The meeting was called to order by President Myles Brand on April 6, 1994, at 3:06 P.M. in Room 150 Columbia. The minutes of the March 2, 1994, meeting of the University Assembly were approved as distributed. Before proceeding to the business of the assembly, President Brand announced the death of Professor Emeritus Luther Cressman and described him as a gentleman and a great friend of the university whose discovery of some woven sandals rewrote the prehistory of the Pacific Northwest.

OLD BUSINESS

Mr. Micheal Dyer, chair of the University Committee on the Curriculum, presented his committee's report on a restructured graduate program in the College of Education. The proposed program is designed to lead to a master of science degree in educational policy and management with a specialization in instructional leadership. Mr. Dyer reminded the assembly that consideration of the graduate program segment was delayed because it had been separated out of the College of Education curriculum report and sent to the Graduate Council for review and approval. Senate President Davison Soper reported that the University Senate had had an extended debate about this segment and approved it unanimously.

The University Assembly. with a voice vote and no audible dissent. approved the College of Education graduate degree - segment of the Report of the UNIVERSlTY Committee on the Curriculum. Because the final report of 1994-95 curricular changes was issued February 17, 1994, this proposal will be included in the 1995-96 Report of the Committee on the Curriculum to the University of Oregon Faculty.

President Brand recognized Mr. Paul Engelking, chair of the Assembly Committee on

Multicultural Curriculum, who presented legislation developed by the ACMC. |As he introduced the legislation, Mr. Engelking referred to the ACMC report presented at the March 2, 1994, meeting of the University Assembly, gave a history of the committee, and described its efforts to solicit input. Those efforts included public hearings and meetings with faculty and student groups. He explained that, as it listened to the university community, the committee identified interest in three areas of multicultural study: (1) American Cultures; (2) Identity, Pluralism, and Tolerance; and (3) International Cultures. He said the ACMC's expectation was that this legislative proposal would encourage multiculturalism throughout the curriculum.

During his explanation of the criteria for American cultures courses, Mr. Engelking indicated that the "comparative perspectives" requirement for these courses does not mean equal time must be spent on two different cultures. He said the ACMC used the word "comparative" to mean the experience of one group in interacting with another, the mechanics by which a minority group deals with a majority group.

Mr. Engelking emphasized the ACMC's expectations that the University Committee on the Curriculum would gather as much information as necessary and consult widely when deciding if courses satisfy the multicultural requirement. He added that the curriculum committee should not generally ask departments submitting courses for multicultural approval for long statements describing those courses. He said short statements should be sufficient in most cases.

At their request, Mr. Marshall Sauceda, multicultural affairs, read a statement from leaders of the Asian-Pacific American Student Union, the Black Student Union, the Native American Student Union, and MEChA indicating their "desire not to support or condone" the legislation. The statement explained that their organizations "have no desire to mandate (to majority students) studies that address our respective cultures and histories .... Our heritage's are very valuable and it is not in our interests to force a reluctant populace to learn to appreciate them ...."

Mr. Joseph Wade, academic advising and student services and an ACMC member, spoke in support of the legislation. Recalling that the committee had reached "far and wide to solicit comments," he reported that it had worked diligently in its attempt to address the issue of helping students learn to live in a multicultural society, and that "preparing our students to live, work, and contribute to a harmoniously functioning multicultural world is in the best interest of us all."

Student Senator Jesse Bohrer-Clancy spoke in opposition to the legislation, calling it a token effort to impress students. He stated that, rather than offering multicultural courses, the university should incorporate multiculturalism into every course. He said this integration of the curriculum would take commitment but no new money.

Mr. Engelking commented on the cost estimates done by the ACMC, estimates that were done in terms of classroom seats and that showed the university could accommodate the new requirement with its existing course capacity and slight modifications to existing courses.

Mr. T. Givon, linguistics, urged support for the legislation and complimented the committee for its efforts to take into account different points of view.

Mr. Christopher Phillips, mathematics, read the titles of a number of possible courses and asked if they would satisfy the multicultural requirement. Noting that he had difficulty telling the content of a course from its title and that he had learned more from the course descriptions in the bulletin, Mr. Engelking said many of Mr. Phillips' titles seemed to indicate the courses were multicultural. The decision about whether or not they were, he said, would be made by the University Committee on the Curriculum after it considered their content.

Explaining that his department feared future curriculum committees would require that courses be described in detail, Mr. Richard Stein, head of English, asked the assembly to attach to the motion a note directing curriculum committees, when making decisions about multicultural courses, to be flexible and to require only brief course descriptions. By voice vote. the University Assembly agreed to add to the motion the note presented by Mr. Stein.

Ms. Martha Cutter, English, said she teaches American literature and observed that the ACMC legislation would not stop her or other faculty members from integrating multiculturalism into courses.

