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Faculty of Social Sciences - Annual Report 2003-04

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Steve Soderlind, Associate Dean

Mission

The Faculty of Social Sciences harmonizes its programs to the College's Mission Statement and Strategic Plan, enhancing a liberal arts curriculum that is rooted in the Gospel and informed by a global perspective.  The faculty energetically works to empower students for "lives of worth and service," and welcomes colleagues and students from diverse social, intellectual, and political backgrounds.

Organization

The Social Sciences Faculty in 2003-04 included over fifty full-time and part-time scholars in eight departments.  These members taught over 280 social science courses, and taught outside their departments in the Great Conversation, the American Conversation, the Asian Conversation, Environmental Studies, Women's Studies, Statistics, International Studies, and sundry interdisciplinary projects and workshops.

Programs in the social sciences are administered primarily through the academic departments overseen by Dean Jim May and his Associate Dean for Social Sciences.  The Associate Dean and Department Chairs meet monthly to coordinate programs and resolve problems within the social sciences.  Further, the entire Social Sciences Faculty meets monthly to conduct its business; these meetings are convened by the Associate Dean and often involve formative discussion about staffing needs, budgets, and college policies.

Personnel changes, 2003-04

One Tenure-Track Hire:   Maria Fanis (Ph.D., Michigan, 2001, specializing in international relations) will assume a tenure line in Political Science in September, 2005, following a post-doctoral fellowship at Harvard. 

One Tenure and Two Promotions:   Carolyn Anderson (Sociology/Anthropology) was awarded tenure and promotion to Associate Professor; Kathy Chadwick (Management Studies, Husby-Johnson Chair) was awarded promotion to Full Professor.

Four Retirements:   William Carlson (Economics), Mary Johnson (Nursing), Myron Solid (Education), Charles Umbanhowar, Sr. (Political Science).

Term Appointments:   Numerous term appointments were made to replace sabbatical and special leaves in the Departments of Economics, Family and Social Services, Management Studies, Nursing, Political Science, and Sociology/Anthropology.  A strategically important term appointment was also made in the Department of Education, where Robert McClure will provide an experienced hand beginning next year as Visiting Associate Professor of Education.

Tenure-Track Search Reguests for 2004-05:   Approval was granted the Department of Political Science to hire a tenure-track candidate with a specialty in political thought.  The Family and Social Service Department also requested a tenure line to replace Professor Holt following his planned retirement next year.  The request was denied, per normal college procedure which requres that a program review be completed before a tenure line can be approved.  Thus a program self-study and review will be undertaken for Family Studies in the next year.

Faculty and Program Challenges

In its brief history this faculty has comprised an odd assortment of departments without a well-clarified identity.  With only half of these departments normally listed in the social sciences, and many of the others often excluded altogether in conceptions of the "pure liberal arts college," the faculty has groped for an inclusive identity.

This year the faculty voted to change its name from the Faculty of Social and Applied Sciences to the Faculty of Social Sciences.  The new name may not describe the programs so well as it suits the faculty's readiness for collaboration and solidarity.

Featuring four applied programs (Nursing, Social Work, Education, and Management Studies), the Faculty of Social Sciences is demonstrating a remarkable show of inclusiveness and creativity to shape programs that serve students.  For example, the Education Department offers mainly licensure and the Management Studies Concentration is available as an attachment to all BA majors on campus.  Further, the Social Science Faculty - including theorists and practitioners, economists and accountants, sociologists and social workers, statisticians and ethnographers - houses creative tensions that the faculty has come to appreciate via discussion and collaboration.

Significant issues linger, of course, as some of our programs stand outside the charmed circle of "pure liberal arts," and some of those are expensive to boot.  Nursing, education, and social work have cost/student course above the campus average, for example.  Therefore, this faculty will have challenges going forward, four of which are highlighted below; these involve nursing, family studies, education, and the Husby-Johnson Chair.

Nursing - The academic year 2003-04 was difficult for the Nursing Department.  At the end of the previous year, Nursing had petitioned for a replacement tenure line in anticipation of Professor Mary Johnson's retirement.  The petition was denied, and a process of program assessment was instituted.  There was no issue with the quality of our nursing program, which is excellent; at issue were matters of fit, cost, and the College's future.

