ACADEMIC AFFAIRS COMMITTEE



ACADEMIC AFFAIRS COMMITTEE

January 30, 2008

Minutes

The meeting was called to order at 12:13 p.m. by Governor Dunaskiss in Rooms BC in the McGregor Memorial Conference Center. Secretary Miller called the roll. A quorum was present.

Committee Members Present: Governors Bernstein, Driker, Dunaskiss, and Washington; Hans Hummer, Faculty Representative

Committee Members Absent: Governor Massaron; Anca Vlasopolos, Faculty Alternate Representative; Jennifer Walker, Student Representative and Laura Ziemiecki, Student Alternate Representative

Also Present: Governors Abbott, Dingell and Miller and President Reid; Provost Barrett and Executive Vice President Dickson; Vice Presidents Burns, Davis, Hollins, Lessem and Ratner; Secretary Miller

APPROVAL OF MINUTES, NOVEMBER 28, 2007

Professor Hummer indicated that the Minutes must be corrected. Each of the actions on pages 1000 and 1001 state that the recommendation was made by the Budget and Finance Committee; they should be corrected to state “the Academic Affairs Committee.”

ACTION— Upon motion by Governor Massaron and seconded by Governor Driker, the Minutes of the meeting of November 28, 2007 were approved as corrected. The motion carried.

ESTABLISHMENT OF ACADEMIC PROGRAMS:

• MASTER OF ARTS PROGRAM WITH A MAJOR IN MARRIAGE AND FAMILY PSYCHOLOGY

• DOCTOR OF NURSING PRACTICE PROGRAM

• GRADUATE BRIDGE CERTIFICATE PROGRAM IN WORLD HISTORY

• BACHELOR OF SCIENCE WITH A MAJOR IN BIOCHEMISTRY AND CHEMICAL BIOLOGY

• BACHELOR OF SCIENCE WITH A MAJOR IN BIOMEDICAL PHYSICS

Provost Barrett presented five separate recommendations to establish the degree and certificate programs listed above. There was no discussion, and a single motion was taken to approve all the recommendations.

ACTION — Upon motion by Governor Bernstein and seconded by Governor Washington, the Academic Affairs Committee recommended that the Board of Governors approve the establishment of a Master of Arts program with a major in Marriage and Family Psychology in the Educational Psychology area of the Theoretical and Behavioral Foundations Division of the College of Education, effective Fall Semester 2008. The motion carried.

ACTION — Upon motion by Governor Bernstein and seconded by Governor Washington, the Academic Affairs Committee recommended that the Board of Governors approve a Doctor of Nursing Practice program in the College of Nursing, effective Spring/Summer Semester 2008. The motion carried.

ACTION — Upon motion by Governor Bernstein and seconded by Governor Washington, the Academic Affairs Committee recommended that the Board of Governors approve the establishment of a Graduate Bridge Certificate program in World History, effective Fall Semester 2008. The motion carried.

ACTION — Upon motion by Governor Bernstein and seconded by Governor Washington, the Academic Affairs Committee recommended that the Board of Governors approve the establishment of a Bachelor of Science degree with a major in Biochemistry and Chemical Biology in the Department of Chemistry, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, effective Fall Term 2008. The motion carried.

ACTION — Upon motion by Governor Bernstein and seconded by Governor Washington, the Academic Affairs Committee recommended that the Board of Governors approve the establishment of a Bachelor of Science degree with a major in Biomedical Physics in the Department of Physics (in collaboration with Medical Physics), College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, effective Spring/Summer term 2008. The motion carried.

HONORS COLLEGE PROPOSAL

Provost Barrett presented a recommendation to establish an Honors College at the University, which has been one of the primary objectives of President Reid since he arrived at Wayne State. The recommendation also presents “the culmination of much hard work by many people at the University”, and President Reid added that it illustrates the point that programs must be built on existing strengths. When he arrived at Wayne State in 1997, the Honors Program was an excellent academic program with about 250 students. It had been created in 1986, headed by a director, and staffed by an administrative assistant and a student worker. After the retirement of Dr. Stanley Shapiro, the decision was made to enhance the program and develop a plan for an honors college. Professor Jerry Herron of the English Department was named director, and since 2002 the program has grown to 1300 students with a permanent full-time staff of 7 and 5 senior lecturers.

