The Social Sciences Council has recommended the abolition of the College's education department, due in part to administrative problems and a lack of high quality programs.
The council is comprised of the department chairs of the College's eight social science departments. A vote of the entire faculty of arts and sciences is required to eliminate a department.
"It has been a somewhat troubled department administratively," Associate Dean of the Faculty George Wolford said. "I am not at liberty to expand."
Wolford wrote in an e-mail message, "the reasons for considering changes to the department are complex, and not all of them are appropriate for public discussion."
The department could be preserved, reduced to an academic program or eliminated entirely, said Economics Chair Nancy Marion, a member of the Social Sciences Council.
Wolford said the education courses would be preserved if the department was abolished.
"Students think very highly about the courses in the education department," he said. "We will be continuing to offer the courses that are available now."
Wolford will be meeting with concerned students Thursday night in 105 Dartmouth Hall at 8 p.m. to address the future of the department.
The education department has been scrutinized several times over the years, and an external review committee recommended its abolition in 1993.
"The fact that there have been several recommendations over an extended period of time says something about the department," Wolford said.
Marion said the department is not functioning properly.
"Over 10 years they haven't been able to revitalize it," she said. "Sometimes the best thing to do is pull the plug."
"They have had a long time to fix things and they haven't," Marion added. "It needs to be closed."
Psychology Chair Robert Kleck said the recommendation "stems in part from a concern over the quality of the program in the education department."
Kleck said the council recommended abolition in part because the department has produced too little scholarly work during the past several years.
"There has been a difficulty attracting and keeping scholars who have made major contributions to their field," he said.
Marion said the department has had trouble attracting scholars because of its perilous status and because of a "difficult atmosphere."
"If a department isn't particularly cohesive, if they can't communicate with each other and agree on solutions, it makes it hard," she said.
Marion said the hundreds of thousands of dollars spent on the education department can be better used by other departments.
"You have a lot of good ideas competing for scarce resources. You can't fund everything," she said. "If you can't fund everything, you should take the bottom 10 percent to use those funds to do better programs."
The Social Sciences Council voted to dissolve the department at the end of March, Marion said.
In an interview with The Dartmouth on April 6, Wolford said, "We are at this time pondering the future of the education department."
"I am not prepared at this time to discuss it fully," Wolford said in April, but added the department would receive further attention this term.
Wolford said yesterday that the recommendation was not based on the individuals in the department.
"I think everyone there is doing a good job," Wolford said.
If the department were eliminated, there would be a reduction in faculty, Wolford said. Education Professor Andrew Garrod, the department's only tenured faculty member, would be incorporated into a different department, he said.
The other faculty members, including Education Chair Robert Binswanger, are visiting professors.
Last year, the department conducted a search to replace Binswanger who is due to retire as chair.
A professor from the University of Rochester was offered the job, but declined after negotiations, Marion said. She said the College was unwilling to commit the additional resources the professor wanted.
Wolford said the education department is very unusual.
"It doesn't have a major, and it is very small," he said. "It has the split mission of doing teacher training and covering courses on the liberal arts of education."
The department gives seniors the opportunity to become certified to teach in public schools.
Marion said vocational training might be incongruous with the College's purpose.
"It is not clear Dartmouth needs to provide that service if we are a liberal arts institution," she said.
Wolford said the council's motion "urged the administration to find some vehicle for offering education-related courses at Dartmouth and for making sure there were options for our students who wanted to be certified."
About 15 students pursue the certification each year.
"More and more private schools are urging people to get a bachelor's degree in a content area, if they want to get certified and get a masters degree in teaching," Wolford said.
Anne Jones '97, a teaching assistant in the department, said students wish to preserve the department.
"The students I have spoken with feel very strongly that the education department should remain as it is," she said. "People have had very positive experiences and have developed close relationships with the professors."
Visiting Education Instructor Linda Mulley said ,"I think the education department has a lot to offer," she said. "It is irreplaceable."
Dean of the Faculty James Wright was unavailable for comment.
