The faculty approved the creation of the William R. Rhodes Center in International Economics and the establishment of continuing studies certificate programs on a pilot basis in its meeting Tuesday. A summary of the University's budget plans - which outlined the University's increasingly aggressive spending - was also presented.
The Rhodes Center, which will be housed in the Watson Institute for International Studies, will "promote research into international trade and international finance ... and will build a stronger relationship between Watson and the (economics) department," said Barbara Stallings, director of the Watson Institute.
The creation of the center - made possible by a $10 million donation by trustee emeritus and Citigroup executive William Rhodes '57 - will include the hiring of a new professor in the economics department and will provide research grants on a competitive basis, said Professor of Economics Ross Levine, who presented the motion to the faculty.
"This is an interesting area of economics that complements our current strengths ... in development and economic growth," said Andrew Foster, professor of economics and chair of the department.
The resolution was passed unanimously after concerns about the speed of planning for the center were addressed by President Ruth Simmons.
"Sometimes we have to put together a proposal in response to a donor ... before they lose interest (in the project)," Simmons said, explaining the brevity of the two-page proposal for the center.
The faculty also unanimously voted to create a three-year pilot program to offer for-credit continuing education programs for adults. Under the plan, the University will offer series of courses, called a certificate programs, intended for adults with bachelor's degrees. A certificate program would include about five to six courses specially designed for a target population, said Karen Sibley, dean of summer and continuing studies, who presented the motion to the faculty. Adults completing these courses would receive grade reports, a transcript and a document acknowledging the program's completion.
"This is a nice opportunity to teach a new population of students ... and would allow us to reach out to the adult learner community," Sibley said.
Professor participation in the program would be completely voluntary, and pay would be determined similarly to summer studies programs, in which a professor receives 1/9th of his or her academic year salary for teaching the course, Sibley said.
Sibley told the faculty that hypothetical examples of certificate programs include a program to teach multi-language education to secondary school teachers and a program in workplace health and disease prevention.
The three-year pilot program will not mix adult learners and traditional undergraduates, although faculty input will be taken into consideration if the pilot is successful and expands to further programs, Sibley said.
Also, Elizabeth Huidekoper, executive vice president for finance and administration, gave an updated summary of the University's capital plan, which includes increasing University debt and boosting spending from the University's endowment.
"We will have a higher dependence on strong endowment returns and a greater reliance on student fees," Huidekoper said. If either source of income does not perform as expected, she said, the University faces financial "disaster."
Still, the University is basing its decision to increase debt and endowment spending on the actions of peer institutions.
"We need to increase the size of the faculty, improve international financial aid ... and undertake big capital projects to stay competitive and to attract the best students from all around the world, Huidekoper said.
