May 3, 1999

Teaching convocation to focus on reinventing undergraduate education

By Francine Tyler

The president of the State University of New York at Stony Brook (SUNY) will deliver the keynote speech at UCSC's fifth Annual Convocation on Teaching. At this year's convocation, participants will discuss a proposal for a new model of undergraduate education in research universities.

Shirley Strum Kenny

The convocation takes place on Tuesday, May 11, from 3 to 5 p.m. at the UCSC Arboretum Horticulture Building. All members of the campus community are invited to attend.

As SUNY president, Shirley Strum Kenny established and chaired the Boyer Commission on Educating Undergraduates in the Research University, which proposed the new model of undergraduate education.

Commission membership was culled from a number of institutions, including UC Berkeley, University of Chicago, National Academy of Sciences, Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and the American Council on Education.

The report issued by the Boyer Commission, entitled "Reinventing Undergraduate Education: A Blueprint for America's Research Universities," proposes ten ways to change undergraduate education in research universities:

• Make research-based learning the standard
• Construct an inquiry-based year for first-year students
• Build on the first-year foundation
• Remove barriers to interdisciplinary education
• Link communication skills and course work
• Use information technology creatively
• Culminate with a capstone experience
• Educate graduate students as apprentice teachers
• Change faculty reward systems
• Cultivate a sense of community

As keynote speaker, Kenny will reflect on the work of the Boyer Commission as it relates to UCSC's recent revisions in its general education requirements. Responding to her remarks will be Lynda Goff , associate vice chancellor for undergraduate education and professor of biology; John Isbister, Merrill provost and professor of economics; and Tyler Stovall, Stevenson provost and chair of the History Department. A general discussion will follow.

Associate professor of psychology Campbell Leaper, chair of the Academic Senate's Committee on Teaching, will moderate the discussion. The convocation is cosponsored by the Office of the Associate Vice Chancellor for Undergraduate Education, the Committee on Teaching, and the Center for Teaching Excellence. For more information, call the center at (831) 459-5091.

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