PCAR Submits Final Report to President

After 11 months of evaluating academic programs, the Presidential Committee on Academic Renewal submitted its report to Howard University President Sidney A. Ribeau.  Among their recommendations are proposals to create two new Bachelor of Arts majors, make freshmen orientation more uniform across campus, merge several degree programs, and phase out seven graduate degree programs.

The second town hall meeting of the school year to present the committee's final report was ended early due to the absence of students. However, the committee's 151-paged final executive report can be located on their official site.

In spite of the low turnout at the town hall meeting, PCAR chairman and Provost Dr. Alvin Thornton remained upbeat about meeting the committee's deadline to submit their findings to the president's office on Sept. 1.  The president's office will then draft a report for the board of trustees.

            "I feel very good about the transparency of the process," Thornton said. "We've given the president and our academic leaders a very good a document to use to make basic decisions about the future direction of Howard University."

According to PCAR's official website, presidential town meetings will be held from Sept. 8 to Sept. 15 to gather more recommendations from faculty and students before the president submits his final report to the board of trustees on September 24, 2010.

"This is the critical point right here; this is when decisions are about to be made," Thornton said in an interview with The Hilltop, "Now's the time to take an interest and engage with us in this process."

Among the recommendations is a proposal to create a degree program that student and faculty demanded in the past.

The Hilltop previously reported in 1997 the efforts of students to create an international relations major at the university.  Thirteen years would pass before the creation of a major concentrating on global affairs became a greater possibility.

Thornton said that the proposed International Comparative and Area (ICA) Studies program would utilize courses in African studies and political science and study aboard programs to help create a new, distinct academic program.

In addition to the new international affairs major, PCAR's recommendations include creating an Africana Studies degree program on B.A., MA, and Ph.D. levels.

            "Obviously, Howard is the leader - must be even more of a leader, when it comes to the African Diaspora and the continent of the Diaspora," Thornton said, "That's clearly what we must lead in because of what we are."

The Afro-American Studies program would be "restructured within this new program with dedicated faculty."

The two new majors will be accompanied by the merger or consolidation of several degree programs in the colleges of Arts and Sciences, Engineering, Architecture and Computer Science.  

In COAS, one of the recommended consolidations includes the undergraduate African studies degree program. The PCAR report cites "low student enrollment" as one of the reason the program should improve the program or work to create linkages with the possible ICA program.

The Undergraduate Working Group recommended that architecture faculty "develop a strategic plan for either (1) remaining in CEACS with a more computational focus or (2) moving to Division of Fine Arts with more focus on design."

The commissioners of the undergraduate team recommended that three majors in COAS be incorporated into existing School of Business majors.

Fashion merchandising would be incorporated into marketing because "students in this program take many courses in Marketing (and vice versa)."  The hospitality and sports management programs would be included in the School of Business's management program.

The PCAR report recommends a five year deadline for the art history and philosophy faculty members to strengthen their departments. The Work Group's report reads that the former department needs to be "revitalized" and the latter department "suffers from low enrollment and few options for sustainability with status quo." 

The Undergraduate Work Group also recommended that the philosophy department be consolidated with the classical civilization major with an additional religious studies division.

At the graduate level, the mass communications and culture and communications concentrations would be merged to "enhance" both programs.

Dr. Joan Payne, a professor of communication sciences and disorders, said, "The faculty recommended that these two areas merge to make a very strong program."

Payne, also a commissioner for the Graduate Education Working Group, said the merger exemplified why PCAR was launched.

"It makes sense and it's exactly the kind of thing we were in charge to look at," Payne said, adding, "That is to bring people together in interdisciplinary clusters, making the most of our resources, and providing the highest level of education."

While some degree programs will be consolidated, the College of Pharmacy, Nursing, and Allied Health will be divided into three separate colleges. The new college for Allied Health would be renamed the College of Health Professionals.