The student news site of Marquette University

Marquette Wire

The student news site of Marquette University

Marquette Wire

The student news site of Marquette University

Marquette Wire

New graduate program approved by Academic Senate

Meets demand for mental health counseling degree

The University Academic Senate passed a recommendation Monday to create a new graduate program of study in the College of Education.

Robert Griffin, professor of journalism and chair of the University Board of Graduate Studies, and Todd Campbell, associate professor of counselor education and counseling psychology, proposed the creation of a Master of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. The proposal would place the graduate program within the College of Education.

Griffin said the program was being created to match an increasing demand for a degree in mental health counseling, and would require no additional resources to develop.

Campbell added that the proposal amounts to an elevation of a special addiction and mental health track within the already-existing Master’s in Counseling Program to a full program. The motion was passed with one abstention.

Shared governance

Faculty Council Chair and Senate Vice-Chair Christine Krueger, an associate professor of English, introduced a motion to create small groups consisting of deans, chairs and members of the Academic Senate to initiate discussion regarding shared governance at Marquette.

The Academic Senate was formed in part to address shared governance, which promotes faculty involvement in administrative decisions.

Krueger said the groups were designed to help deans and chairs outside of the Academic Senate gain a common understanding of shared governance.

“These are meant to be the first steps,” Krueger said.

She said the groups would be created to fulfill two goals: the initiation of conversation about shared governance, and to increase communication between the Academic Senate and Marquette as a whole. 

Krueger added it was important to help the non-Senate members of the groups learn exactly what shared governance is and is not.

“You don’t ask a question in the classroom about something your students haven’t read,” Krueger said.

The motion was approved, with one senator abstaining.

In other news from the meeting:

– Provost John Pauly announced the university had only a $2 million surplus for the upcoming fiscal year, leaving it very little in cash reserves or emergency funds. He attributed the low numbers partly to an increase in discounts on tuition to help encourage students to attend Marquette.

– Pauly said the number of transfer students had dropped this year. He said reversing this decline would be one of the most important issues this year. An increase of 50 to 100 transfer students could help stabilize the university’s finances, he said, and would also encourage diversity as many transfer students come from black or Hispanic families. Pauly pointed out that fast-track master’s programs can be one way to draw in transfer students.

— William Thorn, an associate professor of journalism, reported on behalf of the Committee on Faculty Welfare. He said it is looking for a clear summary of tuition remission, finding a way to accurately gain information from a cross-section of faculty without betraying privacy, and establishing a phased retirement plan.

– James Courtright, professor of biological sciences and chair of the Committee on Committees and Elections, brought up some potential concerns with Academic Senate elections. The Senate has had difficulty attracting part-time faculty candidates. Courtright mentioned the possibility of appointing interested part-time faculty members without requiring them to run for the positions.

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