UNIVERSITY FACULTY SENATE FORMS
Academic Program Approval
This form is a routing document for the approval of new
and revised academic programs. Proposing department should
complete this form. For more
information, call the Faculty Senate Office at 831-2921.
Submitted by: ____James
Department: _____Geology__________________________email
address__pizzuto@udel.edu
Action: _____Change name of Geology Department to Department of Geological
Sciences____
(Example: add major/minor/concentration, delete
major/minor/concentration,
revise major/minor/concentration,
academic unit name change, request for permanent status, policy change,
etc.)
Effective term________________06F____________________________________________________________________
(use format 04F, 05W)
Current
degree______NA________________________________________________________
(Example: BA, BACH, BACJ, HBA,
Proposed change leads to the
degree of: ______NA__________________________________
(Example: BA, BACH,
BACJ, HBA,
Proposed name:____Department of Geological
Sciences__________________
Proposed new name for revised
or new major / minor / concentration / academic unit
(if applicable)
Revising or Deleting:
Undergraduate major / Concentration:______________________________________
(Example: Applied Music – Instrumental degree BMAS)
Undergraduate minor:____________________________________________________
(Example: African
Studies, Business
Administration, English, Leadership,
etc.)
Graduate Program Policy statement change:_________________________________
(Must attach your
Graduate Program Policy Statement)
Graduate Program of Study:______________________________________________
(Example: Animal Science: MS Animal Science: PHD
Economics: MA Economics: PHD)
Graduate minor / concentration:___________________________________________
List program changes for
curriculum revisions:
None
List new courses required for
the new or revised curriculum:
(Be aware that approval
of the curriculum is dependent upon these courses successfully passing through
the Course Challenge list. If there are no new courses enter “None”)
None
Other affected units:
(List other departments affected by this new or revised
curriculum. Attach permission from the
affected units. If no other unit is
affected, enter “None”)
None
Rationale:
(Explain your reasons for creating, revising, or deleting the
curriculum or program.)
As explained in greater detail below, the Geology Department
has been advised to adopt a more general name in an APR report submitted in
May, 2005. Relatively few PhD granting
Departments are now called “Department of Geology”, and the APR team indicated
that this name is viewed as somewhat antiquated, and
that retaining it could limit the Department’s ability to attract the best
graduate students and faculty.
This APR report reinforces a long-held parallel view of the
faculty of the Department of Geology, who voted unanimously in 1999 to make
this change.
Program Requirements:
(Show the new or revised curriculum as it should appear in the
Course Catalog. If this is a revision,
be sure to indicate the changes being made to the present curriculum.)
NA
ROUTING AND AUTHORIZATION: (Please do not remove supporting
documentation.)
Department Chairperson Date
Dean of College Date
Chairperson, College Curriculum
Committee___________________________________Date_____________________
Chairperson, Senate Com. on UG or GR
Studies Date
Chairperson,
Senate Coordinating Com. Date
Secretary, Faculty Senate Date
Date of Senate Resolution Date
to be Effective
Registrar Program
Code Date
Vice Provost for Academic Programs
& Planning Date
Provost Date
Board of Trustee Notification Date
Revised
The Department of Geology proposes to change its name to the Department of Geological Sciences
Resolution
Whereas,
The name
“Department of Geology” does not reflect the breadth of scholarship and teaching in the geological sciences in
the discipline
at large and at the
Whereas, The Report of the Annual Program Review Committee for the Department of Geology strongly recommended the proposed name change in May, 2005;
Whereas, The faculty of the Department of Geology voted unanimously to change its name to “Department of Geological Sciences” in 1999;
Whereas, The proposed
name change has the support of the Dean of the
Resolved, that the Faculty Senate recommends that the name, Department of Geology, be changed to Department of Geological Sciences.
During this discussion, the faculty considered a variety of names. Reasons for NOT adopting alternative names are briefly summarized below:
Department of Earth Sciences – this name typically includes study of atmospheric processes and other disciplines that are not emphasized by the department at UD;
Department of Environmental Sciences – this
name is also too broad – many other Departments at the
Department of Geosciences – the faculty prefer to retain an explicit connection with the name “Geology”, our parent discipline.
“ Inspection of the AGI Directory of Geoscience Departments indicates that fewer than 15% of U.S departments offering the PhD in geological disciplines are currently called “Department of Geology”. Although some of these name changes have resulted from mergers, most of them reflect a persistent trend of the past 30 years as the Earth sciences have become increasingly more diverse and eclectic. At first this may appear to be only window dressing, but it will nevertheless affect both internal and external perceptions of the Department and its programs, including its ability to attract graduate students and perhaps even new faculty. Furthermore, a more inclusive name such as “Geological Sciences”, “Geosciences”, or “Earth and Environmental Science(s)” will be consistent with the flexibility to modify educational and research programs in the future as new opportunities and trends emerge. For many observers, rightly or wrongly, “Department of Geology” conjures the image of a somewhat antiquated department, a perception that is not likely to benefit a department that intends to move into more active and competitive arenas of the geological sciences” (emphasis added).