Faculty Council Moves Closer to Joint Ph.D.

The government and sociology departments are inching closer to their goal of offering a joint Ph.D. program in social policy.

Originally presented to the Faculty Council January 6, the proposal underwent some revisions following the council's discussion. The revised language, which was approved at the following council meeting, two weeks later, would authorize a standing committee to run the newly established program.

The proposed program would bridge the current offerings in the government and sociology departments by creating a program that examines social policy.

Graduate students enrolled in the program will be required to complete all the requirements for sociology or government plus additional social policy requirements.

The standing committee would oversee the administration of two new degrees: one in government and social policy and the other in sociology and social policy.

The final discussion of the program is still pending the submission of financial information from Administrative Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Margot N. Gill. Following council approval, the full Faculty is scheduled to take up the issue at its meeting in March. The program would begin to admit students this fall.

The Faculty Council also approved the joint proposal of Professor of Psychology Stephen M. Kosslyn and Cabot Professor of the Natural Sciences John E. Dowling '57. The proposal will rename the Standing Committee on Neuroscience to the Standing Committee on Mind, Brain and Behavior (MBB).

The change comes as a result of the increased scope of topics in the field, and is designed to more accurately characterize the work being done in the area.

The original standing committee was set up to do neuroscience. As it came to include [MBB], it got broader, [and] other

people got involved," Kosslyn said. "We decidedto have the name reflect that broader scope."

The effect of the change on students should benon-existent.

"I don't think the children will see muchchange," Dowling said.

It is hoped that the new name will result innew tracks being offered through other departmentsthat had been scared off by the natural sciencefocus of the original standing committee.

"[We] hope people outside of the naturalsciences will feel more comfortable inparticipating in the program," Dowling said."We're hoping that we see more tracks developwithin departments, especially anthropology,neurophilosophy in the philosophy department,neurolinguistics in the linguistics department."

"Down the road we would see a number of otherdepartments providing opportunities for studentsto focus their attention on brain sciences," hesaid.

When the neuroscience track was formed in 1991to advise students on opportunities in brainsciences, tracks were offered in just twodepartments: psychology and biology.

In 1992 an inter-Faculty initiative on MBB wasstarted which brought together people from allfaculties interested broadly in the field, and,Dowling said, "interested much more broadly thanhad originally been contemplated" by the StandingCommittee on Neuroscience.

Four departments--psychology, biology, computerscience and history of science--will offer MBBtracks, under the new standing committee.

The name change proposal will be presented tothe full Faculty at its February meeting.

The Faculty Council itself will be littlechanged for the spring term. Werner Sollors, CabotProfessor of English Literature and Afro-AmericanStudies, will take the place of Christie McDonald,professor of Romance Languages and Literature, atthe request of Dean of the Faculty of Arts andSciences Jeremy R. Knowles.

Of his role on the Faculty Council, Sollorssaid, "I have to learn my ropes to tell you thetruth, but there is no particular political agendathat I come in supporting. I'm just interested insitting in on the discussions.

people got involved," Kosslyn said. "We decidedto have the name reflect that broader scope."

The effect of the change on students should benon-existent.

"I don't think the children will see muchchange," Dowling said.

It is hoped that the new name will result innew tracks being offered through other departmentsthat had been scared off by the natural sciencefocus of the original standing committee.

"[We] hope people outside of the naturalsciences will feel more comfortable inparticipating in the program," Dowling said."We're hoping that we see more tracks developwithin departments, especially anthropology,neurophilosophy in the philosophy department,neurolinguistics in the linguistics department."

"Down the road we would see a number of otherdepartments providing opportunities for studentsto focus their attention on brain sciences," hesaid.

When the neuroscience track was formed in 1991to advise students on opportunities in brainsciences, tracks were offered in just twodepartments: psychology and biology.

In 1992 an inter-Faculty initiative on MBB wasstarted which brought together people from allfaculties interested broadly in the field, and,Dowling said, "interested much more broadly thanhad originally been contemplated" by the StandingCommittee on Neuroscience.

Four departments--psychology, biology, computerscience and history of science--will offer MBBtracks, under the new standing committee.

The name change proposal will be presented tothe full Faculty at its February meeting.

The Faculty Council itself will be littlechanged for the spring term. Werner Sollors, CabotProfessor of English Literature and Afro-AmericanStudies, will take the place of Christie McDonald,professor of Romance Languages and Literature, atthe request of Dean of the Faculty of Arts andSciences Jeremy R. Knowles.

Of his role on the Faculty Council, Sollorssaid, "I have to learn my ropes to tell you thetruth, but there is no particular political agendathat I come in supporting. I'm just interested insitting in on the discussions.