College faculty vote down Community and Conflict general education requirement
Faculty in the College of Letters and Science have
voted down a proposal to require all undergraduates to enroll in a general education course in a new sub-category called Community and Conflict in the Modern World.
The results of the vote by the College faculty, which began May 18 and ended May 25, were announced today (June 1) by the College’s Faculty Executive Committee, made up of faculty and student representatives. The committee put the proposal
up for a vote after more than a year of discussion, analysis and revision.
"I’m deeply disappointed that the proposed new general education requirement was not approved, and I’m especially disappointed for the many students who worked with such passion to make the case for a change in curriculum set by faculty," Chancellor Gene Block
said in a statement. "I supported the Community and Conflict in the Modern World proposal, an important piece of a comprehensive strategy to help expose students to different viewpoints as part of their scholarly experience. Regardless of the outcome, our efforts to advance
True Bruin Values and our
Principles of Community will continue."
The proposal would have required all College undergraduates, beginning with students entering in fall 2013, to take one course that would promote, through education and research, an understanding of how differences between people bring strengths as well as conflicts to communities of all kinds.
