Repository: UIHistories Project: Board of Trustees Minutes - 1990 [PAGE 500]

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488

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

[March 12

I recommend approval, pending further action by the Illinois Board of Higher Education.

On motion of Ms. Reese, this recommendation was approved.

Change in Status of the Department of Bioengineering, Chicago

(8) The chancellor at Chicago, upon the recommendation of the College of Engineering and with the approval of the Chicago Senate, recommends that the administrative structure of the Department of Bioengineering be changed from a "department" to a "program." The purpose of the reorganization is to incorporate wider faculty strength and enhance biotechnology education and research at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Bioengineering is an interdisciplinary program requiring diverse expertise. Unlike other engineering disciplines, bioengineering is a broadly defined set of problems at the interface between engineering disciplines on the one hand and the life sciences and medicine on the other. Most of the courses constituting the bioengineering curriculum are currently offered by departments other than bioengineering. Even most of those courses with the bioengineering designation (BioE) have equivalencies in other engineering departments. The interdisciplinary nature of the bioengineering curriculum is incongruent with a current departmental structure that assigns exclusive control of the curriculum to the Bioengineering Department. The College of Engineering wants to attract faculty from different units around the campus to join the interdisciplinary bioengineering program. These faculty would participate fully, including the right to vote on decisions concerning the curriculum and program operation. For many years, the program has languished for want of an appropriate interdisciplinary structure and faculty leadership. The College of Engineering proposes to replace the Bioengineering Department with the Bioengineering Program Committee, consisting of the heads of departments participating in the program. The chairman of the program, as well as members of the committee, will be appointed by the dean of the College of Engineering in consultation with the College Executive Committee. The bioengineering curriculum will be coordinated by the Graduate and Undergraduate Curriculum Committees, comprised of faculty with bioengineering expertise from the College of Engineering and other colleges. The college believes that this administrative reorganization is the most appropriate path to follow for enhancement of the bioengineering curriculum. This proposal has been approved by vote of the College of Engineering faculty and the Graduate College Executive Committee. The vice president for academic affairs concurs in this recommendation. The University Senates Conference has indicated that no further senate jurisdiction is involved. I recommend approval, pending further action by the Illinois Board of Higher Education.

On motion of Ms. Reese, this recommendation was approved. (Note: Prior to voting on this item, Dean Paul Chung and Professor Irving F. Miller of the College of Engineering at the Chicago campus answered questions from members of the board concerning the change in status of the program in bioengineering, explaining that this was due to an administrative reorganization in the College of Engineering. They indicated that the new arrangement for the study of bioengineering was designed to strengthen offerings available in this area.)