Open Forums Set for First-Year Review of Fulbright College Curriculum

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Interim Dean William A. Schwab has appointed a committee chaired by David Jolliffe, the Brown Chair in English Literacy, to undertake a three-year review of the core curriculum in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Arkansas.

“The review should be transparent, thoughtful and thorough,” said Schwab. “We want to ensure that faculty, students, staff and other important constituencies of the university feel they are part of the dialogue that will inform the committee’s recommendations.”

During the first year, Jolliffe said the committee will solicit views about the current core from faculty, staff, students and alumni and gather insights into how other institutions have revised and redefined their core curriculums. In the second year, members will examine how the existing college core is accomplishing its mission, and in year three, they will begin plans to implement the revised core on campus.

“Our overarching goal for the first year,” said Jolliffe, “is to produce a mission and vision statement for the Fulbright core courses along with a set of guiding principles for revising it.”

The first forum is scheduled Nov. 13 from 3:30 to 5 p.m. in Room 535 of the J.B. Hunt Transport Services Center for Academic Excellence.

On Dec. 2, Dale Brashers, professor of communication at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, will visit from 10 to 11:30 a.m. in Arkansas Union 509.

On Dec. 3, Leslie Schiff, professor of microbiology at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, will visit campus from 2 to 3:30 p.m. in Arkansas Union 511. Both Brashers and Schiff are chairs of the general education committees at their universities.

All interested faculty, staff and students are welcome to attend. To learn more, go to https://sharepoint.uark.edu/sites/ARSC/CRC/