William Chafe, dean of Trinity College and of the faculty of arts and sciences, announced the members of the curriculum review committee Wednesday.
Consisting of eight faculty members, two students and three deans, the committee will analyze and recommend potential changes to Trinity College's curriculum. Although reviews are performed periodically, this is the first comprehensive reassessment of the curriculum in more than 10 years.
Chafe said he charged the committee with looking at a few broad issues: diversity within the curriculum, potential changes to the core curriculum and proficiency in a foreign language. The committee will also examine the possibility of requiring students to gain a better understanding of scientific thought and procedures, he said.
Robert Thompson, dean of undergraduate affairs and a committee member, added that the group will likely gather information from within the University as well as from other institutions before making recommendations.
The committee will present its final report to the Arts and Sciences Council next May or September, Chafe said. Until then, Peter Lange, professor of political science and chair of the committee, will run the meetings and set the official agenda within the pre-established guidelines.
After the committee reaches its findings, the faculty will vote on its proposal, Chafe said, adding that he may then create another committee for implementing any changes-which would likely take effect in the fall of 1999.
Although the committee members hail from many different parts of the University, Chafe emphasized each person's ability to represent a broad range of opinions about the future of the curriculum.
"Students, faculty and administrators alike have a keen sense of what is in the best interests of the University as a whole," Chafe explained.
Stephen Jaffe, associate professor of music, stressed that he and the other members of the committee believe in a liberal arts education.
"I'm a musician and a creative artist," Jaffe said. "I've made a conscious choice to teach at a liberal arts institution versus a conservatory." He added the goal of the review is to allow the University to better prepare "young men and women to live in a world that's different from a few years ago."
Trinity sophomore Ben Kennedy, Duke Student Government vice-president for academic affairs and a member of the committee, said his role is two-fold: He will voice his opinion to the committee as well as apply what he knows about the student body's ideas when discussing the more complicated issues that arise during the review.
To gain a better sense of student opinion, Kennedy said he plans to establish some form of an advisory committee through which he could easily assess student opinion.
"By garnering as much student input as possible, my argument for or against things can be more persuasive," he said.
Although there are currently no graduate students on the committee, Chafe said he is "still taking that issue under advisement." He added, however, that he is not obligated to add members.
The last curriculum review, in 1992, recommended a 10-course minimum for completion of a major and the institution of minors.
Committee member Robert Bryant, professor of mathematics, also served on the 1992 review and is looking forward to serving again.
"It does help to have somebody who was there [to] build [into the committee] some memory of the system," he said.
Not all of the 1992 committee's suggestions were incorporated into the curriculum. William O'Barr, professor of cultural anthropology and chair of the 1992 committee, said his committee recommended that students be required to complete courses in all six areas of knowledge.
"By saying there are six areas of knowledge, we are saying that there are six important areas," he said. Students are currently required to take courses in five of the six areas.
The review "will be a major undertaking and a major time commitment," Thompson said. "It's an exciting opportunity."
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