CSU Faculty Voice: Our new "General Studies" degree program

Friday, September 23, 2011

Our new "General Studies" degree program

Based on a perusal of the potential courses in our newly mandated "General Studies" program (I assume that those things listed under the four main categories are courses since as a faculty member, I had no input on the design of this program), I think some important topics are being ignored in that new "more marketable" curriculum. I offer the following humble suggestions: 1) Gravity: Truth or Fiction? 2) The Alien Influence in World History. 3) The Earth or the Sun, Which is Really the Center of the Universe (remember Ptolemy)? 4)Where is Elvis Now, Really?

These suggestions are, of course, not fully thought out, and I'm sure that there are other topics worthy of inclusion in any curriculum that includes a course on "flat earth" implications. An obvious companion to any flat earth course would be a discussion of "hollow earth" implications. Honestly, I would like to know which faculty members participated in the creation of this curriculum, and when these courses received approval from the curriculum committee.

2 comments:

R. BennySep 26, 2011, 12:42:00 PM
Well-read people might catch the allusion to Thomas Friedman's "The Earth is Flat" given the context...
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Robert BionazSep 28, 2011, 6:10:00 PM
Well-read people might catch the irony given the context . . .
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Thanks to Haki Madhabuti

"1. He/she must be a scholar of national note, with significant peer review publications and books in his or her field. There must be no doubt as to his/her standing in the community of scholars. This would also include a history of the candidate’s participation in the appropriate professional organizations.

2. He/she must have served with distinction as the administrative head of a major unit within an institution of higher learning or at the important position of Provost and/or Dean. Of course, prior service at the presidential level is preferred.

3. He/she must have a documented history of raising significant monies from the private and public sectors. At most major and research one universities it is not unusual to expect the president to come with a plan to raise in excess of half a billion dollars or more in the first few years.

4. The prospective president must have a consensus buy-in from the faculty, students, administration and staff, therefore, arriving with a unity mandate to lead by joining a University community that has bought into his or her vision for the future."

From an open letter to the CSU Community, 2009.