Think lobally, act locally: Save neuroscience at Mac
By: Tony Carr
Issue date: 5/2/08 Section: Opinion
Yes, there is a Cognitive and Neuroscience Studies major at Macalester. No, there is not a Cognitive and Neuroscience Studies department at Macalester. Yes, there should be.
Next Wednesday, there will be a general faculty vote on the proposal to create a new department: the Mind and Brain Studies department. This department would include the CNS major and a Neurobiology major, based on the current Neurobiology concentration within Biology. If the proposal passes, it would require a new tenure-track position. If it does not pass, the CNS program and the CNS major will be thrown back into the abyss from whence they came.
The situation, as we know it, began three years ago. In order to ensure adequate resources, the Educational Policy and Governance (EPAG) Committee issued a mandate that required every major to have its own department. At the same time, the CNS major was created as an interdepartmental major, with the agreement that it would become a full-fledged department in three years or it would be dismantled. Since then, the CNS major has existed between and beyond disciplines, with required courses in the departments of Biology, Chemistry, Linguistics, Philosophy, Psychology, and Mathematics and Computer Science.
In its brief lifetime, the Macalester CNS program has served as a model for many other undergraduate neuroscience programs. This summer, Eric Wiertelak, CNS program coordinator and past president of Faculty for Undergraduate Neuroscience (FUN), will be teaching a workshop on how to build similar programs to faculty representatives from schools across the nation.
Many of my fellow majors chose Macalester primarily for the neuroscience program. For these few freaks who love the brain as much as you love whatever you do, Macalester is a special place.
To my professors: The brain makes your study possible... please make the study of the brain possible.
Tony Carr '08 can be reached at
tcarr@macalester.edu
Next Wednesday, there will be a general faculty vote on the proposal to create a new department: the Mind and Brain Studies department. This department would include the CNS major and a Neurobiology major, based on the current Neurobiology concentration within Biology. If the proposal passes, it would require a new tenure-track position. If it does not pass, the CNS program and the CNS major will be thrown back into the abyss from whence they came.
The situation, as we know it, began three years ago. In order to ensure adequate resources, the Educational Policy and Governance (EPAG) Committee issued a mandate that required every major to have its own department. At the same time, the CNS major was created as an interdepartmental major, with the agreement that it would become a full-fledged department in three years or it would be dismantled. Since then, the CNS major has existed between and beyond disciplines, with required courses in the departments of Biology, Chemistry, Linguistics, Philosophy, Psychology, and Mathematics and Computer Science.
In its brief lifetime, the Macalester CNS program has served as a model for many other undergraduate neuroscience programs. This summer, Eric Wiertelak, CNS program coordinator and past president of Faculty for Undergraduate Neuroscience (FUN), will be teaching a workshop on how to build similar programs to faculty representatives from schools across the nation.
Many of my fellow majors chose Macalester primarily for the neuroscience program. For these few freaks who love the brain as much as you love whatever you do, Macalester is a special place.
To my professors: The brain makes your study possible... please make the study of the brain possible.
Tony Carr '08 can be reached at
tcarr@macalester.edu
Viewing Comments 1 - 10 of 12
Mac Parent
posted 5/04/08 @ 7:36 PM CST
"At the same time, the CNS major was created as an interdepartmental major, with the agreement that it would become a full-fledged department in three years or it would be dismantled. (Continued…)
Elizabeth Frey
posted 5/05/08 @ 9:59 PM CST
Soon to Be MAc Parent
My daughter just accepted an offer for addmission, because MAC had, among other things a Neuroscience Studies Major. If this was not the case she would have accepted offers elsewhere and if it goes away, so may she. (Continued…)
Another soon to be Mac Parent
posted 5/07/08 @ 8:25 AM CST
My daughter was also recently accepted, and is also planning to study neuroscience.
Public radio this morning ran a segment about the field. The expert said neuroscience is what cardiology was 40-50 years ago -- leading in breakthrough research. (Continued…)
Lisa
posted 5/09/08 @ 2:56 PM CST
Sorry to inform you all of this, but the faculty turned down the proposal to turn CNS into its own department. I am quite disappointed with the members of Macalester faculty who voted it down. (Continued…)
Mac Parent
posted 5/09/08 @ 9:55 PM CST
Does this mean they are eliminating the major?
Mac Alumni & Parent
posted 5/11/08 @ 11:13 PM CST
Allowing the faculty to determine whether or not neuroscience could become a department and therefore a valid major at Macalester seems like allowing the Fox to determine how many doors should be locked at the henhouse. (Continued…)
Nick
posted 5/14/08 @ 12:27 AM CST
Mac is too busy wasting energy on shit like gender studies and HMCS, neither or which is a legitimate field of study.
Trying to understand this
posted 5/15/08 @ 10:57 PM CST
A college with over $400 million endowment can't afford one more faculty member to elevate a successful academic concentration/major (CNS) to departmental status?
What does one more faculty member (salary and benefits) cost?
$100K?
I thought I was donating money to Mac to create centers of academic excellence and opportunities for students . (Continued…)
Diane Michelfelder
posted 5/16/08 @ 5:54 PM CST
I am the current Provost and Dean of the College at Macalester. Today, a parent of an incoming first year student who had chosen Macalester because of the quality of its Cognitive and Neuroscience program phoned me to ask me if the major would be continuing at Macalester. (Continued…)
Lisa
posted 5/17/08 @ 10:02 AM CST
Here is an email that Professor Eric Wiertelak sent to us:Hello to all CNS majors!
No doubt you've been wondering about the status of CNS given the faculty vote taken last week. (Continued…)
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