Inaugural Class Graduates

Pamela Pesoli Nardi, Beth Goldstein, Shannon Gimbrone, and Bethany Boilard were the first graduates of the gerontology major and of the Division of Interdisciplinary Studies.

The newly created Division of Interdisciplinary Studies (DIS) graduated its first majors this spring, as four students received their bachelor's degrees in gerontology. When DIS was created, it encompassed programs that already existed at the College but that hadn't previously had an "administrative home."

This fall the division will offer its first "home-grown" program, with others soon to follow. The bachelor of arts degree in culture and communication features an interdisciplinary, liberal arts curriculum focusing on communication as cultural practice, offering courses from all five schools that will help prepare students for a variety of careers.

The new program originated in discussions among a dozen faculty members in four departments in two schools --- communications and humanities and sciences. The group met regularly for three years to design and develop the new major and minor. Four faculty members coordinated the final program submission: Sandra L. Herndon from organizational communication, learning, and design; Bruce Henderson from speech communication; Sharon Mazzarella from television-radio; and Patty Zimmermann from cinema and photography. "This program proposal was a real labor of love for all of us," says Herndon. "We were engaged in an intellectual project that captured our full attention."

The process for approval for new curriculum proposals in DIS is analogous to that of other schools. The program proposal was created by faculty and brought to the DIS Curriculum Committee, where it was subjected to intense review and evaluation and sent back for revision and amplification. Once the proposal passed the DIS level, it proceeded to the Academic Policies Committee (APC) Curriculum Subcommittee, where once again it was carefully reviewed. Finally it came before the full all-College APC to gain final approval in late April. The College expects final state approval by midsummer.

Faculty members Herndon and Sullivan contributed to the culture and communication major.

Introduction to Culture and Communication (721-10000), a course also open to students from outside the new major, will be offered for the first time next spring. Culture and communication majors must complete the core requirements --- four foundation courses, requirements for one area of inquiry (or concentration), a minor or cognate area, and a language proficiency. The four areas of inquiry are visual and cinema studies, international/intercultural communication, media and cultural studies, and organizational culture and technology. In addition, there will be a new 21-credit minor in culture and communication.

APC has also approved a new integrated marketing communications major, a strong interdisciplinary program between the communications and business schools that will be offered this fall. A legal studies major is in the works as well.

Photos: top, Terry Beckley; bottom, Tom Hoebbel