILIS)

From: Manuel A. Esteban, President

Subject: Approval for Reorganization of the Institute for Liberal and Interdisciplinary Studies (ILIS)

I approve the following recommendations of the ILIS Study Group.

INSTITUTE FOR LIBERAL AND INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES

BACKGROUND

Since receiving its charge in April 1993, the Institute for Liberal and Interdisciplinary Studies (ILIS) Group examined all the various components which currently make up ILIS. The group held more than a dozen meetings, during which it interviewed representatives of all the ILIS areas and met with numerous faculty from outside the programs whose insights, expertise, or willingness to provide advice helped develop our own vision of viable alternates to the present arrangements. A total of 31 interviews were conducted.

We find merit in all the ILIS programs, and many faculty in the programs are strongly committed and even fiercely dedicated to their areas. We also see the strong potential for growth and expansion in many of the programs. However, it is clear that such growth can best be realized by significant restructuring.

It has become clear that numerous programs very much need stronger academic ties than are possible in the present organization. In some programs the action which could most make them prosper would be to take them from within ILIS and place them among the colleges, directly under dean level supervision and accountability.

In addition, our investigation of academic alignments made clear that the General Education program and the code requirement courses, though not presently a part of ILIS, would prosper if placed under the same dean level administrative oversight we are recommending for other branches of ILIS.

RECOMMENDATIONS

It is our recommendation that ILIS be dissolved and that major organizational changes take place.

Dean of Undergraduate Education

The position of Director of ILIS will be dissolved. A dean level position will be created, to be known as and to have the duties of Dean of Undergraduate Education. This position could most logically be developed as a part of the Vice Provost for Academic Affairs position, especially since the Vice Provost has already been acting in this capacity for the past five years.

Many of the pieces presently within ILIS will be assigned to other units. Of the current ILIS programs, General Studies Thematic (GST), Honors, Liberal Studies, and Undeclared Students will be administered by the Vice Provost for Academic Affairs/Dean of Undergraduate Education. These four ILIS programs are among the most nearly university-wide offerings within ILIS and, as such, seem appropriately to belong under the administration of the Vice Provost for Academic Affairs/Dean of Undergraduate Education.

It should be noted that the most universal of all the programs on this campus General Education (GE), Ethnic and Non-Western, and Code Requirements are already a part of the responsibility of the Vice Provost for Academic Affairs. Putting all seven of these campus-wide, academic programs under a Dean of Undergraduate Education makes logical, academic, and fiscal sense. This Dean will also be the chief interdisciplinary leader on campus, developing new programs as well as nurturing and evaluating existing programs.

The scope of administration for the position of Dean of Undergraduate Education should therefore include the following:

• General Studies Thematic Program
• Honors Program
• Liberal Studies Program
• Ethnic and Non-Western Graduation Requirement Courses
• Title 5 Code Requirement Courses
• Undeclared Students Program
• General Education Programs (currently not in ILIS) including
  • All General Education Area Offerings
  • Upper-division General Education Themes

Liberal Studies

Currently, the Liberal Studies Program Director works with the Director of ILIS in relation to budget issues and with the three liberal arts deans regarding programmatic issues. The Liberal Studies Program will be placed under the administration of the Vice Provost for Academic Affairs and Dean of Undergraduate Education.

All existing clerical and support staffing and all present budget allocations for Liberal Studies will remain with the Liberal Studies Program. The Liberal Studies Advisory Council will also continue to function in the same way and with the same membership, since the council has proven to be an essential part of program development.

Child Development

Because a significant number of courses in the Child Development (CD) Program are provided through the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences (BSS) and because its closest academic neighbors (Sociology and Psychology) are housed in that college, the program will be placed under the administrative control of the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences.

It will exist as a program within the college, much as does the Social Science Program, and not be either a separate department or a part of some existing academic unit; like the Social Science Program, it will continue to function with its characteristic interdisciplinary nature. The governing body, the Child Development Program Committee (CDPC), will continue to oversee the program. In addition, all clerical and support staffing, as well as any faculty allocations currently provided for Child Development, will remain with this program as it is transferred to BSS.

Because it will be a separate program within BSS, it will, at least in the short term, be regarded as a separate unit for the purposes of retention, tenure, and promotion, with its own unit-level RTP policies, procedures, and guidelines.

The Museums Programs

The museums part of the current Museums and Galleries Program will be divided. The Museums portion has been made up of three separate areas, the Anthropology Museum, the Special Collections Department of the Meriam Library, and the Vertebrate Museum. For these areas, faculty assigned by appropriate departments have supervised and maintained their own programs and managed their own budgets. The principal role of ILIS has been to serve as the funding agent for these two areas. The Provost allocates a budget line to the director of ILIS who passes the funding on to the museum directors.

Each museum will be directly supervised by the dean or director of the appropriate college or unit - the Anthropology Museum under BSS, the Special Collections Department under Meriam Library, and the Vertebrate Museum under Natural Sciences (NS). The existing level of funding will be maintained, with separate budget lines being transferred directly to the appropriate director or dean.

The Art Galleries

The galleries portion of the Museums and Galleries Program includes two separate gallery organizations: the Turner Gallery with its CSU-mandated structure and internal organization and the Taylor Gallery with its organizational and academic roots in the Art Department.

Both units will report directly to the Dean of Humanities and Fine Arts (HFA). Present lines of gallery funding which pass through ILIS will flow directly from the Provost's office to the HFA Dean.

English as a Foreign Language

The English as a Foreign Language Program (EFL) is a specialized academic area. Because the likely future of EFL will be an expansion to populations beyond international students while still servicing their needs and because the faculty certain to nurture and lead such growth are in the English department, the EFL program will be placed in the English department, within the College of Humanities and Fine Arts.

Writing Across the Disciplines

Writing Across the Disciplines (WAD) is an ILIS program that falls effectively within the scope and activities of faculty development. The WAD program has grown to be a vital and active faculty development arm of the University. Its interest in and ties to research in teaching methodologies, its ever-expanding list of faculty workshops and training sessions, and its movement into teaching technologies and computerization for faculty has placed it clearly in the mainstream of faculty development programs. With its strong connections to specialized studies, grant getting and funding, research activities, and faculty development, it will be placed under the Vice Provost for Research and Professional Development.

The Center for Policy Studies on Youth and the Family

The primary mission of the Center for Policy Studies on Youth and the Family is to encourage interdisciplinary faculty research and projects concerning children, youth, and families. Government agencies, private foundations, and universities are moving toward more coordinated efforts in policy-relevant and interdisciplinary research and service projects which promote children's development. This Center, then, will report to the Office of Research and Professional Development.

REORGANIZATION OF ILIS

Dean of General Studies/Undergraduate Education

• General Studies Thematic Program
• Honors Program
• Liberal Studies Program
• Ethnic and Non-Western Graduation Requirement Courses
• Title 5 Code Requirement Courses
• Undeclared Students Program
• General Education Programs (currently not in ILIS) including
  • All General Education Area Offerings
  • Upper-division General Education Themes

College Of Behavioral and Social Sciences

• Child Development Program
• Anthropology Museum
• The Center for Multicultural Studies

College of Natural Sciences

• Vertebrate Museum

College of Humanities and Fine Arts

• Turner and Taylor Art Galleries
• English as a Foreign Language Program

Graduate School

• Writing Across the Disciplines Program
• Center for Policy Studies on Youth and the Family