This article begins by asking readers to make a modest supposition: HBCUs are, perhaps, one of the last frontiers for sustained feminist praxis-administratively and pedagogically. The authors write that they struggle with the situation, and find it both lamentable and paradoxical, since many HBCUs were originally founded and/or administered by…

The move of the University of Southern California to eliminate its German department in order to shift resources to Asian languages has sparked a debate about the relative importance of learning European languages. College administrators seem to assume that global shifts in economic power call for changes in the distribution of their budget for…

Offers a different (liberal arts) perspective on the job market for PhDs in English from an undergraduate department chairman. Asks for better information about graduate study possibilities. Argues that the problem is to learn how to better advise aspiring PhD students, and to provide support for them. (PA)

In this interview, Reynaldo F. Macias, chair of the recently established Department of Chicana/o Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), talks about the historical significance of El Plan de Santa Barbara, its impact on Chicana/o studies throughout the Southwest, and its relevance in establishing a department at UCLA, and the…

Department chairpersons should guide their departments to meet contemporary challenges by focusing on fostering student learning more effectively, stimulating faculty development, and engaging in curriculum development that responds to new academic syntheses and multidisciplinary approaches. (JB)

Presents reasons for interested undergraduates to major in English and points out useful skills developed by English majors. Emphasizes the importance of English department involvement in the career planning of its students, and details the steps undertaken by the University of Massachusetts English department to help its students. (JM)

Two colleagues in the field of composition studies speak to each other during a panel discussion titled, "Writing, Rhetoric, and 'Creative' Writing: Refiguring the Undergrduate Curriculum." The first respondent posits that academic department boundaries are out of date; they block the way to many useful collaborations. The same can be…

Continues to advocate the development of public relations programs in speech communication rather than journalism departments. Discusses advantages and benefits for speech communication students and departments. Suggests that public relations programs include courses in research methodologies, computer technology, and statistics to meet the…

Literature anthologies are part of the furniture of English departments. Like the putty or gunmetal-gray file cabinet that one might have gotten new or used, they are not a showpiece of academic decor, but it would be hard to imagine work spaces without them. Indeed, they are omnipresent, amassed on the shelves of campus bookstores, weighing down…

Quality concerns are foremost in assessing the worthiness of interdisciplinary efforts, but issues of funding, organization, student interest, and job market need to concern those who propose or review such programs. Proposed is a series of questions that may assist reviewers of proposals for new interdisciplinary degree programs. (MLW)

A model for coordinating an internship program in a large psychology department is presented. The most successful components of the program involve a personalized advising system and a departmentally-defined contract between the student and faculty sponsor. An integral part of the program is an advising and consultation procedure. Each prospective…

Provides information about some of the activities of the National Forum on the Future of Spanish Departments on College and University Campuses that took place in September 1999 and highlights issues that were discussed including enrollments, curriculum design, Spanish for instrumental purposes, and the structure of foreign language policies…

Coordination of roles of academic departments, evaluation units, and institutional planning units is advocated as an effective approach to evaluating educational program and student performance outcomes. A model to effect this coordination is described in terms of purposes, characteristics, and structure. In the process model, four guideposts,…

This paper focuses on the framing of intercultural communication. The paper specifically engages those issues that impinge upon intercultural communication college course offerings--the place of intercultural communication within departments and universities, the reception and expectations in an intercultural communication course, and the…

Policies and professionalism are discussed with reference to experiences in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Great Britain. A professional development policy is considered to be a prerequisite for inservice programs for academic staff, evaluation of academic performance, and career-related decisions. (Author/MLW)