First Faculty Meeting Emphasizes Seminars

The Faculty discussed possibly revamping the Freshmen Seminar program and the current dearth of Core classes at yesterday's full Faculty meeting, the first of the year.

Dean of the Faculty Jeremy R. Knowles also introduced his plans for the academic year at the meeting.

Knowles once again emphasized the need for more small-group instruction for first-year students and the importance of increasing the size of the Faculty.

Dean of Undergraduate Education Susan G. Pederson, in her first Faculty meeting as dean, explained the importance of small-group instruction for first-years with tenure track professors.

Only 16.7 percent of first-years took a course with less than 15 students that was taught by a tenure-track Faculty member last year, Pedersen said.

First-years, she emphasized, have been left out of the push for small-group instruction in the concentrations that has been driven by the Educational Policy Committee.

An increase in the number of small classes could be accomplished by Faculty who reaffirm their commitment to teaching in Freshman Seminars.

Pedersen will circulate a memorandum about issues potential first-year seminar changes would raise. The matter will be discussed in greater length at next month's Faculty meeting.

Pedersen also reminded the Faculty of the importance of offering a sufficient number of Core classes each semester.

Pedersen said that she and Knowles are working to reach the goal of 12 courses in each Core area per year, and that they are considering increasing departmental alternatives for the Core areas.

At the meeting, Professor Richard F. Thomas, chair of the classics department, said he was concerned that asking more professors to teach Freshmen seminars and Core classes would result in fewer professors to teach small departmental courses.

Knowles also emphasized his overall goal for the Faculty: increasing its size.

"This is a very important moment of financial stability for the Faculty," he said. "Without focus we could lose an extraordinary opportunity to improve the quality of the institution."

Knowles emphasized that increasing the size of the Faculty would benefit each of the three constituencies of the institution--undergraduates, graduate students and the members of the Faculty themselves.

He said such an increase would allow more senior professors to teach Freshmen seminars, and perhaps provide more opportunities for Faculty leave.

In order to solve the current and predicted space crunch for Faculty, Knowles said the coming year will include a long-term planning process for space needs.

In addition to planned life sciences and physical sciences buildings, planning will focus on the area north of Oxford Street and east of Kirkland Street and undeveloped land in Allston.