KU deans air views on requirement
School of Education drops Western Civ
By ANN MORITZ Kansan Staff Writer
The Western Civilization requirement in the School of Education has been abolished, said Dale P. Scannell, dean of the school. The measure will become effective immediately.
The faculty of the School of Education met recently and voted to drop the requirement after nearly six weeks of subcommittee work, Scannell said.
Faculty members and many students in the school have expressed a concern about the requirement for some time, Scannell said. The administrative committee of the school appointed a subcommittee early in January to study the role of the Western Civilization program in the School of Education, he said. In early March the recommendation was made to the faculty to delete the requirement.
The school still requires at least 12 hours of course work in social studies, languages and the humanities. In light of the remaining requirements and what is important to an education of present day teachers, the requirement has been abolished, Scannell said.
Deans and administrators of the other schools and the College have since been interviewed about their feelings concerning the Western Civilization program in their departments.
In the School of Architecture and Urban Design, the Western Civilization program has traditionally never been a part of the curriculum, said Charles Kahn, dean of the school. It is one of the two schools on campus where students may begin as freshmen, he said. Most other schools admit students after they have filled the College requirements, including Western Civilization.
Kahn said there are many courses of study that would be of value to students in the school, including Western Civilization,
but the courses most pertinent to architecture and urban design must be considered first.
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The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences offers the program to the campus and requires it for graduation in the school.
George Waggoner, dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, predicted that the requirement would not be abolished in the near future in the College. In a meeting later this spring, Waggoner said there would be a thorough discussion of all the requirements of the College.
There is no Western Civilization requirement in the School of Fine Arts. Thomas Gorton, dean of the school, does not foresee the addition of the requirement.
Of all the degrees in the School of Engineering, eight do not require the Western Civilization program and two degrees do, said William Smith, dean of the school. In the department of chemical and petroleum engineering, the program is required, Smith said. He said many of the faculty in the department have been interested in the program and some have taught in Western Civilization discussion sessions.
In order to give students as much choice as possible in engineering courses, requiring courses in Western Civilization would only further limit the student's choice of electives, Smith said.
The School of Journalism has always maintained the requirements of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, said Lee Young, acting dean of the school. Students must have filled these requirements before they may enter the School of Journalism after their sophomore year. Western Civilization is one of the requirements.
Serious discussion has occurred in faculty meetings about the requirement, Young said. The topic came up again for debate in a faculty meeting last fall, he said, and will be discussed again this spring. Young said that he could not speculate on the future of the requirement in the school but that a number of the faculty
have differing opinions on the matter.
The School of Pharmacy will accept credits in Western Civilization to fill the 16 semester hour requirement in the humanities and social sciences, said Howard Mossberg, dean of the school. The program itself is only an elective.
Welfare has been expressed by the students, said Arthur Katz, dean of the school. There have been discussions in faculty meetings, but not of a dissentive form, he said.
No desire to change the requirement in the School of Social
The school requires Western Civilization I and II but not the comprehensive examination, Katz said. Students spend their first two years in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
Mossberg said that 75 per cent of the students in the School of Pharmacy do not come from the University of Kansas. It would not be fair to ask the students from other universities and colleges to drop back and take a sophomore requirement when they have already filled their humanities and social studies requirements, he said.
Studies in social welfare should include an understanding of Western Civilization, Katz said. The content of the program is valuable and it is a critical part of the background that students will need for the work they will do, he said.
Students in the School of Business may take both the Western
Civilization courses and the comprehensive, and count them toward filling requirements for the school, said Arnold Knapper, chairman of the undergraduate affairs committee of the school. But the program is not a requirement, he said.
Business students have history and humanities requirements to fill, Knapper said, that cover much of the same type of material in these requirements.
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AWS (Associated Women Students) wants to help insure that all women have the opportunity to pursue their individual goals freely.
AWS needs your help Now.
Petitions for 1970- 71 AWS officers are available in the Dean of Women's office.
Deadline Tuesday, April 7.
All women living on campus and off campus are eligible.