With the implementation of Curriculum 2000 looming, the Spanish department is bracing itself for an expected jump in the number of students in its upper-level courses. The combination of required foreign language and an already-strapped department has prompted the administration to add one-and-a-half new faculty positions for this fall; a third professor will fill an old, but empty, slot.
By adding these new positions, administrators are following through with promises to remedy course shortages and the lack of permanent faculty. These problems drew attention last fall when frustrated Spanish majors and minors who could not find enough classes petitioned Dean of Undergraduate Affairs Bob Thompson to address the need for a more stable faculty roster.
"The lack of permanent faculty is a problem that has been going on for a long time...," said Associate Professor and Director of Undergraduate Studies Teresa Vilaros. "[But] now the administration really understands the necessity of obtaining more permanent professors."
The new professors come from Georgetown University, the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Pennsylvania. One of them, Maria de la Fuentes, will direct the Spanish language program.
Although these three professors will begin to ease the immediate crunch, Thompson stressed that more faculty are needed to meet the long-term needs that come with Curriculum 2000.
The first effects of the foreign language requirement will be felt in lower-level courses, which the Spanish department has had little trouble staffing with graduate students. But soon after Curriculum 2000 is in full swing, students are expected to move en masse to the upper levels of Spanish study, where new faculty are most needed to meet student demand.
By the time the curriculum starts in fall 2000, Thompson said, the University plans to add two more permanent positions. "That will provide enough people to meet current demands, and the effects of Curriculum 2000 will not be felt for a few years after it is implemented," he said. The recent additions will help the administration gauge where the department should go beyond the immediate future, Thompson added.
For the past several years, the University has temporarily patched the Spanish curriculum by using visiting professors. However, this strategy prompted complaints from both students and faculty, said Margaret Greer, associate professor of romance studies and graduate adviser for Spanish and Latin American studies.
"In other departments, students can take multiple courses with the same professor, and this gives them the opportunity to work closely with faculty members and establish a strong and consistent reputation. In the Spanish department, students are happy just to discover that their instructors are still here...," she said.
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