by Ellen Potter

What about those programs --- gerontology, teacher education, international studies, continuing education, and the study of culture, race, and ethnicity --- that don’t fit neatly into one of the five schools? They’re interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary or "nontraditional," and targeted to a wide audience of learners. They are successful and growing. They have enthusiastic leadership. They are broadening our students’ experience in many ways, but what are they all about, and where do they belong?

Ithaca College is often viewed as a place for professional preparation --- in theater, music, physical and occupational therapy, speech-language pathology, communications, business. And it is, of course. But that’s not all it is. Drawing together and broadening the scope of the various fields through multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary, and outreach programs are long-standing priorities at the College. Now a recent flurry of new initiatives --- women’s studies, environmental studies, Jewish studies, integrated marketing communication, international studies, and integrated health studies (the study of conventional and alternative health theories, history, and cultural significance), to name a few --- are advancing the College’s efforts to link school to school, gown to town, and the South Hill campus to campuses all over the world.

While IC students have always been encouraged to take courses across disciplines, offering administration-established programs is a relatively recent occurrence. Stressing the importance of an interdisciplinary education reflects both a philosophical change within the administration and sheer market-driven necessity. As people in the workforce are more frequently compelled to switch companies or careers, knowledge of various methodologies is essential. "No longer are you just trained to become an accountant and work for a company that will retire you in 30 years," says assistant provost Tanya Saunders (photo, right). "Now we are as much nomads in the work world as we are in other parts of our lives."

Furthermore, as technology continues its frantic morphing and the global marketplace expands, today’s students may be facing a job market that is impossible to define in advance. "We know from the research available that many of our students will be doing jobs that don’t even exist yet," says associate provost Garry Brodhead. "And they can’t prepare for the unknown without some sense of how to bring together various disciplines." This ability to cross disciplines, to draw together common and connecting principles from diverse subject areas, is one that has long been stressed as the primary goal of a liberal arts education. But as professional-preparation programs have become more prominent, critics say they prepare students too narrowly for a specific workplace, rather than for life --- a life that may involve several careers.

One of the goals of the College’s interdisciplinary programs is to achieve both. Their less quantitative mission is to cultivate an intellectual and social vibrancy on campus. In many cases the programs serve as venues for community outreach projects, providing both students and faculty opportunities to step outside their daily routines. The Gerontology Institute’s program at the Longview residential facility for older adults features an intergenerational exchange: Students and faculty go to Longview to conduct workshops and activities with the residents, while Longview residents come to the campus to attend regular classes.

On the other end of the age spectrum is the Center for Teacher Education’s Partnership in Teaching program. Ithaca College faculty, staff, and students volunteer their services in local schools. In turn, those schools operate as valuable learning labs for IC students as they prepare for careers in education.

Such matches are obvious. But by also bringing together individuals and disciplines that may appear, superficially, to have little in common, administrators hope that the existing and emerging interdisciplinary programs will widen opportunities for students in the new global economy. Although cross-disciplinary courses are still few and far between, there is a growing recognition that even such seemingly far-flung fields as marketing and gerontology or physical therapy and modern languages are inextricably linked. Indeed, as baby boomers age, the ability to design and market products that appeal to older adults may make or break a business. And how much more employable is a physical therapist who speaks Spanish and understands Latino cultures?

While the directors of many of these programs are generally pleased with the support that they are receiving from the College, they share a common battle cry for a more systematic and unified administrative process. These programs are not officially affiliated with one of the five schools’ program headquarters, and they are scattered throughout the campus, with the provost’s office as their only point of intersection. In December interim provost William Scoones appointed a task force, composed of nine faculty and administrators, to explore the issue of how the College can fortify its existing interdisciplinary programs and pave the way for new and emerging programs. The task force will also explore key operational issues, like whether the College should create a single unit to house interdisciplinary programs and if so, whether it should have its own dean.

Chaired by interim director of the Center for Teacher Education Pat Tempesta, the Interdisciplinary Studies Task Force is conducting a close examination of model interdisciplinary programs around the country and within institutions that are similar to Ithaca College, as well as an analysis of Ithaca’s existing interdisciplinary programs. After they have gathered those data, they plan to canvass the entire IC community for input on how to better integrate interdisciplinary studies on campus. The task force’s report should be on the provost’s desk this spring.

"We are stressing inclusion," Tempesta says. "Our recommendation as to what kind of a structure will facilitate and enhance interdisciplinary studies at Ithaca College will be based on broad involvement of the IC community --- deans, department chairs, faculty, administrators, and students."

What follows is a short overview of each of the main areas under discussion.

Photo of student studying: Charles Harrington;
Photo of Tanya Saunders: Bill Truslow