Faculty Council Pushes Forward with Curricular Review

Administrators still intend to bring curricular review legislation before the full Faculty for a vote by the end of the Spring semester, though two additional Faculty meetings will likely be added to the schedule to meet the May deadline, Dean of the Faculty William C. Kirby told the Faculty Council yesterday.

“With the necessity of really dealing seriously with the reports from the various curricular review committees, the Faculty Council was worried that we would not have enough time,” said Professor of the History of Science Everett I. Mendelsohn, who is a council member.

Mendelsohn said that the additional meetings would be an “ad hoc change” for just this year, not a permanent addition to the calendar.

Kirby told The Crimson that the proposed additional meetings are only one possible solution to ensure that the recommendations are fully discussed and voted on by the end of the year.

“I support the efforts of the council to make sure that there is enough time to discuss the business of the Faculty. This may include the possibility of an additional meeting, but this isn’t yet clear,” Kirby wrote in an e-mail.

Two professors joined the Faculty Council as of yesterday’s meeting.

Kemper Professor of American History James T. Kloppenberg is replacing Professor of African and African American Studies Lawrence D. Bobo, who departed Harvard to assume a teaching position at Stanford University at the beginning of the year.

Rabb Professor of Anthropology Arthur Kleinman takes the place of Cabot Professor of Social Ethics Mahzarin Banaji, who is on leave for the rest of the semester.

The council also discussed Kirby’s annual Letter to the Faculty, which will appear on the Faculty of Arts and Sciences website this afternoon.