Inside Iowa State

December 10, 2004

Senate approves college combination

by Linda Charles

With senate president Sanjeev Agarwal casting the tie-breaking vote, the Faculty Senate on Dec. 7 approved a proposal to combine the colleges of Education and Family and Consumer Sciences.

While the senate overwhelmingly favored the combination of the two colleges, the narrow vote reflected divisions over the proposed name for the new college.

In an unofficial vote before the final vote, senators approved combining the two colleges (60-8, with one abstention). However, in another unofficial vote, more than half (37-31, with one abstention) objected to the proposed name of "Human Sciences" for the new college.

Under the regulations of the Policy for Academic Reorganizations, which went into effect earlier this year, the senate could only approve the proposal "as is" and pass it on to the president or return the proposal to the provost with a recommendation it be revised or rejected.

The senate is expected to include the results of its unofficial votes when it sends the proposal to President Gregory Geoffroy.

Geoffroy and Benjamin Allen, vice president for academic affairs and provost, are meeting with the leadership of the two colleges and the Faculty Senate. Geoffroy will provide his recommendation to the Board of Regents, State of Iowa, next week.

Sen. Ann Marie Fiore, FCS caucus chair, said FCS and Education faculty favored the name of "Human Sciences." She pointed out that a lot of research and opinion-gathering went into deciding on that name.

"'Human Sciences' is a visionary name that takes us from the past and moves us to the future," she said.

Those who objected to the name said "human sciences" is misleading because it implies the social sciences, medical fields and other areas not in the new college. Others said it doesn't capture the essence of the new college.

"It's fine for the faculty in the two colleges to discuss the name, but now it's in a broader forum," said Arnold Van Der Valk, ecology, evolution and organismal biology. "It has an effect beyond the two colleges."

Some senators indicated that even though they favored the merger, they would vote against the proposal because of the name.

Others urged approval of the proposal, saying they doubted another group could come up with a better name or one that pleased everyone. Several said they were satisfied, since the faculty in the two colleges approved the proposed name.

The next senate meeting will begin at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 11, in the Memorial Union Sun Room. The senate is expected to vote on the proposed strategic plan for 2005-2010.

The Faculty Senate narrowly approved a proposal to combine the colleges of Education and Family and Consumer Sciences. While the senate overwhelmingly favored the combination of the two colleges, the narrow vote reflected divisions over the proposed name for the new college. President Gregory Geoffroy is meeting with leaders from the two colleges and the Faculty Senate and will provide his recommendation to the regents next week.