Central Washington University
College of Arts and Humanities
Department of History
Date: January 20, 2009
Prepared by: Thomas Wellock
______
Department Chair College Dean
Department of History
Program Review Self Study
Year 2008- 2009
I. Introduction to Department or Program
A. Department/unit mission statement
The broadest mission of the history department is consistent with the mission of the university: to confront students with the ambiguities of contemporary existence, conscious of themselves as members of a pluralistic society and global community, capable of skilled communication and the ability to analyze and synthesize information, and to serve as responsible stewards of the earth.
The history department seeks to convey historical knowledge and historical modes of understanding to the student population and citizens of Washington State. The department does this by offering introductory history courses in the university's General Education program; providing specific upper- and lower-division courses emphasizing the major world regions, and the connections between those regions, for history majors and minors; offering graduate training at the MA level for advanced students; participating in the university's teacher certification program; engaging the broader historical profession through research, publication, grant-writing, and scholarly presentations; and interacting with the Ellensburg and central Washington community through educational outreach, participation in interdisciplinary programs, public lectures, fora, discussions, and publications.
B. Brief description of department or program contexts
The History Department last conducted a program review in the 2003-04 academic year. The department consists of nine tenured and tenure-track faculty, two long-term non-tenure-track faculty, occasional adjunct faculty, a department secretary, and a student aide. The department also supports six teaching assistants. It offers B.A programs including two majors, the History Major and Teaching Broad Area Major, and a History Minor and Teaching Minor. The department also administers the Social Science Major and the Social Science: Teaching Secondary Major. It offers a Master of Arts in History with capstone options of a thesis, project, or comprehensive exam.
Undergraduate Programs
Bachelor of Arts: History Major (the Small Plan, which requires a minor must have a minimum of 58 history credits; the Large Plan without a minor must have a minimum of 60 history credits): The Department of History requires majors to develop familiarity in the areas of American History, European History, and Non-Western History. The coherence of this major comes from its requirement that students receive a breadth of knowledge about the history of the United States and World Civilizations. The department expects students to complete survey courses either before or shortly after declaring history as a major. Newly declared majors receive initiation into the discipline with a course that emphasizes the skills of communication, interpretation, research and critical analysis (HIST 302, Introduction to History). Students then deepen their understanding of both US and world history in a variety of upper-division courses related to specific eras and geographical areas. In the history major, the department’s courses emphasize interrelationships among regions as well as the skills of communication, chronology, signification, interpretation and critical analysis. The department assesses the students’ understanding of the historical discipline in a senior seminar requiring the completion of a research paper (HIST 481, Understanding History).
Graduate Programs
Master of Arts: The purpose of the 45-credit program offered by the Department of History is to develop graduates possessing a deeper knowledge of historical methods as well as special competency in a particular area. Students receive systematic training in historical methods, sources, tools, and interpretation. It is a further purpose of the program to train students for lives of productive scholarship and stimulating teaching as well as non-academic pursuits where historical background in required. Finally, in recognition that all students do not have the same objective, the MA degree program contains three options designed to suit different objectives: one (A) that prepares students to enter a Ph.D. program; others (B) and (C) designed to enhance the knowledge and skills of high school history teachers and those more interested in the acquisition of knowledge than research skills. All programs share a common core consisting of historiography, research, and reading seminars that introduce students to an in-depth knowledge of the discipline’s development in the major regions of the world and to the sophisticated skills of research. Students also take courses related to their area of primary interest. Option A requires a reading knowledge of a world language and culminates in a formal thesis and an oral defense of the thesis; Option B concludes with a project that represents substantial historical research and an oral defense of the project; Option C concludes with a written and oral exam in a major and minor field approved by the department’s graduate committee and a portfolio of the student’s written course work.
General Education Contributions
The History Department makes a contribution in two areas of the General Education requirements, under Social and Behavioral Sciences, via three five-credit courses. History 144 (US since 1865) satisfies the “Perspective on the Cultures and Experiences of the US.” History 102 (World Civilization from 1500-1815) and History 103 (World Civilization Since 1815) satisfy the category of “Perspectives on World Cultures.” All three courses require extensive writing instruction and practice. Students write papers and take essay exams, evaluated by an instructor. All meet the new “w” requirement for improved writing for undergraduates.