President Thomforde appointed a Nursing Task Force in the fall of 2003, charging it to study Nursing from the view of costs, gains, and importance to the College's future.  After working through the semester, the task force submitted its report of findings and recommendations in November.

President Thomforde reviewed the task force findings, and after consultation appointed a second task force to continue the work.  Its report will submitted by October 2004.  Meanwhile, the Nursing department is undertaking a creative initiative to reshape its program in the interest of cost reduction, expansion, and greater integration with the liberal arts.  This episode of program assessment and construction provides a transparent example of the College's commitment to its strategic goals of Prudence, Diversity, and Inclusion.

Family Studies - Professor George Holt plans to retire at the end of the 2004-05 academic year, which will leave a significant gap in the College's ability to offer the Family Studies major.  The program will have over sixty majors as Holt retires, so a replacement will be required at least on a terminal basis.

Meanwhile, a group of interested faculty from both the social sciences and the natural sciences has been convening and will continue to convene for the purpose of reinventing Family Studies for its post-Holt era.  The model under consideration is similar to that of Environmental Studies at St. Olaf, whereby a cadre of interested faculty take ownership of the program as a collaborative effort - led by a specialist, in this case a Ph.D. in Family Social Science.  Hopefully, the program review/construction team will bring forward such a plan for continuing and strengthening the Family Studies major at St. Olaf College.

Elementary Education - Two years ago St. Thomas University announced that it would no longer serve St. Olaf College as a post-baccalaureate program for elementary education licensure.  That meant that several classes of St. Olaf graduates would need an alternative licensure opportunity, as promised by our catalog.

This year our Education department has developed its own post-baccalaureate elementary education program, to be implemented beginning in the summer of 2004.  The program will serve 15 students in the first year, the tentative plan being to sunset the program after three years.

Husby-Johnson Chair - Kathy Chadwich accepted a position as Special Advisor to the President starting in January 2004, thus vacating the Husby-Johnson Chair in the middle of her term.  Her tenure as chair holder had been extremely productive, demonstrating the veracity of a new model for the chair in which considerable resources were devoted to faculty development via Husby-Johnson Associates.

In seeking to replace Chadwick, we discovered that the funds available for the Husby-Johnson Chair had shrunk considerably - so the Chair would have to be reshaped.  Happily, a new arrangement was achieved, and Paul Wojick was chosen to be Husby-Johnson Chair for the next two years.  He will have resources at his disposal to fund at least two Associates, so the faculty development aspect of the chair is at least partially preserved.  Subsequent to Wojick's tenure as Chair, the position will go unfilled for a year, and then the three-year cycle will be repeated until funding returns to sufficient levels for full-time occupancy.

Enrollment Stresses

Enrollment in the social sciences is generally strong, but certain departments are hard pressed to serve heavy demand for their courses.  To depict this situation, Table 1 ranks departments by the number of student-credits per teaching FTE for the years 2000 to 2003.  This pattern of enrollments held through academic year  2004, though a full array of campus numbers is as yet unavailable.  Note from Table 1 the relatively heavy load on those who teach in Management Studies, Sociology/Anthropology, Family Studies, and Political Science.  Click here to access Table 1 .

Space and Facilities

The Social Science faculty is housed in three buildings:  Holland Hall, Flaten Hall, and the Science Center.  The offices and work spaces are generally comfortable and provide for efficiency.  However, two improvements were made this year - and yet another remains as a significant challenge for the future.

1.  A significant renovation of public and office space was undertaken over Summer 2003 in the Department of Political Science.  This included a new public space, an office for the department's administrative assistant, new lighting and ceilings, and general brightening.  The improved facility provides a more inviting reception space for students and faculty to meet.  As a large major (160 declared majors in 2004), the enhanced reception space will help the Political Science department meet its service goals.

2.  A renovation of the top floor of Flaten Hall for the Elementary Education program was undertaken during Spring 2004.  A new classroom was prepared and equipped for this summer's first class of students in St. Olaf's Elementary Education licensure program.  The space is now excellent for the purpose.