After Ms. Martha Ravits. women's studies. sought assurance that programs could propose multicultural courses. the assembly bv unanimous consent amended paragraph four oE the motion bv inserting "and programs" after "Departments."

Student Senator Grant Calof spoke in opposition to the legislation. He said he would rather see multiculturalism incorporated into every course so that students would not be required to take extra courses.

Citing evidence that requirements encourage curriculum development, Mr. Jack Whalen, sociology and an ACMC member, reported there have been about ten new multicultural courses each year since the University of Oregon adopted its race, gender, non-European-American requirement, adding that he expects the proposed legislation will also stimulate the creation and revision of courses.

Ms. Sandra Morgen, Center for the Study of Women in Society, asked if there was concern because the American cultures category had fewer courses than the other categories. Mr. Engelking said no mechanism ~had been proposed to balance the number of courses in the three areas.

Mr. Henry Goldstein, economics, asked if many of the multicultural courses would be group satisfying. Mr. Engelking answered "Yes" as he directed attention to a graph in the ACMC report. The graph showed a great amount of overlap.

Mr. Michael Kellman, chemistry, commended the ACMC for its work and asked if the extra requirement would make the University of Oregon less attractive to students. Mr. Engelking said his experience as an adviser, his inspection of the data, and testimony of students indicate that students like multicultural courses and often take more than required.

Mr. John Nicols, history, asked about courses transfer students have taken at other institutions. Mr. Engelking said decision-making about whether or not those courses satisfy the requirement would follow normal procedures: The Office of Admissions usually makes the decision unless it is disputed, in which case the decision is made by the Academic Requirements Committee.

Two students who were not members of the University Assembly requested and were granted permission to speak to the assembly: Andres Montoya, a member of MEChA, said the proposed requirement "will give the university an excuse for not doing what it should be doing for students of color .... it is not going to help my community at all." Don Addison, a member of NASU, reported that he had talked to "a lot of students and they support the legislation. "

Student Senator Sarah Johnson said she favored the legislation because the university is a place to get together and discuss issues, and the proposed requirement would encourage that discussion.

Mr. Stuart Thomas, mathematics, asked if the proposal would affect students' ability to graduate on time. President Brand replied, "No, it does not add hours to the graduation requirement." Mr. Engelking added that the ACMC felt that time to graduation would not be affected because of the overlap with group-satisfying courses.

After being assured that there were no others who wanted to speak, President Brand asked for a show of hands on the following motion which was proposed by the ACMC and amended by the University Assembly:

Students entering the university in fall 1995 or thereafter will complete a minimum of six (6! credits in specifically listed courses. spanning two (2! of the following three areas American Cultures. Identity. Pluralism. and Tolerance: and International Cultures.

Students will choose courses from three lists of courses corresponding to these three areas. Individual courses can be listed in only one of the three categories.

Departments and programs will propose courses for these areas to the curriculum committee for review according to these guidelines:

American Cultures: The goal is to focus on race and ethnicity in the United States by considering racial and ethnic groups from historical and comparative perspectives. Five racial or ethnic groups are identified: African-American. Chicano/Latino. Native American. Asian-American. and European-American. Courses that satisfy the requirement will deal with at least two of these groups in a comparative manner. They need not deal with discrimination or prejudice specifically. although many certainly will.

Identity. Pluralism. and Tolerance: The goal is to gain scholarly insight into the construction of collective identities, the emergence of representative voices from varying social and cultural standpoints. and the effects of prejudice. intolerance. and discrimination. The identities at issue may include ethnicities as in the r'American Cultures" area. as well as classes. genders. religions. sexual orientations. or other groups whose experiences represent a contribution to cultural pluralism. Moreover. courses analyzing the general principles underlying tolerance. or the lack of it. will meet the requirement.

International Cultures: The goal is to study world cultures in critical perspective. This would include courses that either treat an international culture in view of the issues raised in the preceding categories. namely race and ethnicity. pluralism and monoculturalism. and/or prejudice and tolerance. or explicitly describe and analyze a world-view--i.e.. a system of knowledge. feeling. and belief substantially different from those prevalent in the twentieth century United States.

The curriculum committee may request supplementary information it deems necessary for review of the proposed courses and. according to the procedures for curriculum changes. will recommend to the faculty courses for listing in each of these categories.

NOTE: The assembly directs future curriculum committees. in evaluating course proposals submitted to satisfy these multicultural requirements. to interpret the language of this legislation inclusively. flexibly. and with reference to brief. general course descriptions rather than lengthy or detailed accounts of proposed contents or methodologies.

The University Assembly approved the amended motion bv a show of hands.

The business of the meeting having concluded, the meeting adjourned at 4:16 P.M.

Nancy Fadley Acting Secretary

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