Teacher Preparation Contributions
The History Teaching Broad Area Major satisfies the Primary endorsements for History and Social Studies. This major is designed for students in the secondary teacher-training program, and students taking this 75-77 credit major are also required to complete the professional education program requirements offered through the Education Department.
C. Describe departmental governance system and provide organizational chart for department.
The department governance system is structured with a department chair (elected by history faculty to a four-year term) who serves the department in a leadership role to guide the department toward meeting its goals and to oversee and approve student degree programs, student workers, and staff and faculty development and promotion. The chair also interfaces with the dean, other departments, and the university governance structure to implement the College of Arts and Humanities (CAH) and university goals.
The faculty of the department operates as a whole unit when making decisions that affect policies, programs and curriculum. All tenured and tenure track faculty are involved in making recommendations and decisions that affect the entire department and its programs. Departmental committees conduct much of the organizational and policy work with recommendations being brought before the entire faculty for final decisions and votes. Typically, we hold faculty meetings once per quarter.
Committees
PersonnelCommittee / Graduate Committee / Curriculum and Assessment Committee *
Easley (Chair) / Herman (Chair) / Moore (Chair)
Ervin / Knirck / Wellock
Moore / Easley / Knirck
Herman (alternate) / Wellock / Amutabi
* In light of the establishment of a regular assessment process at CWU, the department reestablished a Curriculum and Assessment Committee this year.
Assignments
Faculty Senate: Wellock, Amutabi (alternate)
Library Rep.: Amutabi
Phi Alpha Theta Advisor: Knirck
Farrell Committee: Herman
Scholarship Committee: Easley, Wellock
Union Steward: Ervin
Thesis Award Committee: To be determined once theses are nominated.
11/11/08
Page 1
11/11/08
Page 1
D. Department/Programs
D.1 Department Goals—Reviewers please note that in light of the assessment process that the department went through in the spring of 2008 and in developing this program review, the department determined that it needed some additional department goals and that we will need to reconcile our assessment plan goals with the program goals listed below so that they will match going forward. We will complete that process by this spring. For the time being, our assessment plan does not match our program goals.
D.1.1. Coursework will improve how students think and analyze chronologically.
D.1.2 Students will demonstrate historical knowledge of the major areas of the world, including the United States.
D.1.3 Students will engage in historical analysis and critical reasoning.
D.1.4 Students will learn how to write clear and coherent research papers.
D.1.5 Students will learn to use the historical resources and reference tools of a university library.
D.1.6 Prospective teachers will demonstrate knowledge of the major issues, philosophies, and methodologies of history and social studies education and be able to design pedagogically effective teaching strategies for the K-12 classroom.
D.1.7 Help students to expand their cultural horizons beyond the region and the nation.
D.1.8 Graduate students will master a range of historical knowledge in particular historical fields and will use the methods, sources, and tools of historical interpretation.
D.1.9 The Department will encourage faculty development.
D.1.10 The Department faculty will participate in university service and increase public awareness and knowledge of history.
D.1.11 The Department will encourage fund-raising.
D.2 Relationship of department goals to relevant college and University strategic goals.
Relevant University Goals
Goal 1: Maintain and strengthen an outstanding academic and student life on the Ellensburg campus.
The History Department offers some of the most challenging and rigorous courses in the university. To strengthen its offerings, the department has continuously revised its course offerings and instituted program revisions. Over the last five years, the faculty have designed a host of new courses. The department plays a critical role in supporting other academic programs. The Douglas Honors College, Asia/Pacific Studies, Latino and Latin American Studies, American Indian Studies, African and African-American Studies, Environmental Studies, Family Studies, Language programs, Resource Management, the Humanities Program, Military Science, the Social Science program, Living-Learning Communities, and Women's Studies all depend on department faculty and courses.
Goal 3: Strengthen and further diversify our funding base and strengthen infrastructure to support academic and student programs.
