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Eight new faculty positions have been awarded to five academic departments in the first round of hires made possible by Project SLU 2000.
Positions were awarded to the departments of earth and atmospheric sciences, mathematics and mathematical computer science, biology (two positions to begin in fall 2001), modern and classical languages (two positions) and philosophy (two positions).
The hiring of new faculty is one of the seven major academic goals of Project SLU 2000. "I appreciate the work that all of the departments did in preparing proposals for SLU 2000 faculty positions, especially in light of the very short turnaround time permitted for this first application period," said Provost Sandra Johnson. "Several of the departments receiving these initial awards were able to take advantage of programming they already had developed by greatly expanding the number of students that could participate, by linking the courses to co-curricular activities, or by enhancing the pedagogy used in the classes."
Project SLU 2000 still has 24 more faculty positions available, and proposals will be solicited again for submission in late March.
"Decisions on those proposals will be made soon thereafter, giving the departments a full year for recruiting the new faculty members," Johnson said.
Johnson said the work of a review committee, consisting of eight faculty members, two students and an external reviewer, was invaluable. "They were very careful in their attention to the goals of SLU2000 and in their reading of the proposals," she said. "Their evaluations were quite helpful. Because of the work of the review committee, I will also be able to provide an evaluation for the departments that submitted proposals that were not funded at this time."
Sixteen departments applied and requested 27 new positions.
A working committee had established the criteria for the initiative. The members of the working committee were Dean Shirley Dowdy, Dean Chuck Kirkpatrick, SGA President Jay Perry, Dean Neil Seitz, Associate Provost Janet Laney and Dr. Dennis Wacker. Provost Sandra Johnson chaired the committee. The criteria had been distributed for review and comment to several groups, including the Faculty Senate Academic Affairs Committee and departmental chairs in the schools and colleges offering undergraduate programs, and then to the entire faculty. The committee revised the criteria based on comments received during this process.
Proposals for the new faculty hires were reviewed by a committee consisting of Drs. Irene Schulze (chair), Dennis Wacker, Muhammad Islam, Gregory Comer, Kathleen Hoover, Karla Scott, Joy Short and Lewis Perry and students Meghan Clune and Mark Pitlyk. David Buchholdt, the academic vice president at Marquette University, was the external reviewer.
Essential criteria for awarding the new positions required departments to create small classes with enhanced pedagogy and expanded opportunities for student-faculty interaction and mentoring. The department commitment included offering at least three to four "inquiry courses," which would be small classes providing an "in-depth and focused exploration" of the subject and dealing with topics that "stimulate and challenge intellectual horizons and allow for learning for active inquiry and problem solving in a collaborative environment." The criteria also required that departments put into place a program of concrete opportunities for student-faculty interaction. These opportunities could be co-curricular or extra-curricular. Finally, the department had to demonstrate a department-wide commitment to enhancing the educational experience of freshmen and sophomores. The involvement of senior faculty in teaching the courses was critical. A departmental record of commitment to educational enhancement for freshmen and sophomores also was a substantial advantage in this first round of awards.
"We are thrilled to be awarded these positions,"said Dr. Bob Bolla, chair of the biology department. "Our whole proposal was to put an organization to our undergraduate research track and to improve the involvement in research by undergraduates. We want to involve undergraduate biology majors in research within their first year here. So by the end of their sophomore year these students can really contribute to the research efforts of the faculty. This is not going to be an easy program. It's going to involve a great commitment on the part of students."
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