3.  A lingering and pesky problem remains for the Nursing department, currently split between Holland Hall and the Science Center.  The Nursing facilities are relatively cramped, and two of the offices in Holland are windowless closets.  Hopefully this situation can be rectified over the next two years.

Conferences and Programs

The Social Science faculty and its departments offered several special programs in 2003-04.  The faculty's annual Globalization and Social Responsibility Conference was combined this year with the Nobel Peace Prize Forum.  We did, however, have a day of the annual conference to ourselves, featuring Janet Finn, who spoke on her book, Tracing the Veins:  Of Copper, Culture and Community from Butte to Chuquicmata (California, 1998).  In addition, many Social Science departments offered workshops at the Nobel Conference entitled "Striving for Peace, Roots of Change."

Many departments also featured speakers and events through the year.  A few of the programs stood out:

1.  Kleber Gery Lecture (economics) Prof. Roy Wientraub, Duke University.
2.  Woodrow Wilson Visiting Scholar, The Honorable Julia Chang Bloch.
3.  Visiting Fulbright Scholar, Prof. Abdasalam ben Maissa (economics).
4.  Middle East Series (political science).  A Teach-In on Iraq featuring Professors Martin Sampson, University of Minnesota, Tim Lomperis, St. Louis University and Ambassador-in-Residence Robert Flaten.
5.  Pi Sigma Alpha (political science).  "Same-Sex Marriage Panel," featured contrasting positions and legal commentary by a law school professor.
6.  November Program (political science).  "The Politics of Cultural Differences," a lecture by David Leege, Professor Emeritus of Politics at Notre Dame University.

Off Campus Program Leadership

- Bill Carlson (Economics) - led Interim course, "Britain in Transition," in Great Britain.
- Xun Pomponio (Economics) - Interim in China
- George Holt (Family Studies) - Interim to Curtin University (Western Australia),
- Naurine Lennox (Social Work) and Bruce Nordstrom-Loeb (Sociology) - Interim Course in Mexico for the St. Olaf College Band (then on tour).
- Dan Hofrenning (Political Science) - Interim to New Hampshire to study primary politics, including internships in presidential compaigns.
- Chris Brooks (Political Science) - Interim on Democracy in the Czech Republic.

Grants

Faculty Development Grants:

- Terry Fitzgerald, Economics;
- Mary Carlsen, Social Work;
- Chris Chiappari, Sociology/Anthropology, a "start-up" grant for research in Guatemala as part of his tenure-track position in anthropology;
- Chris Chiaparri also received a summer stipend to develop a Spanish-language FLAC component for his Soc/Anthro 237 course, "Forging a Latin American Culture."
- Tom WIlliamson (Sociology/Anthropology), a Hewlett grant, summer 2003 to explore issues of diversity in the Twin Cities, in preparation for a new interim course (January 2005) called "Global Twin Cities;"
- Bruce Nordstrom-Loeb (Sociology/Anthropology), funding from International Studies to participate in a two-week workshop in Mexico, June 2003.

Other Grants of Note:
- Bruce Dalgaard (Economics), ACM/GLCA Japan Study Travel Grant and St. Olaf College Asian Studies Freeman Grant.
- Rebecca Judge (Economics) U.S. Environmental Protections Agency, STAR Grant, "Valuing Children's Evnironmental Health:  A Comparison of Stated and Revealed Preference Estimates."  With Patrick Welle (Bemidji State University) and Thomas Crocker (University of Colorado).
- Mary Carlsen (Social Work), Lilly Teaching Fellowship.

Professional Activities, some highlights (for a more thorough accounting, see department reports and the Dean's web page):

Economics -

Bruce R. Dalgaard
      - invited Lectures
          + Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan, June 2003, School of Commerce
          + Bremerhaven University of Applied Sciences (Germany), August 2003
          + Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan, April 2004, Department of  
              Industrial Engineering
          + National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies, Tokyo, Japan, April
            2004

Terry Fitzgerald
      - Publications
          + "Business Cycles and Long-Term Growth:  Lessons from Minnesota," 
The Region , Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, June 2003, Vol. 17,
              No. 2
           + "The Band Pass Filter," with Lawrence J. Christiano, International
Economic Review , May 2003, Vol. 44, Issue 2.
       - Keynote speaker, 2003 Minnesota Education Summit.