The History Department has cultivated support from alumni and former faculty by improving its communication with them. It recently received enough funding to establish the Paul Leroy Scholarship. We have also received donations in memory of graduate Robert Topmiller, an M.A. student who went on to earn his Ph.D. from the University of Kentucky. Topmiller had also established a fund for a graduate student research award in the department. Emeritus faculty such as James Brennan and Zoltan Kramar have donated money for graduate research travel abroad.
Goal 4: Build mutually beneficial partnerships with the public sector, industry, professional groups, institutions, and the communities surrounding our campuses.
Faculty are active in social service activities in Kittitas County and Central Washington. Faculty have served on committees for the City of Ellensburg to help the poor, the board of the Thorp Mill, and the Kittitas County Historical Society. Members of the department have served on city government commissions, including the Environmental Commission, the Parks and Recreation Committee, and the Arts Commission. Karen Blair was appointed by Governor Christine Gregoire to a commission to plan for the celebration of the establishment of women’s suffrage in Washington State.
A faculty member won a Gear-Up grant to work with minority students in the Mattawa school district.
Goal 5: Achieve regional and national prominence for the university.
All of our T/TT faculty are active in their particular field and regularly interact with colleagues regionally and nationally in the form of presentations at meetings, publications, grants, reviews and other activities that bring publicity to the university. A number of our faculty have won awards for their scholarship and have published with the leading presses and journals in their field.
Goal 6: Build inclusive and diverse campus communities that promote intellectual inquiry and encourage civility, mutual respect, and cooperation.
The History Department is a leader in the effort to build an inclusive and diverse campus community. Our curriculum exposes students to the experiences of peoples around the globe, as well as the diverse communities in the United States, in many historical eras. Our faculty have developed and led many study-abroad programs, to China, India, Vietnam, Mexico, and South Africa that allow students to experience the rich and diverse cultures of the world first-hand. We are leaders in interdisciplinary programs like Africana and Black Studies, American Indian Studies, Asia and Pacific Studies, Latino and Latin American Studies, and Women's Studies that infuse diversity into CWU's curriculum and campus experience. We participate on committees--such as the College of Arts and Humanities Diversity Task Force, the International Studies and Programs Advisory Committee, and the President's Diversity Council--that are engaged in this work. Combined, our efforts help to promote intellectual inquiry and encourage civility, mutual respect and cooperation.
Relevant College Goals
Goal 1: Create and maintain high quality academic programs
Similar to University Goal 1. See above.
Goal 2: Enhance support for faculty research and creative activity
History Department faculty have been very active in applying for and receiving university and outside support for research. This has included quarterly and summer research leaves, and private foundation grants to support sabbaticals and summer research. The department has also sought creative course schedules to allow faculty more time to focus on research.
Goal 3: Improve visibility of the college
Through dissemination of scholarly research in discipline sanctioned forums, faculty have raised their visibility among their academic peers. History department faculty have made many on-campus presentations and also bring in expert speakers to campus. They are also active in presentations to the public, serve on many boards, and publishing articles in popular history magazines and newspapers. Faculty also promote service learning opportunities for their students to increase our engagement with Washington State citizens.
Goal 4: Increase CAH share of resources and match resources to growth
The History Department did win back a faculty line in Middle East/African history that was lost a number of years ago. The department has also witnessed uneven growth in FTEs in general education, history majors, and graduate students. See table 7 for details.
Goal 5: Build a more diverse college community
The History Department is a leader in CAH's effort to diversify the college community. Our curriculum exposes students to the experiences of peoples around the globe, as well as the diverse communities in the United States, in many historical eras. Our faculty have developed and led many study-abroad programs to China, India, Vietnam, Mexico, and South Africa that allow students to experience the rich and diverse cultures of the world first-hand. We are leaders in interdisciplinary programs like Africana and Black Studies, American Indian Studies, Asia and Pacific Studies, Latino and Latin American Studies, and Women's Studies that infuse diversity into CWU's curriculum and campus experience. We participate on committees--such as the College of Arts and Humanities Diversity Task Force, the International Studies and Programs Advisory Committee, and the President's Diversity Council--that are engaged in this work not only at the college level, but in the University and surrounding community as well.