Constable Will Seek Reaction to Proposal

Giles Constable, associate professor of History, said last night he was interested in hearing the reaction of professors presently teaching in the General Education program to his suggestion of a modified distribution requirement.

Constable offered his proposal as a possible alternative to the Doty report at last Tuesday's faculty meeting. He stressed last night, however, that he had not devised a firm, detailed plan, but was simply raising the question, "whether the faculty would be receptive to a less tight scheme" than that of the Doty Committee.

Constable's proposal would create a simple distribution requirement: undergraduates would still have to take a certain number of courses outside their own area of concentration. But Gen Ed courses would continue to be offered and could be used to satisfy this requirement. But no one would be forced to take courses specifically designated as "General Education" offerings. Any Physics course, for example, would satisfy a Histor major's Natural Science requirement.

Several Faculty members have approached him "about refining this concept," Constable said, but he does not anticipate working out any plan in detail for at least a month. Since he has not taught any Gen Ed courses himself, Constable said he is anxious to talk with people presently involved in the Gen Ed program before developing his ideas any farther.

It seems unlikely that a final vote will come any earlier than next February. At the Dec. 1 Faculty meeting, Dean Ford plans to call for a straw vote on the desirability of retaining any general education requirement.

Presuming a favorable vote which seems likely, the Faculty will then have to decide what form such a requirement should take.