By Martin May
At the LS&A faculty meeting Dec. 3, a motion on the University’s United Way campaign was passed; revisions were proposed for the faculty code; and past faculty were honored.
Statement on United Way approved
Bruce Frier, professor and chair of Classical Studies, introduced a motion stating, “The faculty of the College of Literature, Science and the Arts calls upon the University’s administration to explain how its intimate relationship with the Washtenaw United Way is compatible with its non-discrimination policies.” Frier argued that the University’s policy on non-discrimination is inconsistent with the Boy Scouts of America’s policy.
In June 2000, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the Boy Scouts may exclude gays from being scout leaders.
The motion was approved unanimously. LS&A Dean Shirley Neuman said a letter will be sent to the President conveying the motion.
Proposed revisions of faculty code
Robert Owen, associate dean of LS&A and professor of geological sciences, made a motion to revise the faculty code in two places. The first proposed change would require students to have “100 hours of credit toward program in courses offered by LS&A departments or programs, or listed in the LS&A Bulletin” for the Bachelor of Arts degree. The current wording requires 108 hours.
The second proposed change would add the wording “Credits in courses designated Interdisciplinary (ID) may be used to satisfy up to nine credits of this part of the requirement,” to the section that states students must complete three additional credits in five areas, namely, natural science, social science, humanities, mathematical and symbolic expression and creative expression.
The changes would allow LS&A students to broaden their opportunities and give them more flexibility for a well-rounded and interdisciplinary education. “Both are intended to remove curricular impediments to interdisciplinary studies by LS&A students,” said Owen. The proposed changes have been approved by the LS&A Curriculum Committee and will be debated at the next LS&A faculty meeting in February.
Past faculty honored
A resolution honoring those LS&A faculty who have died over the past year was unanimously approved. Those faculty include William Ballis, political science; William Gedney, linguistics; Harold Jacobson, political science; Virginia Kane, history of art; Lee Lillard, economics; Jack McLaughlin, mathematics; William Merhab, romance languages and literatures; John Milholland, psychology; Michael Oksenberg, political science; Kenneth Pike, linguistics; John Reidy, English language and literature; Milton Tamres, chemistry; Robert Taylor, chemistry; and Marcellus Wiedenbeck, physics.