Harter ‘appalled’ by attitude on core curriculum

Stacy J. Willis

Wednesday, Dec. 9, 1998 | 12:03 p.m.

UNLV President Carol Harter is "appalled" that many faculty members do not see the importance of having a multicultural core curriculum, she said after attending a Tuesday senate meeting.

"I intend to give a little talk at the next Faculty Senate meeting to impress upon them the importance of the core curriculum," she said. "The core curriculum is what separates a university from other colleges...I was appalled that some of the faculty don't seem to understand that."

The Senate Faculty discussed whether to add multicultural and international studies requirements to the core curriculum for more than an hour before voting to postpone a vote on the matter until Jan. 26.

Harter sat in the back of the meeting room as faculty members debated for more than an hour and a half.

Some have criticized the curriculum change proposal as cow-towing to a trend toward political-correctness, but Harter, whose academic degrees are in English, said liberal arts are essential to all university students.

"This is in no way about political sensitivity training...some treat this as if all multicultural courses are left-wing propaganda, but that is unfair and reactionary," she said. "I hope to encourage them to pass the proposal."

Harter said that the third part of the proposal, which would add a "university colloquium" seminar requirement to the undergraduate core, was probably "less feasible" to accomplish with current faculty resources.