Southern Polytechnic State University Meeting of the School
of Arts and Sciences
August 14, 2007
The School of Arts and
Sciences welcomed new faculty members.
These new faculty members included Melissa Weaver, Matthew McCool, Kami
Carey Anderson, Marianne Holdzkom, Kisa Ranasinghe, Paula Checchi, and Wei
Zhou. Dean Gabrielli announced the
promotions of Herb Smith and Kim Haimes‑Korn to Professor and Terry
Carter, Larry Wang and Phil Patterson to Associate Professor.
The faculty of the School of
Arts and Sciences (A&S) reelected Terry Carter as moderator and Thomas
Nisley as secretary. A&S
nominated and elected three of its members to serve on peer committees to the
three other schools as SPSU. James
Whitenton will serve on the ETM committee, Herb Smith on CSE and Bernice Nuhfer‑Halten
on ACC.
Dean Gabrielli requested a
reactivation of the Planning Executive and Bylaws Committee. Dean Gabrielli suggested that the
bylaws for A&S are woefully out of date. The faculty of A&S agreed to the reactivation of the
committee with moderator Terry Carter as a member and passed a motion that each
department will select an individual to serve on the committee. The faculty of A&S passed a motion
that the Planning Executive and Bylaws Committee examine and revise the current
A&S mission statement.
Dean Gabrielli made a series
of announcements. The degree in
chemistry is now active and has its first declared major. The psychology degree is in the process
of approval. Dean Gabrielli
anticipates that psychology as a major for SPSU students will be available in
the spring. According to Dean
Gabrielli, an education degree proposal will be forthcoming. The education program will be in the
School of Arts and Sciences as a stand alone department or housed temporarily
in the Department of Social and International Studies. The Dean informed the
faculty that freshman enrolment is up over 20% from last year. A&S conducted 10 faculty searches
last year and filled seven positions, which bring the total number of regular
faculty members in A&S to 49.
In closing, Dean Gabrielli
discussed the upcoming reaffirmation of accreditation for SPSU by SACs.