The search for a director of general education to help shepherd in a new general education curriculum at Baker University is in progress.

“I’m hopeful we can hire a general education director that takes us to the next level,” University President Pat Long said. “This is such an important commitment for us at Baker.”

Rob Flaherty, associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, is part of a committee that started sifting through applications this week.

Flaherty said the committee will select a few candidates to bring to campus for interviews with students and faculty in mid-to-late March.

“We’re looking for somebody who will teach in the program as well, so they won’t just be an administrator,” he said. “We think it’s important that this person is a good teacher, like all of our faculty.”

Flaherty said the successful applicant will start July 1. The committee will be looking for applicants who have experience in liberal arts and an understanding of the national conversation surrounding general education.

“We are trying to do something new, but there’s this really large movement in colleges and universities to really focus on the undergraduate experience and preparing our students for the 21st century.”

It’s been more than 20 years since the last revision of the general education system at Baker, and now the university is trying to redefine what kind of liberal education students are going to need to be successful in the world, Flaherty said.

“We’re going to figure it out as we go along, but having somebody who is responsible for general education is important. In particular in terms of assessment of the program and whether the students are really learning in that program and part of our accreditation efforts,” he said. “Having one person being responsible for all of that is sort of a critical piece. And it’s also a best practice.”

Junior Erin Falter is a member of the selection committee and also a member of student senate. She asked for input Tuesday night at the student senate meeting to get more students involved in the process.

“I’ve had a couple of people come talk to me, so I think it will be a good thing,” she said. “I’m really excited to be able to take different students’ perspectives to the committee.”

Falter said she expects a new general education system may help students who are struggling to fulfill requirements under the current system.

She believes having someone oversee the new curriculum also will streamline the overall process.

“I think there’s been a lot of problems lately with a lot students not being able to graduate on time or having to take more summer classes because they haven’t taken all of their general education classes,” she said. “I think that by redoing it a little bit they might be able to avoid that.”

Flaherty said the new general education program will be introduced in small increments starting this fall with some pilot courses, but everything will have to be approved by faculty senate.

The goal is to implement an overall new system in the fall of 2010.

“It’s a difficult process because we’re trying to do something that’s really unique and creative and satisfies the goals that we want for the program,” Flaherty said. “We want it to be right, we want it to be good, so there’s a lot of pressure.”

Flaherty said the director position will be permanent and evolve as the program grows. <br/>A $600,000 grant from the Hall Family Foundation, which has been funding the general education reform, will pay entirely for the salary and benefits the first year.A $600,000 grant from the Hall Family Foundation, which has been funding the general education reform, will pay entirely for the salary and benefits the first year.
A $600,000 grant from the Hall Family Foundation, which has been funding the general education reform, will pay entirely for the salary and benefits the first year.

“It’s a permanent position and the idea is that the university takes over the salary as the grant runs out,” he said.