Faculty Senate votes on new core curricula
The Faculty Senate approved a resolution to replace Northeastern’s current core curricula with a university-wide General Education curriculum at its Oct. 13 meeting. The new curriculum is proposed to consist of eight required courses, including three “writing-intensive” courses to replace the middler writing requirement and a senior requirement for students in every college and major, according to a plan devised by the senate’s Academic Policy Committee. History professor and chair of the committee Gerald Herman said the requirements would put an emphasis on interdisciplinary studies, create a stronger group identity among students and improve graduates’ chances of success. “What we’re trying to do is improve [the core curricula] so that general education feeds better into individual majors,” Herman said. There are ongoing experiments in some departments to test the effectiveness of interdisciplinary education, and more are planned before the university makes a final decision. If the plan is completed and approved, it should be implemented by the fall of 2006. For the rest of the year the committee will try to turn its ideas into a practical model for all schools and departments “without destroying the majors,” Herman said. A budget also needs to be worked out to see if the plan is affordable, he said.
Snap, crackle and pop come to the XK
The Xhibition Kitchen (XK) will be hosting Patrick Barber, a representative from Kellogg’s, Wednesday at noon. Barber will demonstrate how to make the popular dessert Rice Krispies Treats, as well as give away three life-sized inflatable replicas of Tony the Tiger, said Debbie Fantasia, marketing manager of campus Dining Services. “He’ll be giving away a bunch of different Kellogg’s prizes while [students] make Rice Krispies Treats,” Fantasia said. She said recent events in the XK have been drawing large numbers of students, and last week during the baking event “Get a Rise,” there was only standing room left. The XK is located in the Stetson West dining hall, and price for admission is one meal (on a meal plan or profiler plan) or $8.45, the price of lunch in cash. Fantasia said in coming weeks there is a “good chance” Billy Costa and the NECN show “TV Diner” will return to the XK, and there will also be a sushi-making class. “This is all for the students, that’s what [the XK] is about,” Fantasia said.
Ceremony celebrates new CS building
The ceremonial opening of the new Computer and Information Science building was held Monday morning at its new location in West Village H. Andrea Grimes, a senior computer science major in the college who boasts its highest GPA at 3.94, gave a speech that credited the college with a “sense of community” and as a “creative space for students and faculty.” Among the event’s other speakers were President Richard Freeland, who spoke of the changes modern technology has undergone since the College of Computer and Information Science was established in 1982. “If you can put it on the wire, you can do it anywhere in the world,” Freeland said. In his speech, Freeland also said the new building would provide “opportunities to learn first hand” for those seeking an education in the field, ultimately allowing Northeastern to “move into the 100 best national universities.” During the ceremony, the lobby of the building was dedicated to two university donors and was officially named the Francis A. and Joan A. Gicca Atrium. A cocktail reception, as well as a pair of forums entitled: “Digital Protection and Survival” and “The Future of the Software Market,” were planned for later in the day to coincide with the ceremony.
Author, alumnus discusses presidential book
Northeastern alumnus Gerard Gawalt spoke Monday about his book, “First Daughters,” an anthology of letters between U.S. presidents and their daughters. Gawalt, a specialist in American history at the Library of Congress, spoke as part of the College of Arts and Sciences’ Alumni Lecture Series. “Correspondence often replaces intimacy of presence,” when presidents correspond with their daughters, Gawalt said. His book is co-authored with his daughter, Ann. “Fathers and daughters enjoy a special bond, and this is no less true if the father is the president,” Gawalt said. The letters span from George Washington to George H.W. Bush, including correspondence from 21 of the 31 presidents who have had natural, step or adopted daughters. Gawalt contributes to shows on the C-SPAN network and provides historical insight at events for federal senators and congressmen.
Forum to discuss women engineers
The Women’s Studies Program and the School of Engineering are hosting “Women in Engineering: Overcoming Barriers in a Male Dominated Field” on Wednesday in 315 Behrakis from 11:45 a.m. to 1:25 p.m. The forum will feature Rachelle M. Reisberg, director of the Women in Engineering program at Northeastern. According to an announcement on MyNEU, before joining NU, Reisberg was employed by various companies such as Morgan Stanley Insured Municipal Bond Trust, where she worked in strategic planning and marketing support. She was vice president of information services for Allmerica Financial and president of her startup high-tech company specializing in speech recognition software. The event is part of the Women’s Studies Brown Bag Lunch Series and is open to all students. Admission is free and lunch will be served.
