Academic Senate Task Force on the General Education Program

Members

Muriel Zimmerman, Chair Writing Program - mzimmer@humanitas.ucsb.edu
Ann Bermingham, History of Art & Architecture - aberming@humanitas.ucsb.edu
Tom Carlson, Religious Studies - tcarlson@humanitas.ucsb.edu
Dale Kunkel, Communication - mailto:kunkel@sscf.ucsb.edu
Carl Gutierrez-Jones, English - carlgj@humanitas.ucsb.edu
Armand Kuris, Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology - kuris@lifesci.ucsb.edu, College of Creative Studies, Associate Provost
Ursula Mahlendorf, Germanic, Slavic and Semitic Studies - mahlendo@humanitas.ucsb.edu, Committee on General Education Chair
Harold Marcuse, History - marcuse@humanitas.ucsb.edu
Claudine Michel, Black Studies - michel@alishaw.ucsb.edu
Allan Stewart-Oaten Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology - stewart@lifesci.ucsb.edu, Committee on Admissions and Enrollment Chair
Roger Wood, Computer Science -wood@cs.ucsb.edu
Walter Yuen, Mechanical and Environmental Engineering - mailto:yuen@engineering.ucsb.edu, Academic Senate Vice Chair

Charge to the General Education Task Force

The General Education Task Force is charged with reviewing the current general education requirement and recommending possible revisions of the requirement subject to approval by the Faculty Legislature. During the review process the Task Force should consult with representatives of the Departments, Programs, Colleges, Administrative Offices, Student Organizations, and Senate Committees who participate in all of the various aspects of the general education program to assure a comprehensive review and consultation process. The Task Force should consider general education in the context of a program that might have some element or elements that all UCSB undergraduate students in the Colleges could share as a common experience. Several of the specific considerations that should be addressed in the process are:

Review of general education programs in other comparable public universities, including AAU universities, to assure that the UCSB general education program meets standards appropriate to the status of the campus and the quality of its students.

The recommendation of Governor Gray Davis for a community service requirement as a degree requirement for all graduates of public Colleges and Universities in California.

The agreement by Chancellor Yang to encourage additional ethnic studies courses within the general education requirement.

I am asking the Task Force to begin its efforts under the leadership of Dr Muriel Zimmerman during the winter quarter of 2000, and to prepare a final report with recommendations after review and consultation with administrative, faculty and student organizations. It is my hope that this report will be received with sufficient time to place it on the agenda for the final 1999-2000 academic year meeting of the Faculty Legislature on June 1, 2000.

I want to thank the outstanding faculty members who have agreed to serve on this important Task Force, and to assure you that you will have the full backing of the Academic Senate offices in providing resources needed to accomplish this task.

Richard J. Watts, Chair
Santa Barbara Division, Academic Senate
November 5, 1999