Millersville University, Faculty Senate

Attachment C
Faculty Senate Minutes
October 1, 2002

To: Faculty Senate
From Department of Government and Foreign Affairs
Re: International Studies Curriculum Committee
Date 1 October 2002

Proposal:

As a result of the August 2002 administrative transfer of the International Studies program from the Office of International Affairs to the Department of Government and Political Affairs, the Government Department petitions for the discontinuation of the existing International Studies Curriculum Committee (ISCC) as a standing Faculty Senate committee with its current chair/membership structure and election process. In its place will be a same called department affiliated committee with identical reporting lines and curricular functions but with an expanded faculty membership structure (see rationale below).

Rationale:

  1. As the IS program is now administratively affiliated with the Department of Government, a new curricular committee would replace the current Faculty Senate standing committee. The Senate committee has a faculty senate member as chair and the traditional Faculty Senate Committee election process/membership formula. As it exists, membership is distributed across academic units but without consideration given to the 12 contributing departments1 or faculty who possess International Studies related-discipline background.

  2. In its place would be an enhanced curricular governance structure whereby all contributing departments (defined as contributing one or more courses) to the International Studies program will have an automatic committee representative. The contributing department will choose a faculty member(s) to serve on the committee from among its faculty pool who offer courses included in the International Studies program. The contributing department roster will be reviewed on a semester basis in order to continually update committee membership. Each department will have an equal vote and decisions will be made by a simple majority.

  3. While the chair of this committee will be a GOVT faculty member who also contributes International Studies program courses and coordinates the International Studies program on behalf of the Department of Government and Political Affairs, the new International Studies Curriculum Committee will NOT report to or require approval from the Government Department's curricular committee or Department as a whole regarding curricular matters. It will report directly, as it currently does, to the curriculum committee(s) of the appropriate school(s), the University Course and Program Review Committee and Faculty Senate. Interdepartmental curricular ownership of the International Studies program is therefore guaranteed; a situation which does not exist currently.

1The contributing departments are the following: Biology; Business Administration; Earth Sciences; Economics; Educational Foundations; Foreign Languages; Geography; Government and Political Affairs; History; Music; Philosophy; and Sociology and Anthropology;
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