Rowan University

Case Study - Spring 2006

History and Context

As a regional public university committed to teaching, Rowan University combines liberal education with professional preparation and offers undergraduate through doctoral programs. The Rowan experience focuses on the holistic development of students as they engage in rigorous academic pursuits.  Programming emphasizes residential learning communities, mentoring programs, a commitment to service learning and volunteerism, and the opportunity for students to work closely with faculty and professional staff in research and professional activities.

In 1996, Rowan University was selected to participate in a national initiative called, Women and Scientific Literacy. This initiative was designed to bridge the gulf between science and women's studies by incorporating the new scholarship in these areas into undergraduate science, engineering, and mathematics courses and also by making science a more central part of women's studies courses. Although this initiative ended in 1999, Rowan was one of 40 institutions selected to participate in another national curricular project, Boundaries and Borderlands III: The Search for Recognition and Community in America.  From 1999-2001, this project focused on curricular and faculty development with emphasis on infusing concepts of diversity and democracy into general education courses.  The Association of American Colleges and Universities administered both national initiatives. By 2002, Rowan students were required to take a general education multicultural/global course.

The participation in both of these national projects resulted in several ongoing initiatives. These include:

• Multicultural and International Understanding: The campus seeks to increase efforts to support and encourage programs and activities that promote diversity on campus.
• First Year Experience: A task force was charged with enhancing the First Year Experience.

Campus Diversity Initiative Model 2002-2006

The intent of the New Jersey Campus Diversity Initiative (NJCDI) grant was to infuse diversity and democracy into Rowan Seminars (first year courses) and increase the capacity of its faculty to engage students in diversity topics by developing interdisciplinary team-taught seminars. This curricular effort increases student engagement of diversity issues by offering both multicultural/global courses and team-taught Rowan seminars that address diversity and campus life.

Weeklong, intensive workshops were offered each semester for teams of faculty from different disciplines to develop new interdisciplinary courses. Teams of faculty spent time discussing issues of diversity and democracy and teaching strategies, as well as effective interdisciplinary course models.  Click here to view the bibliography of the readings used in the workshops.

Accomplishments

By summer 2005, the Rowan NJCDI produced 25 team-taught interdisciplinary courses and involved 47 participants including faculty, professional staff and an administrator.  Courses include:

• Environmental Ethics: Through the Lens of Diversity
• Three Generations of Family Life: Diversity and Democracy through Family Narratives
• Biology, History, and Human Societies