The President declared that Michigan’s best and brightest high school students expect academic excellence and the rigorous challenge of an excellent honors college. He noted that the Honors College designation would place WSU on a par with peers such as Michigan State University, Pennsylvania State University, and the University of Wisconsin. College status would also bolster recruitment efforts at Scholars Day, where attendance continues to grow. Scholars Day brings about 1000 potential new freshmen to campus each year, with about 70% of the attendees eventually enrolling.

President Reid reviewed some of the achievements of the Honors Program. Prior to 2004, the University had no National Merit Scholars, but since 2004 the number has grown to 36. The program has achieved a 100% acceptance rate for Honors Pre-Med graduates who apply to medical schools. The four “Start” programs in medicine, business, engineering, pharmacy and health sciences, afford students a distinct pre-professional experience that provides them with career preparation and skills development. The Honors College will continue to be home to the Office of Undergraduate Research. The Office helps undergraduate students apply for grants of up to $3,050, of which $2300 goes to the student and $750 to the faculty mentor. It also supports student travel to research conferences both regionally and nationally.

The Honors College will enhance its curriculum by requiring 36 hours of honors course work graduation, an increase from the current 24. In addition, President Reid said the Honors Program is city-based and service-oriented, and will continue to be so. During the first two years, students enroll in courses that provide an intellectual and service experience focused on the City of Detroit. The second-year service initiative is funded with a $500,000 grant from the McGregor Fund. Students serve as tutors in Detroit Public Schools classrooms, with 50 currently receiving academic credit compared to just 15 in 2004.

The Honors Council is comprised of faculty representatives from schools and colleges plus two student representatives. This year’s roster includes Professors Phil Abbot, Nalia AFonso, Jocelyn Benson, Cassandra Bowers, Gerry Conti, Mame Jackson, Carl Freeman, Michele Grimm, Margaret Smoller, Karen Tonso and Linda Weglicki, with student representatives Suzan Hadwan and Amarinder Singh. President Reid said the Council and the Honors Curriculum Committee have served as extraordinary building blocks in the transition of the Honors Program into an Honors College.

Professor Jerry Herron continued with a Powerpoint presentation reviewing the accomplishments of the program and describing the goals of the Honors College. He indicated that according to the report by the National Collegiate Honors Council site visitors, the program has arrived at a level of development that merits college designation. The next phase will be curricular enhancement, emphasizing an Honors core in general education that would provide a rigorous education to the students and offer a new level of distinction for university degrees. The College would also collaborate and develop stronger relationships with departments, schools and colleges, and faculty to create a solid academic program from the freshman year to graduation. The four pillars supporting the program consist of community, service, research, and career, and the core curriculum will be based on those pillars. An example of a service-learning course will occur during the spring/summer term, where students in an anthropology class will be studying archaeological techniques in class and then will apply those principles at an archaeological site in Corktown to help develop a Corktown Museum.

Professor Herron said a comprehensive method of assessment would be developed to assess students and faculty in the program, and also to monitor students once they leave the program and take their Honors College degree into the world. He added that the creation of the college would provide a resource to recruit and retain the best and brightest students for Wayne State, as well as opportunities for fundraising.

ACTION — Upon motion by Governor Bernstein and seconded by Governor Washington, the Academic Affairs Committee recommended that the Board of Governors designate the current Honors Program an Honors College, with the Director of Honors now becoming a dean. The college status would be effective as of the fall of 2008. The motion carried.

Governor Dunaskiss congratulated President Reid, Provost Barrett, and Professor Herron for their leadership and support for the Honors College, as well as all the faculty and staff who contributed to the development of the program. Professor Herron called attention to a number of individuals in the audience who worked with him the last several years to help make the Honors College possible, and he thanked the President, Provost, and the Board for their support.

ADJOURNMENT

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 12:30 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Julie H. Miller

Secretary to the Board of Governors

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