GenEds hold national acclaim

Geary Cox senior photographer JMU President Linwood Rose tells the Board of Visitors Friday about this year's accomplishments and activities.

The General Education programs reached their 10-year anniversary amidst national and international acclaim, according to Linda Cabe Halpern, dean of the GenEd program.

"Forty percent of undergraduate credit hour production at the university is in the General Education program," Halpern said as part of the Education and Student Life committee meeting preceding the Board of Visitors meeting on Friday.

"We work hard to communicate that a broad education is what you do in your life may not relate to your major," Halpern added.

Susan Wheeler, vice president of academic affairs, presented the committee with proposed revisions to the Faculty Handbook. New changes focused on preserving academic freedom for faculty which "arises from the First Amendment — it’s quite unique to colleges and universities," Wheeler said. The freedom allows scholarly research free from constraints.

The committee also heard from Student Body President Tom Culligan, who said that he will introduce recommendations to reform the budgetary process for front-end budgeted groups. Culligan said the forthcoming revisions will be the "largest change in a decade … they will make [the process] more equitable to all groups."

Senior Hunter Hanger, student representative to the board, said that he would concentrate efforts on addressing the need for double-punching on weekends. Hanger also questions the rise in food prices while the value of a punch remained steady. "We are getting less food for the same punch value," he added.

"Is the university fulfilling its obligations to the students?" Hanger asked, noting that the ratio of males to females at JMU this year is 35 to 65 percent. "I have been hearing this concern from a lot of freshman girls: ‘Where are all the guys?’"

The committee also heard concerns from the Faculty Senate. Douglas Zimmerman, speaker of the Faculty Senate, said that the faculty most was concerned with the hiring of one-year professors. Zimmerman said the one-year professors become "temporary workers" who "come in the door looking for [another] job." According to Zimmerman, temporary faculty do not develop curriculum or strengthen programs. "Our goals this year," he added, "are retention of good people and to get the [professor] course load lowered."