THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT ASHEVILLE FACULTY SENATE Senate Document Number 2498S Date of Senate Approval 3/12/98 Statement of Faculty Senate Action: APC Document 18: Interdisciplinary Studies 253: Perspectives On Leadership. Effective Date: Fall, 1998. Add on p. 136 in current catalog under "Interdisciplinary Courses" in proper numeric order 253 Perspectives On Leadership (3) Designed for students interested in the academic study of Leadership. This course examines issues, concepts and situations that relate to Leadership and organizational development from a variety of perspectives including an examination of the psychological, sociological, and ethical aspects. Additionally, students will develop an appreciation for the ways in which Leadership has been studied and researched and how this has affected our perceptions of Leadership. Fall. Impact Statement: a. IST 253 is a requirement for recipients of the Western North Carolina Leadership Scholarship in the Fall of their freshman year. It does not affect major, minor, or other University requirements. It is a general elective open to any interested student. b. The addition is a replacement of a previously deleted Interdisciplinary Studies course (IST 150). This is a part of the professional work load of the Director of Student Development, and increases contact time with students. Expertise is currently available to teach the course. My academic training has been an interdisciplinary one. I have a Bachelor of Arts in American Studies with a focus in Southern Studies from UNC-CH, and a Master of Arts from the Ohio State University in Higher Education and Counseling Psychology, with a focus in Women's Studies. While I needed a graduate degree in Higher Education in order to pursue my chosen career, you can see that I was not satisfied with the limitations of that program, and so enhanced my academic preparation by studying Counseling Psychology, and supplementing it with the focus in Women's Studies. While completing my studies at Ohio State University I taught in the Health Education department, teaching small class sections which met twice a week after the once a week large group lecture. After graduate school, I accepted a professional position at Appalachian State University where I had an appointment in Student Affairs as well as an adjunct appointment in the Department of Interdisciplinary Studies. In this appointment I designed and taught three credit hour courses. Additionally I was a guest lecturer in several other classes in the Department of Interdisciplinary Studies. These courses at Appalachian State were created in cooperation with the Department of Interdisciplinary Studies and were approved by the ASU faculty governance process. I was granted the responsibilities and recognition of the faculty as a result of my training, performance, and commitment to teaching. Some of the courses I designed include: The American Dream; The Vietnam War; Personal and Social Development in College; Contemporary Psychological Issues: Toward A Greater Understanding. In the Fall of 1990 I was hired as the Director of Student Development at UNCA, and have been teaching the interdisciplinary course IST 150: Leadership: Theory and Application at least once a year since my arrival. Additionally I was a guest lecturer in Humanities 224, and subsequently was invited to teach Humanities 224 by Dr. Bill Spellman. Rationale: This course proposal is designed to update the course previously titled IST 150 to conform to Interdisciplinary Studies requirements as suggested by the Academic Procedures Committee last spring. This course will teach students to examine the topic of leadership, from multiple perspectives and disciplines. It draws primarily from the social sciences and the humanities. Additionally, the course teaches students about the role of liberal arts and the responsibility of participatory learning. One example of this is that the class studies the UNCA Mission Statement. Not only does this assist me in assessing their reading comprehension and cognitive processing, but also enhances the educational experience by making students conscious of the commitment they have made to their education. One of the goals at UNCA is to promote the understanding of interdisciplinary connections and integrating this knowledge with programs which prepare students for meaningful careers and professions. This course accomplishes this goal. Being a leader, or dealing with leaders, is an integral part of life. This course addresses and develops the critical thinking skills, conscientious evaluation and decision-making skills, communication skills and creativity necessary to developing humane values and making a commitment within those values. Students will develop an understanding of leadership on a broad scale as they examine differing points of view and heritage. Race relations and civil rights will be one of the themes used to explore the concept of leadership An evaluation of the attached syllabus will reveal that this course meets the established criteria for interdisciplinary courses. IST 253 is driven by a broad topic and uses distinct disciplinary approaches (please note the unit titles and reading assignments - both primary and secondary sources). The course requires exploration of critical thinking and uses participatory and interactive instructional techniques. Assignments and evaluations are designed to require the synthesis of materials from different disciplines and the analysis and reconciliation of differing perspectives. The last 2 weeks are purely synthesis, and the earlier weeks force synthesis in a progressive development. The topic, as well as the assignments, lend themselves to addressing the cognitive development of students. Because the dualistic thinker will be challenged by the various perspectives and seemingly contradictory values, theories, and information, and because the multiplistic thinker will be challenged by being pushed to the position of relativism, or commitment in relativism, the course is appropriate for students of various ages and classes. As demonstrated by the syllabus (see attached) students will examine leadership from diverse cultural settings as well as complete various assignments which will allow them to actively demonstrate understanding of the implications of particular cultural differences. Increasing the credit hours from 2 to 3 allows more interdisciplinary study and work making it possible to have a broader exploration of materials and perspectives. This course is not about "how to set a committee agenda" or "how to run a student organization" but rather the development of an intellectual understanding of leadership within multiple contexts.