2008 Woodie Awards
Interim director of new Western College Program paves way for changes
Caitlin Varley
Issue date: 8/26/08 Section: Campus
The interim director of the new Western College Program (WCP) at Miami University has been working this summer to get the program ready to be integrated in the College of Arts and Science (CAS) by fall 2009.
Mary Jean Corbett was chosen as interim director of the new program by Karen Schilling, dean of the CAS, in April.
According to Corbett, she will serve as interim director for the next two years and will start recruiting the permanent director in the 2009-10 academic year.
Corbett started recruiting faculty for the program this summer, but she said the process is not yet finished.
According to Corbett, when the new program launches they should have about eight faculty members, pulling from three divisions of the university, while spending at least half of their time working in the Western program.
"I'm very excited about the faculty that we've recruited, all of whom have reputations as excellent teachers and who are really excited about working in an interdisciplinary, interdepartmental, interdivisional program," Corbett said.
Corbett is also overseeing the development of the new curriculum.
According to Corbett, she will start developing the courses and structuring thematic sequences, minors and a major for the program with the faculty this year, working heavily in spring 2009.
"I imagine that (the curriculum) will be interdisciplinary, innovative (and) interesting," Corbett said.
The last thing Corbett is responsible for is recruiting students to the new program.
Corbett said she has talked to a range of people around the university about strategies, including the admissions office, residence life and the CAS.
Corbett said that they still need to recruit students for the new program to live in Peabody Hall, the home of the Western program.
"By the fall of 2009, we will have established a new Living Learning Community at Peabody that will do some new things, but will also incorporate substantial elements of both the Western College Program that was just discontinued and Western College, the college for women that was discontinued in 1974," Corbett said.
Mary Jean Corbett was chosen as interim director of the new program by Karen Schilling, dean of the CAS, in April.
According to Corbett, she will serve as interim director for the next two years and will start recruiting the permanent director in the 2009-10 academic year.
Corbett started recruiting faculty for the program this summer, but she said the process is not yet finished.
According to Corbett, when the new program launches they should have about eight faculty members, pulling from three divisions of the university, while spending at least half of their time working in the Western program.
"I'm very excited about the faculty that we've recruited, all of whom have reputations as excellent teachers and who are really excited about working in an interdisciplinary, interdepartmental, interdivisional program," Corbett said.
Corbett is also overseeing the development of the new curriculum.
According to Corbett, she will start developing the courses and structuring thematic sequences, minors and a major for the program with the faculty this year, working heavily in spring 2009.
"I imagine that (the curriculum) will be interdisciplinary, innovative (and) interesting," Corbett said.
The last thing Corbett is responsible for is recruiting students to the new program.
Corbett said she has talked to a range of people around the university about strategies, including the admissions office, residence life and the CAS.
Corbett said that they still need to recruit students for the new program to live in Peabody Hall, the home of the Western program.
"By the fall of 2009, we will have established a new Living Learning Community at Peabody that will do some new things, but will also incorporate substantial elements of both the Western College Program that was just discontinued and Western College, the college for women that was discontinued in 1974," Corbett said.
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