Several faculty members have accepted administrative positions in McDaniel’s newly established Center for Faculty Excellence. Created with a $200,000 grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Center supports faculty development and new programs in two areas critical to the success of a revised curriculum to begin in fall 2007: The Sophomore Interdisciplinary Studies Colloquium (SIS) and the Junior Writing Experience.

Pamela Regis, professor of English, has been appointed director of the Center for Faculty Excellence. Regis, who has served the College as a leader in a variety of positions and who currently chairs the Curriculum Committee, will establish the Center in its location in Hoover Library, convene the Center’s Advisory Board, coordinate existing faculty development programs, and plan and implement new programs to support the needs of faculty as teachers, scholars and mentors.

Vera Jakoby, associate professor of Philosophy, and Debora Johnson-Ross, Assistant Professor of Political Science, will serve as coordinators of the Sophomore Interdisciplinary Studies Program beginning next fall. As coordinators, they will recruit faculty across departments to participate in the SIS program and help them identify suitable course topics and faculty collaborators. They will plan the SIS program each year and support the logistical work required for implementation, as well as plan annual programs of development, including course design workshops and presentations on interdisciplinary curricula and pedagogy, in conjunction with the Center for Faculty Excellence.  Peter Bradley, Assistant Professor of Philosophy, will serve as interim coordinator for the SIS program this spring.

Suzanne Seibert, senior lecturer in English, has been appointed director of College Writing.  Seibert, who has served the English Department with distinction for more than a decade, will help develop a comprehensive approach to the teaching of writing, support enhancement of opportunities in general education programs (e.g., First Year Seminar, English Composition, and Sophomore Interdisciplinary Studies), and assist departments and faculty in planning and implementing the Junior Writing Experience.

The current process to revamp the curriculum began in 2001 with a $50,000 Officer’s Grant from the Andrew W. Mellon foundation, followed in 2003 with a $48,000 Officer’s Grant that prompted the faculty to examine current course requirements in light of the changing global marketplace. Courses in the new curriculum fall not under subjects or departments, but under categories that describe specific approaches to knowledge: Scientific Inquiry, Quantitative Reasoning, Social, Cultural and Historical Understanding, Textual Analysis, and Creative Expression.