By Anna Hansen
Following growing concerns regarding program cuts, Edgewood College faculty met Sept. 23 to discuss a way forward.
Among proposed changes: general education courses would be reconfigured to account for the budget issues the college is facing.
That would mean combining single credit courses into multiple credit courses, which would shrink the number of general education courses while still offering necessary credits, according to Christopher Dunham of the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee (UCC) and assistant professor of theater design and technology,
In addition, the Faculty Association heard a proposal from the UCC that Edgewood bump up the maximum amount of yearly credits available for full-time students from 34 to 38, giving students the option to add more courses to their schedule under full-time tuition without paying extra.
History Department representatives Professor and Chair Jinxing Chen and Professor Andrew Witt challenged department cuts that would include cutting two majors: History and Social Studies.
Chen said at this time, the department “cannot accept the recommendation to eliminate the History major.” The department accepted the elimination of the social studies major, however.
“We can’t have an Edgewood College without a History major,” Associate English Professor Ashley Byock said. “It just doesn’t make sense.”
As money and budgeting are primary concerns when considering program and major cuts, Chen said the history department is “one of the least expensive programs on campus.”
He said that in the department, “the net revenue generated per faculty person is perhaps one of the highest among Edgewood faculty leaders.”
Chen also listed college mission relevance as a reason behind the department’s opposition to proposed elimination of the major.
“History is not a small thing,” he said. “This subject was and still is central to the Dominican mission “History is a content area in Edgewood curriculum that can be traced back to the very beginning of its formation over 90 years ago.”
Faculty expressed concern about the proposed gen-ed changes.
“In a time when we are looking to reduce gen ed, we are constantly turning away from expertise in our courses,” Lisa King, associate professor of philosophy and co-director of women’s and gender studies, said.
Dunham assured King that expertise would continue to be a priority in course instruction.
Dunham said that he thinks the proposed changes to the maximum credits available will be “a great chance for us to do something to help out our students,” referring to the average 10 students per year who request extra credits through their advisors.
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