09-13-94 OAA Lists 1994-95 Priorities

PROVOST OUTLINES 23 ACADEMIC PRIORITIES FOR 1994-95
 
     COLUMBUS -- Ohio State University Provost Richard Sisson has
outlined 23 academic priorities for the coming academic year,
which officially begins with the first day of autumn quarter
classes, Sept. 21.
 
     The priorities are clustered in three areas: academic
enrichment, quality and economy, and long-term academic
organization and planning.
 
     One of the academic enrichment priorities calls for changes
to rules for faculty promotion and tenure, Sisson said.
 
     A committee last year examined the policies and processes
used to reward faculty.  Its proposal "essentially overhauls the
promotion and tenure system," said Nancy Rudd, vice provost.  The
new rules would clarify standards and standardize procedures, she
said.
 
     Because the changes are in the form of faculty rules, they
will have to be approved by various governing bodies, up to and
including the Board of Trustees, Rudd said.  Taking the rules
through the governance process ensures that many people will have
a chance to discuss the changes, and "ensures the stamp of
approval," she said.
 
     Another priority, affirmative action, "is essential this
year," Sisson said.
 
     Rudd said that affirmative action plans from individual
units have been approved by the Office of Human Resources.  Now,
in collaboration with Academic Affairs, Human Resources will draw
up a campuswide plan "not so much focused on hiring goals and
availability pools, but on broad philosophical goals for the next
three years," she said.  The plan also would include how to
evaluate its success and ways to make updates quickly if
necessary.
 
     Academic enrichment also includes investing in promising
research programs.  The university will continue to seek external
funding for molecular life sciences, and begin to strengthen
applied social and public policy studies, said Sisson and Edward
Hayes, vice president for research.
 
     The offices of Academic Affairs and Research will continue
"defining other thrust areas in which we feel the University can
invest its resources for long-term capital gains rather than
quick cash," Sisson said.
 
     "The challenge is to find areas where there is congruence
between academic offerings, our priorities, opportunities for
external funding, and the highest level of scholarship -- and to
do it in the context of the University's long-range planning,"
Hayes said.
 
     University concentration will be not only on research but on
the student, Sisson pledged.  "Next year, we may look back on
this as the Year of the Student," he said.  Efforts include the
Taskforce on the Undergraduate Student Experience study.
 
     Another initiative involves advances in teaching technology.
Ohio State's use of computers and CD-ROM in classrooms is
blossoming, said Robert Arnold, vice provost.
 
     Included is a new Emerging Technology Studio in the College
of the Arts, which "should have considerable impact throughout
the University, just as the Advanced Computing Center for the
Arts and Design has had an impact on the College of Medicine's
use of virtual reality (to teach surgical techniques)."
 
     Also, the Department of Statistics is creating a
computerized encyclopedia of statistical situations for students
majoring in different areas. An art student or a business major
can select a tutorial that matches his or her interest, Arnold
said.
 
     In the College of Humanities, he noted, language faculty
have created a computer program using CD-ROM that guides students
through environmental situations, such as what phrases to use
when shopping.
 
                                #
 
 Contact: Richard Sisson, senior vice president for academic
affairs and provost, (614) 292-8424


[Submitted by: REIDV  (reidv@ccgate.ucomm.ohio-state.edu)
               
Wed, 14 Sep 1994 08:19:09 -0500 (EST)]
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