Formation of General Education Reform Committee

Dear Colleagues,

I am pleased to announce the formation of the General Education Reform Committee. This committee will review the university's current general education program and draft a proposal for a new general education curriculum. Tom Fischer, associate professor, psychology, and Monica Brockmeyer, associate provost for student success, will serve as co-chairs. Additionally, I want to thank the following individuals for agreeing to serve on this committee:

William Volz, professor, accounting
Lisa Alexander, associate professor, Africana studies
Dan Isaksen, associate department chair and professor, mathematics
Sandra Gonzales, assistant professor, bilingual/bicultural education
Larry Lemke, associate professor, geology
Loraleigh Keashly, associate professor, communication
Heather Lai, lecturer, biomedical engineering
Jeffrey Potoff, professor, chemical engineering
Jeff Pruchnic, associate professor, English

Wayne State continues to pursue a mission that can be summarized in two words: opportunity and excellence. We realize this mission within a context of community engagement, recognizing our urban location and commitment to the creation of knowledge as a research intensive university.

General education is the entry point to the university for the majority of our students. It represents the academic core of the curriculum that serves to connect first college experiences to graduation. The central importance of general education to student success requires us to ensure that general education is both well-intentioned and well-executed, and that it reflects best practices on how to accomplish our mission within the challenges of a changing academic and economic landscape.

The work of the reform committee, along with the general education curriculum that it formulates, should foster and advance the mission and goals of the university. The new curriculum should also reflect best practices and contemporary thought about how to achieve our mission and goals in the 21st century. In addition, the curriculum should:

  • Reflect the changing demographics of the United States, the region and international populations aspiring to college degrees
  • Support increased bachelor's degree attainment
  • Reflect the need to accommodate the transfer of students from other institutions
  • Support the majors in providing students ready to meet both the civic and workforce demands of a rapidly changing and diverse society
  • Enable and support participation in undergraduate research opportunities, internships, learning communities and/or other high-impact learning experiences
  • Accommodate an honors curriculum while promoting excellence for all
  • Support assessment and the accreditation process and be feasible within current and anticipated university resources
  • To achieve these goals, the committee will proceed with the following formal stages: Start the review, agree on major parameters, determine learning goals and outcomes, and design curricular structure. I have asked the committee to present a draft proposal this fall.

    The committee is dedicated to working through this process as an ongoing dialogue with faculty, staff and students. It will be meeting with many campus stakeholder groups and collecting input through a variety of mechanisms. A website detailing their process and progress will be available soon. Members of the campus community can also provide input by sending an email to

    EngagingGenEd@wayne.edu.

    Sincerely,

    Margaret E. Winters
    Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs

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