Integrating the Sciences, Mathematics and Technology
Task Force Meeting Notes
December 10, 1999
Present: Dick Roberds, Chair. Roddy Amenta, Steve Frysinger, Jim Herrick, Bob Kolvoord, Gina MacDonald, Bob McKown, Dick Rice, Jim Sochaki, Jim Steele, Cheryl Talley, Gerry Taylor, Cole Welter, Tom Wood.
Announcements and handouts from Dick
1. Received email that Jim Herrick should be referred to as the
Web moderator not the Web master.
2. Report "Undergraduate Major for the 21st Century", sent out by Dean Benson
via hardcopy is good reading for the task force.
3. Bob McKown has written a summary of the work of the task force to date that
indicates that we are making progress toward our goal. The summary also discusses
a rationale for the Center concept for organizing science and technology integration
at JMU.
4. Dean Brakke provided more input for us in the form of an email to Jim Herrick
discussing ideas on sharing equipment and collaborating in the ordering of new
equipment.
Next Meeting: Wednesday Dec. 15 from 5:00 to 6:30 p.m. in the Dean's Conference Room, CISAT building. We want to identify emerging concepts to date.
Decision: It was decided to postpone the forum scheduled for Thursday, Dec. 16 until the start of the new semester.
Meetings next semester: The group also tried to decide on a new meeting time for next semester. A few of the choices are end of day on Thursday and midday on Friday. Dick will collect possible times and input from members and find a suitable time.
An Important Development: The College of Science and Mathematics has proposed a Geology and Environmental Science BS degree in connection with a new Environmental Science Center. Roddy Amenta is involved with it through his home academic department. This idea of an Environmental Science Center and the proposed BS degree is directly connected with the work of this task force, but did not grow out of our work. It was proceeding at a pace ahead of ours. Deans Brakke and Benson and Dr. Roberds discussed the new Center in connection with our task force and decided that it should be connected with our work as a sub-task force. Jim Steele was asked by the Deans to be the chair of that sub-task force, and he has agreed. While this action is proceeding ahead of the time that we as a Task Force had envisioned (January time frame), the appointing of a sub task force is in keeping with the planned approach of the Task Force. Each Dean will be soliciting members from their college to be part of Jim Steele's sub task force.
Neuroscience is also an area that is proceeding on its own, although at a different pace than the Environmental Science initiative. This can likely be incorporated into our Task Force's schedule.
Discussion of a Center for furthering integration and collaboration.
The Center would be an administrative entity that would help students and faculty get things done within the context of the Center by taking care of a variety of details. The Center would cross the traditional discipline boundaries and include other disciplines than science and mathematics. A primary function would be to provide space and an atmosphere for people to gather and discuss ideas. The Center would cost more in overhead from grants, but would provide economy of scale by allowing grants to share the cost of the Center. It would also help faculty in the pursuit of grant funds. The Center staff would interface with Pat Bunnemeyer's office and help with grant management too. Other functions for the Center might be to analyze the market for our students, help faculty develop academic proposals, be a clearing house for equipment and resources (with a central database for these resources), provide space for student seminars and research discussions, and, in general, provide for the exchange of knowledge and ideas.
The newsprint notes that were made have been fleshed out and they are presented on the next page.
The discussion of the concepts for the Center was in full swing when it was time for the meeting to end. The group expressed a desire for a half-day session to more fully discuss the concepts begun above. Dick said that he would ask the Deans for funds to arrange an off-site meeting during the first week of January.
Highlights of Discussion on Center and Centers of Excellence Center
This will be an administrative entity -- may have only limited centralized facilities (e.g. a faculty lounge), but will have a full-time "Coordinator". The Center will cut across the colleges and disciplines. Its purpose will principally be to facilitate, draw together, and enable faculty and disparate activities. The CENTER will have a set of agendas that will include involvement in activities such as:
· Academic program development
· Undergraduate Research, to include current activities ofNCUR
Science Fair
Outreach· Grant-acquisition assistance and grant management · BIG (business, industry, government)
· K-12 (K-16?) Science and Mathematics Education Center Virginia Science Resource Network Digital Earth
· Knowledge exchange (seminar development and presentation)
· Resource management
Centers of Excellence
In addition to the "global" center described above, the University will seek to develop centers of excellence in the future. (These areas will be recommended on the basis of the criteria that were developed by the Task Force.) To this point, certain areas are emerging that show particular promise:
· Materials Science Center
· Center for the Environment
· Biotechnology
· Neuroscience
· Industrial Design
· Center for Visualization, Computation, and Data Analysis
· Science and Math Education (K-16)
Note: Need to determine if this area is being developed by another Task Force.
