Baker University Faculty Senate met Tuesday to discuss various program revisions, approve special topics courses for summer 2007 and special topics and catalog courses for the 2007-2008 academic year.
The meeting was opened by the senators passing a motion to allow non-tenured faculty to apply for sabbatical.
Another motion passed was the approval of two special topics courses for this summer, Immunology and Oral History.
Professor of Biology Darcy Russell said the Immunology course has been taught during fall and spring semesters in the past, but other required courses led to the class being taken out regular rotation.
“We have several upper biology majors who actually need and would like to study this course, and so we’re going to try offering it in the summer to see if we can get enough enrollment,” she said.
Russell said the Oral History course would coincide with a conference occurring on campus this summer.
“It involves having students learn to develop the methodology for taking and recording an oral history,” she said.
Special topics courses for 2007-2008 academic year receiving approval were U.S. Religions, a physical education course, Dare to Compete, and business courses Leading Change in Organizations, Seminar in GIS and Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management.
Faculty senate also approved four course additions to the department of theater and the deletion of two others.
“These additions and deletions of courses is to help the theater department get closer to what it’s actually teaching in the student catalog,” Faculty Senate Chair Tracy Floreani said.
Senate approved many changes within the department of history, political science and sociology including specific requirements for the political science major like passing a comprehensive exam. Six courses from the Social Science General Education List were deleted, and Foundations in Social Science was added.
The Introduction to International Studies course was approved and will replace Introduction to Comparative Politics as a general education and non-western studies course.
Associate Professor of Political Science Ryan Beasley said the deletion of several political science courses from the general education list, the addition of the new social science general education course and changes in the requirements for majors will improve the rigor and value of the education students are receiving within the program.
“(The deleted courses) don’t very appropriately fit into the general education category of social scientific inquiry,” he said. “Sometimes we’re simply learning about the institutions and the topic, and that is not necessarily learning about social scientific inquiry. The social science intro course does, however, target that area specifically.”
Approved changes within the physical education department include the additions of various courses and the approval of a new major in sports administration with a required minor in business.