Bill Carlson
      - Invited Presentations
          + Georgetown University, Washington, D.C., November 22, 2003
           + Stetson University, Deland, Florida, April 15,2004.
       - Completed Draft of Economics for Business and Economics 6th Edition ,
        (with Betty Thorne), Prentice Hall Inc.

Rebecca P. Judge
   - Presentations:
          + "Welfare Implications of U.S. Agricultural Export Subsides on Small
              Importing Economies," Environmental Economics Research
              Seminar Presentation, University of Minnesota, April, 2004.
          + "U.S. Farm Subsides and Rice Production in Costa Rice," Western
              Economics Association Annual Meetings, Denver, July, 2003 
              (refereed).  With Anthony D. Becker, and Sean D'Evelyn (St. Olaf
              student).
          + "Enron Recessions - Energy Price Spikes and the U.S. Economy,"
              Western Economics Association Annual Meetings, Denver, July, 2003
              (refereed),  With Anthony D. Becker, and Anisa Zhafka (student).

Anthony D. Becker
   - Publications:
          + "An On-Line Resource for Antitrust and Industrial Organizations:  The
              Antitrust Case Summary Browser," Journal of Economic Education ,
              forthcoming Spring 2005.
   - Book Contract
          +  The Sports Law Casebook:  Milestones in the Economics of Sports
Law , with Victor Matheson (College of the Holy Cross), South-
              Western (a Thompson company).  January 2005 publication 
               anticipated.
   - Presentations:
          + "U.S. Farm Subsidies and Rice Production in Costa Rica," Western
              Economics Association Annual Meetings, Denver, July 2003
               (refereed).  With Rebecca P. Judge, and Sean D'Evelyn (St. Olaf
              student).
          + "Enron Recessions - Energy Price Spikes and the U.S. Economy,"
              Western Economics Association Annual Meetings, Denver, July 2003
              (refereed).  With Rebecca P. Judge, and Anisa Zhafka (student).

Family Studies and Social Work:

Mary Carlsen
   - "International Content in U.S. SOcial Work Education," Social Work in 
Europe (Vol. 10, #1, 2003).  (Also presented at the national meeting of
     social work education at University of Warwick, July 2003.)

George Holt
   - Featured speaker to the entire first year class at St. Mary's University
     (Winona) on the subject "Sexuality and the Campus Scene."  Then spoke
     to the St. Mary's faculty charged to teach the course, "Encounter," which
     will be required of seniors as a "capstone" course in preparation for life
     long learning.

Sociology/Anthropology:

Ray DeVries, currently on leave at the Institute for Advance Study Publications:
   - A Pleasing Birth:  Midwidery and Maternity Care in the Netherlands.
    Temple University Press, (September 2004).
   - "Making Maternity Care:  The Consequences of Culture for Health
     Care Systems."  With Sirpa Wrede et al, pp. 213-235 in Comparing
Cultures, Dimensions of Culture in a Comparative Perspective .  Henk
     Vinken, Joseph Soeters, and Peter Ester (eds.), Leiden NL (2004). 
   - "Health Care Ethics and Health Law in the Dutch Discussions of End-of-
     Life   Decisions."  With Loes Kater (first author), et al.  Studies in History
and Philosophy of Biological and Biomediacal Sciences , Vol. 20 (2003):
     669-684.

Mike Leming
   - Co-editor for a two-volume work published by Russell Sage entitled
Handbook of Dying, Death, Hospice, and Bereavement (Sage, 2003).
   - Co-editor (with Dr. George Dickinson) Annual Editions 2004-2005:
Death and Dying .  McGraw-Hill Publishers, 2004.
   - Guest lectures at California Lutheran, Messiah College, Westmont College,
      HoughtonCollege, and Wat SUan Dok and Wat Sri Soda (in Thailand).

Chris Chiappari
   - "Discurso, Identidad y Critica Cultural: el Protestantismo en el Altiplano de
     Guatemale."  In Revista Aleridades .  (Mexico: Universidad Autonoma
     Metropolitana, Unidad Iztapalapa, Departtamento de Anthropologia.)