Oct. 13, 2009
University of Wisconsin-Stout will continue its effort to add undergraduate majors that resonate with today’s students by asking the UW System Board of Regents this week to approve a new Bachelor of Science degree in applied social science.
The board, meeting at UW-Eau Claire, also will hear a presentation Thursday about UW-Stout’s campus master plan, which details possible areas of growth for the campus in central Menomonie.
“The applied social science program is a perfect fit with UW-Stout’s designation as Wisconsin’s Polytechnic University,” said John Murphy, dean of the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, which will house the new major. “It takes the traditional foundations of the various social science disciplines — history, political science, sociology, anthropology and economics — and develops, in our students, specific applications of the theoretical into the practical.”
If approved by the full board on Friday, this would bring to 38 the number of undergraduate majors offered at UW-Stout. That is nine more than UW-Stout had in June 2008, when implementation of the academic plan began.
Chancellor Charles W. Sorensen said the number of majors offered at UW-Stout has nearly doubled in his 21 years on campus. “We have listened to what our students, faculty and staff have told us we should be offering as we align our academic plan with our polytechnic designation,” he said, crediting Provost Julie Furst-Bowe with keeping the implementation of the academic plan on schedule.
Murphy said that UW-Stout typically enrolls about 300 students every fall who do not designate a preferred major, and this program will “be very attractive to many of these students.” Another group that may have a particular interest in the program, he said, is the large number of transfer students who are attracted to UW-Stout.
“This program will continue to strengthen our long standing connection to Wisconsin's two-year institutions,” Murphy said.
Murphy emphasized that several studies have indicated that major American companies value the managerial, social and community service skills students receive in an education based in the social sciences. The program will give students a breadth of understanding in those areas, he said.
However, students then will develop a deeper knowledge in one social science concentration, such as history and politics, economics, sociology and anthropology. Finally, Murphy said, the student will acquire specific skills in a concentration or minor that is career oriented. The concentrations include environmental issues and analysis, and global issues. The applied minors include business administration, military leadership, project management, human resource management, tourism and several others.
“The proposed program is unique in that it offers extensive interdisciplinary grounding in social science theory accompanied by practical training in research methods and general social science practice,” UW-Stout officials wrote in the proposal before the Board of Regents. UW-Stout officials also estimated there would be in excess of 115 students in the new major at the end of five years.
The Board of Regents tentatively is scheduled to consider two additional majors for UW-Stout at the December meeting in Madison. They are Bachelor of Science degrees in supply chain management and cognitive science.
The campus master plan that will be presented to the Board of Regents Thursday is a 20-year comprehensive plan that will strengthen UW-Stout as a living and learning center.
The master plan proposes the creation of a new academic quadrangle. The Communication Technologies and Vocational Rehabilitation buildings will be removed and two new academic buildings will be added.
The plan also calls for expansion of the Memorial Student Center and the Sports and Fitness Center, reconfiguration of the recreation and athletic fields, new perimeter parking, landscaping and university-friendly private development to link Main Campus and North Campus.
In addition, a proposed development of North Campus will provide more student amenities including parking, recreation and student services. Included in this development will be the removal of the Jeter-Tainter-Callahan residence hall, which will create recreation space and offer panoramic views of Lake Menomin.
