Loosely structured like think tanks, humanities research centers are the true intellectual homes of many humanities faculty members and are instrumental in breaking the hardened boundaries of the disciplines. (MSE)

In response to declining enrollment and industry concerns about entry workers' skills and competencies, Drexel University (PA) has revamped its engineering curriculum to create a "technical liberal arts degree" that incorporates elements of other disciplines. Other institutions are experimenting with this and other approaches to…

Reports on controversy surrounding Portland (Oregon) State University's nationally renowned, interdisciplinary general education program. Critics feel the four-year curriculum, which focuses on learning processes rather than content, has resulted in a watered-down curriculum that doesn't teach enough writing, math, literature, science, art, and…

Afro-American studies have acquired academic legitimacy. Scholars say the question is no longer whether the field will survive, but how to incorporate Afro-American studies into the curriculum. There has been a revolution in social history because of the unorthodox methods that scholars used to conduct their research. (MLW)

The New Jersey Project: Integrating the Scholarship on Gender seeks to change fundamentally what and how students learn by incorporating issues of gender into college courses. University of Arizona students are required to complete a course that deals with issues of gender, race, or class. (MLW)

In response to an emerging anti-intellectualism on campus, Saint Lawrence University (New York) instituted an interdisciplinary first-year course built around themes of community and identity. The effort is designed to stimulate intellectual development, bring faculty and students into closer contact, and blend academics and student life. (MSE)

Increasingly, college undergraduates are custom designing their courses of study and creating majors that allow them to combine often eclectic interests with career goals. In many cases, students' creations have had a lasting impact through development of new academic programs. Institutional arrangements for planning, advising, and monitoring…

A five-day conference on the lack of interdisciplinary education is discussed. Many undergraduates need a basic understanding of life science, social and environmental problems, and other cultures, and not enough campuses are taking steps to improve the situation. (MLW)

Drexel University (Pennsylvania) will overhaul its first- and second-year curricula by using extensive team teaching, designing interdisciplinary courses, introducing students to their majors earlier, and having students work in small groups. A pilot program in engineering has been successful. Goals are to improve education and boost retention.…

Topnotch scholars, academic couples, and emphasis on new theories are transforming the English department at Duke University. Professors lured to Duke say joint appointments and interdisciplinary responsibilities are a big part of the attraction. Several members describe their work as left-leaning or Marxist. (MLW)

A lack of cooperation between engineering and liberal arts faculty members, along with inadequate student advising, has thwarted efforts to broaden the education of engineering undergraduates. A report by the Association of American Colleges, "Unfinished Design: The Humanities and Social Sciences in Undergraduate Engineering Education,"…

Unless schoolteachers are respected as professionals, the drive to improve education will stall, according to educators speaking at the first national meeting of the Holmes Group, an organization of research universities dedicated to reforming teacher education. Regional priorities, goals, liberal-arts graduates as instructors, and Black teachers…

The new wave of curricular reform, connections made between disciplines, is described. The focus is on general education with classes that deal with broad themes that link various disciplines. The push to make college pensions more flexible and the changing of retirement plans to make sure they comply with new federal laws are discussed. (MLW)