Dear Alumni,

Of the many wonderful, dedicated and knowledgeable members of our faculty, no one has earned more respect than Dr. Jerry Kramer, our associate vice president for Academic Affairs since 1995. Jerry taught English at UST for 23 years and was the department’s chair from 1984 to 1989. The first dean of the School of Arts and Sciences, he served in that position from 1989 to 2006.

Jerry is leading the Core Curriculum Reform Committee (CCRC) to give the core the review and assessment mandated by our accreditation agency, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. I promise to keep you informed about the committee’s progress and assure you that the University of St. Thomas renews its commitment to the values of a Catholic, Basilian institution. I have asked Jerry to give you an update on the progress of the Core Curriculum Reform initiative and encourage you to complete the survey that will be sent to you.

With best wishes,


President Robert Ivany

CORE CURRICULUM REFORM UPDATE


It has been 25 years since the University community conducted a compliance review of our core curriculum. At that time, Fr. William Young, CSB, was president. Fr. J. Michael Miller, CSB, now Archbishop Miller, the committee chair, was an assistant professor of theology, and I, Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs and chair of the current Core Curriculum Reform Committee, was a relatively new member of the English Department.

Like his predecessor, Dr. Robert Ivany initiated an examination of the core curriculum, appointed a committee and gave it a charge. The committee’s mission, he said, is “to develop a model core curriculum based on our unique charisma as a Catholic, Basilian university, keeping in mind the best practices of other selected universities.” Among his broad guidelines the president included following the “guidance in Ex Corde Ecclesiae, which calls for a foundation in theology and philosophy and an interdisciplinary approach in curriculum” and ensuring “flexibility for the development of future academic programs.” Although much has changed in 25 years, Dr. Ivany’s motivation for this extraordinary venture paralleled Fr. Young’s: the good of the students and a serious regard for St. Thomas’ standing with its principal accrediting agency, the Commission on Schools of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

At the outset, the CCRC determined that in its initial phase it would solicit information from a variety of sources, first from Catholic colleges and universities that had recently completed revision of their core curriculum or were in the process of core reform, and then from the UST faculty, junior and senior students and alumni.

The committee received information about Providence College, St. Mary’s College of California, St. Edward’s University, Santa Clara University, the University of Dallas and Villanova University. Following Dr. Ivany’s suggestion, in September and October travel teams consisting of four faculty members each, including some who were not CCRC members, visited the first three institutions on this list. On-site visits afforded opportunities for sustained, in-depth discussions with faculty, administrators and students about organization, curriculum and processes of developing and implementing a program. On return, each travel team produced a written report summarizing its findings and focusing on issues for the CCRC to consider in its upcoming discussions about possible models of a revised core.

Regarding the faculty, the CCRC decided to conduct an extensive, two-part investigation of faculty views on the present core and possible revisions, including how best to align the core with Ex Corde Ecclesiae. Part one would consist of one-on-one interviews by committee members with all full-time faculty members in which they would respond to five questions set by the committee. The interviews took place in October and early November, and while not all faculty members elected to participate, all were invited, and the majority of members were interviewed. Focus group discussions, to which all full-time faculty members were also invited, followed. These sessions gave the faculty an opportunity to talk with their peers about some of the prominent issues that arose in the interviews and helped to extend the committee’s knowledge of faculty views about the core and possible reform.

This segment of phase one culminated at Spring Semester Faculty Study Day, on Jan. 11, when the committee reported back to the faculty in detail the faculty’s views, including the dominant ones that emerged from the interviews and focus groups—a respect for UST traditions in the core curriculum; a desire that the core should be more manageable, allowing for integration and new curricular initiatives; and an insistence that the core offer courses which apply the Catholic intellectual tradition to the issues of our time, engaging in dialogue with the modern world.

Phase two, developing a proposal, will occupy the CCRC during all of spring semester. Initially, there will be an overlap of the first two phases while the committee seeks information from students and alumni, those who have been in the process of experiencing the current core curriculum and those who successfully navigated the core that existed during their student years.

Alumni who earned undergraduate degrees from UST will soon receive information in the mail about a survey. If you have questions about the core curriculum reform, send your question to star@stthom.edu.