Repository: UIHistories Project: Board of Trustees Minutes - 1968 [PAGE 336]

EXTRACTED TEXT FROM PAGE:

284

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

[December 8

the subject-matter departments should be effected in order that a maximum of leadership and training will be provided and a correlation of curricula and expenditure of time and means will result. Such interdepartmental and interdisciplinary cooperation is imperative for high quality teacher education. It is time for the power that at one time resided with the professors of education to reside with the total institution. The academic disciplines must demonstrate a willingness and a competence to participate in teacher education and school oriented research. The University of Illinois at Chicago Circle faces multiple commitments. One thousand two hundred and seventy-five students have enrolled in programs in secondary education up to the senior year. Four hundred and seventy-five students have enrolled in elementary education through the sophomore year. Over two hundred are enrolled in degree programs in physical education. All of these programs have been approved by the Board of Trustees. Educational practice is required for certification both in elementary and secondary education, and arrangements have had to be made well in advance. Placement is a part of the teacher education programs. Consequently, administrative decisions have been required and necessary appointments have been made in placement and in educational practice. Other decisions remain to be made. Presentation of the curriculum in elementary education to the Board of Higher Education has been delayed since last December to make possible describing the organizational structure. Further delay is undesirable. The pattern of organization in teacher education at the University of Illinois is well-established in a form which the Board of Trustees has approved. It is also the established practice at the University of Illinois that degrees are granted only by colleges. Programs in education will continue within the cognizance of a Council on Teacher Education chaired by the Dean of Faculties and made up of the deans of all the colleges having the disciplines of the secondary program, i.e., Liberal Arts and Sciences, Architecture and Art, Business Administration, etc. The Teacher Certification Board of the State of Illinois through its Executive Secretary, in a letter dated July 26, 1966, urged the University to move immediately to the establishment of a College of Education. The letter said, in part, "that a college could well encompass many facets of the professional education program and do a better job of coordinating many diverse efforts." This entire matter must be resolved in the near future, since the University can not afford to postpone any longer the development of suitable organizational arrangements and the recruitment of staff for this crucial field of instruction, research, and public service. Several factors make prompt action necessary. Decisions regarding the curricula, major areas of emphasis in teacher education, and the characteristics of the faculty should be made in large part in terms of the structure of the educational unit. The Dean of the College obviously should be identified as soon as possible. A Consultative Committee including members from the other colleges and possibly with representation from outside the University should proceed at once to help select the best person available in the country. Faculty who are being recruited justifiably want to know the organizational form of the unit and its relationship to other components of the University, since these features reflect the general status in the University of the teacher education program. Students quite obviously need answers to these and other questions (e.g., which component of the University certifies them for graduation). The University of Illinois should also make clear to the public school sector of the state the organizational form of the teacher education program at Chicago Circle, since it is clear that the status and functional effectiveness of an academic program is in considerable measure dependent upon its administrative structure. I hope that you will concur in the recommendation and present it to the Board of Trustees at the November meeting.

NORMAN A. PARKER

Chancellor Attachment A. Memorandum Concerning Establishment of a College of Education at Chicago Circle Items I though V I I of the following statement were given to the Senate, October 11, 1966, for its information. They present a chronological review of the subject.