Split to occur next fall
By TERESA FRALISH
Associate News Editor
Notre Dame's Economics Department will split next fall into two departments with separate faculty and a single undergraduate major, following a 39-3 vote by the University's Academic Council in favor of the split Thursday.
Current faculty will be separated into the new departments of Economics and Econometrics and Economics and Policy Study, said Carol Mooney, University vice president and associate provost.
Mooney is responsible for recording the minutes of the Council's meetings; the Council is made up of faculty and administrators and votes on academic issues such as the proposal to change this department.
Prior to the vote on the proposal, the members of the Council debated the possible changes to the Economics departments.
"There were a number of questions raised about the meaning of the proposal. There was no strong dissent [at the meeting] and a number of people spoke in favor of [the proposal]," said Mooney.
The Department of Economics and Econometrics will focus on mathematical or neoclassical economics, while the Department of Economics and Policy Study will concentrate on heterodox economics, which takes a less quantitative approach.
The proposal passed Thursday differs from an earlier proposal that would have established two separate undergraduate economics majors. However, many economics faculty and students had expressed concern about this possibility.
"The new departments are going to provide the best opportunity [for economics]," said Richard Jensen, current chair of the Economics Department. "In a situation like this nobody's going to get everything they want," he said.
Changes to the Economics Department were considered after the Blue Ribbon Committee, appointed by University Provost Nathan Hatch, recommended forming two separate economics departments.
Traditionally, the study of economics at Notre Dame has focused on a heterodox approach and administrators wanted to improve the department's neoclassical study. In the last review of the College of Arts and Letters, economics was the only department that ranked in the bottom 25 percent of national programs.
Under the new guidelines, undergraduate students will be offered a single major, while graduate students will eventually choose one area to specialize in. "There will be a core curriculum for all graduate students," said Mooney.
The two departments will each have a separate faculty and be responsible for their own organization and faculty hiring. "Each department will operate as a separate unit," said Jensen. "Each will also have its own standards."
Jensen said that the split would help the two departments to improve in areas of faculty hiring and research.
Jensen said that some changes will be made to graduate program core classes, such as dropping the requirements for political economy and history of economic thought classes.
The new changes are set to take effect July 1, said Jensen.
Over the summer, Mark Roche, dean of the College of Arts and Letters, and Jensen will consider possibilities for the new chair of the Economics and Policy Study Department and placement for current faculty into one of the two new departments. Jensen, who was hired to help strengthen the econometrics section of the department, will be the chair of the new Econometrics and Economics Department.
While some were concerned that the new econometrics department would not study social justice issues that have traditionally been the focus of the Economics Department at Notre Dame, Jensen said it would. Both departments will consider social issues, but will study them using different approaches, Jensen said.
All News Stories for Monday, March 24, 2003
