The head of the committee in charge of overhauling CORE said he wanted to modernize the university's general education curriculum to give students mor

The head of the committee in charge of overhauling CORE said he wanted to modernize the university's general education curriculum to give students more freedom.

"Nobody likes being told what to do - this is America," said Ira Berlin, who will lead the general education committee. "There are general education curriculums around the country that have been modeled after CORE, but it's been 20 years; things change. We are a very different society and university now. We need our general education to evolve like we have."

Provost Nariman Farvardin named Berlin, a history professor, as chairman of the committee yesterday, ending a lengthy search for the position. The task force was jointly appointed by the provost and the University Senate.

"I really had to twist his arm," Farvardin said. "But we were very persistent, and it paid off."

Berlin said he only changed his mind and agreed to chair the task force after giving the offer long and serious consideration. This reluctance delayed the start of the task force, which was supposed to begin work last semester.

"It's a very big job," Berlin said. "I, personally, would be deeply suspicious of anyone who would take on such a big responsibility on a lark."

Berlin said he ultimately hopes to change undergraduate sentiments to be more accepting of a "new CORE" curriculum. University officials have repeatedly said they want students to view general education courses as more than boxes to be checked off before graduating. Berlin said the decades-old curriculum was rigid and outdated, which causes aversion to the program.

"We're going to try to provide students with options," Berlin said. "There's not just one way of doing general education and we'd like to try to think of different possibilities instead of a one-size-fits-all approach."

Farvadin added that though the task force would be looking at and revamping the content of CORE, he hopes they also consider how such education is "delivered" to students, citing smaller class sizes and attracting the best professors on the campus to teach general education courses as key means to this end.

"I want all of the university to participate in general education - especially our best teachers," Farvardin said. "I hope [the task force] will come up with powerful ways to better this program."

Giving general education courses smaller class sizes and prominent professors was also a goal of the Pease Committee, which created CORE two decades ago. However, many of its recommendations were subsequently ignored.

Criticism from sociology professor John Pease, who chaired the commission, as well as fellow Pease Committee members Danny Gulick, a math professor, and Maynard Mack, an English professor, was part of the reason the original plan to overhaul CORE was delayed and the task force was created. Along with other faculty members, Pease, Gulick and Mack said the original proposal focused too much on current issues and not enough on broad philosophical issues students would not likely otherwise consider. In contrast, administrators said the focus on current issues would make students more interested in the classes.

The committee, consisting of 17 professors and administrators and two undergraduates, will begin to meet weekly after spring break, officials said. The provost has set a deadline of the end of fall 2009 for the task force to deliver its report and said the university will begin implementing the new recommendations as soon as the report is filed.

"We would like to move forward with this as soon as possible," Farvardin said. "The budget might be tight right now, but already we have resources behind the existing CORE program that we can use. I don't have any more worries. I am completely focused on the implementation of the strategic plan.

"I consider general education - CORE - a very important thing that separates this university from others," he added. "We want to pay special attention to this distinguishing program and better it, to give students the tools they really need to be successful, no matter what they do in life."

University officials said Berlin was the obvious choice to chair the committee, citing his experience, clout, enthusiasm and familiarity with undergraduate education as key factors in his appointment.

"He'll be very good as chair," Senate Chair Ken Holum said. "He's very enthusiastic about it, and everyone is really very happy. He's absolutely the right person for the job."

"CORE has been around for almost 20 years," Berlin said. "There are a lot of Terps out there who have been affected by CORE. And I think that if the new general education curriculum will be just as influential, it should be something that students embrace. And maybe if 20 years from now, students came back and said, 'You know, that was really important,' we could really feel like we accomplished something."

Marissa Lang
langdbk@gmail.com