Vol. 38, No. 18

2-16-2006
By: Joni Bentz Seal

Arts and Sciences: The heart of the university

No Valentines necessary, but perhaps a congratulatory card for the Colleges of the Arts and Sciences - the academic heart of the university - is in order.

Combined, the five colleges - Arts, Biological Sciences, Humanities, Mathematical and Physical Sciences, and Social and Behavioral Sciences - account for 60 percent of the credit hours taught at Ohio State, half of the undergraduate and doctoral degrees and a quarter of the master's degrees granted each year. The arts and sciences colleges, or ASC, are well on their way to achieving the goals set forth nearly three years ago when the separate colleges were officially combined to enhance collaboration, elevate the core's stature and promote efficiencies.

Under the leadership of Executive Dean Jacqueline Royster, the ASC has enhanced interdisciplinary study, encouraged study-abroad opportunities for students and strengthened academic advising and other intercollege functions.

"As the academic core, we're working to reinforce our role as a vital and vibrant asset for Ohio State," Royster said. "The changes we're making and the infrastructure we're laying for collaboration and partnership will not only benefit us, but the university and constituencies well beyond our campus borders."

Highlights of the recent results include the thriving Freshman Seminars program. The weekly one-to-two hour course offerings have nearly doubled since the program's inception in 2003, requiring the hiring of a dedicated program director. Another example is the creation of several new interdisciplinary majors, such as Film Studies and Middle Childhood Education, and minors like Neuroscience, Legal Foundations of Society, Forensic Sciences and Media Production and Analysis, all involving faculty across departmental and college lines.

"Through their collaboration on such programs, faculty are whetting the appetites of our students to think and learn 'outside the box'," Royster said. "We've always had faculty interested in crossing disciplines, but that connection occurred more often person to person or sometimes program to program. We now have a more formal structure dedicated to enabling and supporting this type of work."

Among Royster's top priorities is bringing visibility to and strengthening international opportunities for students and faculty, starting with the university's International Studies Program, now in its 60th year.

ASC students account for 60 percent of those who study abroad. Royster's goal is to maximize academic and research partnerships, not only internally with offices like International Affairs and International Education, but internationally through academic institutions and other agencies.

Two examples of exciting partnerships for faculty research are the Large Binocular Telescope, a collaboration between the astronomy department and institutions in Germany, Italy and the United States, and Professor Dick Sayre's Cassava research with partners in the UK, Columbia, Nigeria and Switzerland.

"If we foster global partnerships; if our students constitute the lion's share of the students traveling abroad; if we are home to all the languages; and if we have some of the best technology in the nation for the delivery of cultural exchange, then the arts and sciences core is essential to the university's agenda to globalize," Royster said.

Also a priority is improving the quality of academic services to the ASC colleges and students, such as advising and instructional technology.

With advising, a central goal is to strengthen the interface between advising staffs for the General Education Curriculum and majors to foster better communication and provide students with a seamless transition between the two.

Technology has been very challenging, Royster said, because its uses across the colleges are distinctive. "Artists don't always do things like scientists. We need to ensure core systems and processes are accessible and beneficial to all," she said.

And the cost savings from all this streamlining? "We're effectively and efficiently redeploying common funds in support of common initiatives," Royster said. "We've amplified our ability to deliver high-quality services without escalating costs. We've developed ways to enhance our capacity to hire and retain faculty. Still, challenges remain and we must continue to use resources well."

To see more of the changes in the arts and sciences, visit the newly redesigned Web site, http://artsandsciences.osu.edu.

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