December 1, 1994: Vol26n12: Senate discusses role in arts, sciences redesign

By STEVE COX
Reporter Staff
The Faculty Senate examined its role in redesigning the arts and
sciences at UB and indefinitely postponed action on a controversial
mission statement proposal during a meeting last month.
	Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education Nicolas Goodman and
Social Sciences Dean Ross MacKinnon offered the Senators a progress
report on the administrative and curricular reorganization of the arts
and sciences. The discussion roamed from administrative structure to
academic advising to admissions policy and access to major
departments.
	Planning sessions have been ongoing since last year, when the
Triggle Commission Report singled out the arts and sciences as the
unit most in need of restructuring. Others involved in this process
are Arts and Letters Dean Kerry Grant and Natural Sciences and
Mathematics Dean Joseph Tufariello.
	"Basically," Goodman explained, "the three faculties (Social
Sciences, Arts and Letters and Natural Sciences and Mathematics)
function as a single unit of undergraduate education, but as separate
graduate departments." Working together, he continued, the planning
group was able to coordinate the implementation of the university's
new general education requirements.
	MacKinnon said, "While undergraduate education is not what it
could be, it's no disaster." He urged critics to be patient with the
efforts that are under way. "I don't know of any university where all
these things -- research, graduate education, undergraduate education,
academic advisement, work perfectly," MacKinnon said.
athematics Professor Samuel
	Schack urged early implementation of a "democratic" form of
faculty governance of the new arts and sciences unit, saying that
faculty would likely better accept the coming changes if they were
"not imposed from above."
	President Greiner told the Faculty Senators he had listened to
the complete tape of an earlier meeting at which the mission statement
was debated and valued their candid comments.
	"Clearly, some of you felt the document was imperfect,"
Greiner said understatedly. The very next day, Greiner met privately
with members of the Faculty Senate Executive Committee to review a
brand new draft of the mission statement. FSEC members in attendance
report the new draft, tentatively titled "Vision, Mission, Emphases
and Outcomes," was very well received.                  o