University of Notre Dame - Dome Yearbook (Notre Dame, IN)

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ACADEMICS: Development outside the classroom. Two of the most important developments in aca- demics at Notre Dame in 1968 occurred outside the classroom. The birth of both the Free University and the Faculty Senate can lead to remarkable ad- vances in the university ' s academic life, giving greater responsibility to the two most important components of the educational process, the student and the teacher. Started during the first semester, the Free University was successful enough to merit an in- crease in courses offered from six to sixteen, tripling enrollment to 525 students. Cooking and Bar- tending pr oved to be so popular that the waiting list far outnumbered the participants. Four of the courses offered in the first semester were continued in the second semester, including Mr. Peter Michelson ' s media course, which centered on discussions of the current movements within the underground cinema and news media, and a course in mysticism conducted by Professor Ken Lux of the Indiana University Extension department of psychology. The Marxism course offered jointly by Professors Bogle and Soens was a continuation of the contemporary revolutionary theory course offered during the first semester. At meetings held in Professor Bogle ' s home, the discussions centered on the classic Marxist doctrine and its relevance and use by modern revolutionaries. A seminar in recent American radicalism was one of the courses that debuted during the second semester. Under the direction of Lenny Joyce, the discussions followed whatever direction the mem- bers chose, with the concepts underlying such move- ments and leaders as Black Power, the New Left, Malcolm X, C. Wright Mills, and Che Guevara as a basis. Other new courses involved the stock market, an introduction to the market ' s operation offered by a representative of Bache and Co., and contemporary education, an examination of the trends of modern education with an emphasis on the university level, offered by Professor Hassenger. The courses of the Free University were offered without either grades or credit. This fresh approach to education creates a more intimate participation by the individual in his education, placing the responsibility for adequate preparation and partici- pation squarely with the student. The best descrip- tion of the Free University can be found in its catalog for the spring semester. The Free Uni- versity exists to create an atmosphere in which students, by setting up their own courses outside the curriculum, may learn to accept responsibility for gaining the knowledge relevant to their personal 23

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roles in contemporary societ y, and to develop in- dividual sets of values with which to assess their growth as human beings. The Free University can open new areas for study which have been avoided by university curric- ulum. By retaining the small and informal seminar format used thus far, the Free University can be an excellent complement to the regular curriculum. Rivaling the creation of the Free University in importance to the academic community of the uni- versity in 1968 was the birth of the Faculty Senate. The Senate is divided into three standing com- mittees, Faculty Affairs, the Administration of the University, and Student Affairs, with each Senate member being assigned to one of these committees by the Chairman of the Senate, Professor Edward J. Murphy of the Law School. The Executive Com- mittee, composed of the chairman, vice-chairman, secretary, and treasurer of the Senate and the chairmen of the three standing committees, is re- sponsible for the administration of its activities. Designed primarily as a means of expressing faculty opinion on the important academic m atters of the university, the function of the Faculty Senate is primarily evaluation and recommendation. At the first meeting Father Hesburgh outlined some of the areas that might be examined by the Senate. These included such areas as faculty-student relations, the grading system, the academic calen- dar, the freshman year program, the foreign study programs, and the co-ex program. Professor Mur- phy emphasized that, the Faculty Senate is fully autonomous from the administration, and we are free to consider those areas that we feel are most important. The administration does hope that they will not become bogged down in money matters. Two areas are already under Senate considera- tion. The first of these is the academic calendar, with the feasibility of adapting a trimester calendar being examined. The other is the cut system, long under fire from both students and faculty. In the past the students have acted without any unity or planning whenever they approached the administration with a proposal, observed Professor Murphy. The recent General Assembly of Students is a vast improvement, and it will cause the ad- ministration to stop and listen to what the stu- dents have to say. The Senate has acted similarly for the faculty. With a year of work behind it, the Faculty Senate will get stronger and more efficient. Already many of the areas suggested have been closely examined, the co-ex program and the grading system in par- ticular. Added to the greater student respon- sibility, concluded Professor Murphy, the Faculty Senate can lead to academic excellence. To reinforce his prophecy one need only have attended the Sen- ate ' s third meeting it was picketed by Lenny Joyce. That indicates a vast potential for the Senate. The General Assembly of Students caused the Administration to stop and listen to the students; the Senate has acted similarly for the faculty. 25