Farrington charges curriculum committees

Engineering School Dean Gregory Farrington took the first step in bringing technology into the academic careers of all University students last month, charging the first of three committees which will review Engineering curriculum. The committee will be responsible for defining what is necessary for non-Engineering students to know in order to function effectively in a technological society, Farrington said. The committee, which is made up of several Engineering professors, will also look at how to give graduate and undergraduate Engineering students an education which will equip them for international technological experience. Electrical Engineering professor and committee head Dwight Jaggard said this week that the committee "is going to look at two major areas, the first one being the relationship of technology and applied science between the school of Engineering and the rest of the University. The second topic will be the internationalization of SEAS." The first task of the committee is to determine the best way to create a "technologically literate community" throughout the rest of the Universtity, said committee member Shirley Aderman, assistant to the dean for academic administration. Farrington explained that he feels it is important to educate not only the scientists and engineers about modern technology, but also the entire voting public who make the decisions in everyday life. Farrington said he believes that courses that accomplish this goal do not exist at the University and that "this is not necessarily accomplished by freshman Chemistry, Biology, or Astronomy." Without these type of courses, "a liberal education is not liberal, it's narrow," Farrington said. Noting the University's efforts to give Engineering students a well-rounded education, Farrington asked "Why should mechanical engineers take English literature and not the opposite?" The second task of Jaggard's committee will be to determine how to restructure the Engineering curriculum so students will qualify for international experience in technology. Farrington said the current structure of the Engineering curriculum makes it difficult for students to take a semester or a year off to study abroad. The committee will consider the merits of reinstituting a foreign language requirement, which Farrington said would involve mastering a "language for living, not literature." The second part of the discussion on internationalization will focus on options for student experience abroad. Farrington said the committee would look at "what kind of international experience would give the highest value to the student." When he charged the committee last month, Farrington challenged the members to do more than just sit in a room for a year and listen to one another, but to go out into the University and talk to students and faculty. He also suggested that they travel to other universities and see what works and what does not. Management and Technology senior Eric Eisenstein will sit on the committee to offer a student's perspective on what he and other SEAS students feel is important to reworking the Engineering curriculum. Farrington said he will charge two more committees to study the school's curriculum later this week.

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