- A&S Strategic Plan: A Community of Discovery
- Investing in Faculty
- Strengthening and Diversifying the Faculty
- Rationalization of Interdisciplinary and Area Studies Programs
- Support for Intellectual Community and Creative Exchange
- Expanding Opportunities for Students
- Promoting Research and Discovery
- Conclusion
Rationalization of Interdisciplinary and Area Studies Programs
Interdisciplinary and area studies programs draw upon the strength of faculty and students from across the College. The best of these programs embody the ideal of integrated learning, connecting related but often seemingly disparate academic disciplines and encouraging synthetic thinking. The College must focus on the most successful and promising such programs and nurture them, investing additional funds, recasting administrative structures, and consolidating resources as dictated by the specific needs of the programs.
- Strengthening Asian and Middle Eastern Languages & Cultures (AMELC)
- Building Strength in African and African-American Studies (AAAS)
- Consolidating Studies in Women & Gender (SWAG)
- Consolidating the Media Studies Program
Strengthening Asian and Middle Eastern Languages & Cultures (AMELC)
AMELC houses East Asian, South Asian and Middle Eastern languages, literatures and cultures. These are all growth areas in the College and have enjoyed rapidly increasing popularity with students. We cannot currently meet enrollment demands in these areas, even while we recognize that the languages and cultures represented in AMELC are critical in today’s world. Adding faculty strength in these areas will allow AMELC to consider creation of graduate programs and to rationalize the great diversity of fields brought together in this administrative home. We propose investing resources to build on some of our strengths in international studies and position ourselves to be competitive for Department of Education (Title VI) funding.Goal: Create two new departments: East Asian Languages, Literatures and Cultures and South Asian and Middle East Languages, Literatures and Cultures.
Building Strength in African and African-American Studies (AAAS)
The College’s existing strength in this field is the result of having a dedicated and talented faculty, a thriving undergraduate program with rising student demand, and a strong institutional presence in the Carter G. Woodson Institute for African and African-American Studies. We believe that AAAS is an area in which U.Va. can be among the very best in the country. Strengthening AAAS not only contributes to our academic reputation, it also enhances the diversity of the curriculum as well as the diversity of the faculty and student body. The College is currently searching for a new director for the Carter G. Woodson Institute. The arrival of a new director should be a catalyst to a broader discussion about what it will take to advance AAAS to the forefront of the field. Options range from a more distributed, interdepartmental model to the possibility of creating a new department of AAAS that would have its own faculty and offer graduate degrees.Goal: Build strength in AAAS and consider whether the existing interdisciplinary program should become a department.
Consolidating Studies in Women & Gender (SWAG)
SWAG is a relatively new interdisciplinary program in the College, having taken on its current configuration only in 1990. The strengths of the program include the international quality of the faculty and curriculum; the high caliber of students majoring in and studying Women’s Studies at U.Va.; the breadth of interests and areas of expertise represented among affiliated faculty; the interdisciplinary focus of the Program; and the dedication of the core faculty to building gender studies at the University. Moreover, the Program’s commitment to diversity and to outreach and engagement with the community are very much in keeping with the priorities established by the 2020 Commissions.Goal: Grant SWAG departmental status and add faculty strength in gender studies.
Consolidating the Media Studies Program
Media Studies boasts strong enrollment demand and high visibility on Grounds. It is a field that has come into its own, crossing traditional disciplinary boundaries and advancing the forefront of cultural studies. We must consider transforming Media Studies from a strong interdisciplinary program into a full-fledged department with intellectual integrity and strong undergraduate and (eventually) graduate programs, and that will require the commitment of significant resources. Goal: Build capacity in Media Studies and consider the creation of a Media Studies Department.
