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H. Irvin Penfield, Provost
Robert J. Slagter, Chair
The Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences includes the disciplines
of political science, psychology, and sociology. These disciplines employ
scientific methods to develop understanding of human behavior in all
of its manifestations. Courses in these disciplines encourage critical
and objective thinking about behavioral phenomena. A major in any of
the three disciplines can prepare students for graduate and professional
school as well as for a variety of occupations that benefit from these
perspectives. Interdisciplinary majors and minors are clearly defined
programs of study that can also be suitable preparation for either employment
or further study.
Tara Sudderth, Dean
In the Division of Business and Graduate Programs, liberal arts education
is integrated into each field of study. The goal of integrating the liberal
arts is accomplished through the pursuit of academic inquiry and the
examination of the practical side of business and other organizations.
In addition, the faculty is committed to teaching and advising. Enrichment
of and continuous improvement in teaching and advising are sought through
professional development and scholarship. The learning environment is
designed to meet the needs of undergraduate and graduate students to
enable them to become broadly educated professionals who are equipped
to excel as leaders in academia, private enterprise, public service or
civic endeavors.
All of the programs offered by the Division have the following mission
linked goals in common:
Teamwork—to work productively with others.
Decision making—to analyze and synthesize
the elements of a situation, generate alternatives, and recommend a
course of action.
Critical thinking—to gather, analyze, and
synthesize information and to identify misinformation, prejudice, one
sidedness.
Communication skills—to make convincing
arguments in both written and oral forms.
Global and cultural awareness—to think
outside one's own local contexts.
Professional responsibility—to
demonstrate appropriate professional demeanor and ethics. Independent
learning—to organize one's
own research and learning.
Interdisciplinary thinking—to integrate
the breadth of one's learning.
Disciplinary depth—to gain competence in
business administration, accounting, or economics.
Technology—to gain experience in the use
of relevant technology.
The Division’s programs are accredited
by AACSB International.
Clint E. Bruess, Chair
The Division of Education offers majors in elementary/collaborative education and educational services, a non-certificated program. Students who fulfill the requirements for the elementary education program are eligible for Alabama State Department of Education dual certification in Elementary Education/Collaborative Teacher K-6 Special Education. The collaborative or special education component is incorporated into all 300- and 400-level classes. Students seeking certification in secondary education (ten fields, grades 6-12) or the arts (art, dance, or music, grades P-12) are required to meet all requirements for a major in their chosen field as well as additional courses in education.
The Division of Education has selected Reflective Teaching and Learning as the conceptual framework for the Teacher Education Program. The Invitational Education Model, the cornerstone of our program for five years, supports the revised reflective teaching and learning model. Components of the conceptual framework include excellence in content knowledge, including research and scholarship; quality teaching experiences; professional development; technology and information fluency; classroom management; and communication and assessment skills. Dispositions selected from the INTASC Principles integrated into the Teacher Education Program enable candidates to go into teaching positions ready to become active, productive contributors in their chosen fields.
The Division of Education has been accredited by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) since 1991.
Lester Seigel, Chair
The arts are a vital part of the education of students at Birmingham
Southern College, contributing knowledge and experiences considered to
be essential for the liberally educated person. The Division of Fine
and Performing Arts includes the disciplines of art, dance, music, speech,
and theatre arts. The curricula are designed not only to meet the needs
of students with professional ambitions but also to offer meaningful
educational experiences to the general student.
Courses and activities in the arts focus on two related goals. First,
faculty strive to encourage individual creativity, increased literacy
in one of the arts disciplines, and careful examination of the nature
of artistic communication. Studio art courses and both performance and
composition courses in theatre arts, dance, and music are the natural
settings for addressing these goals. Second, faculty focus on aesthetic
value. Students are encouraged to examine their own ideas about quality
in the arts and are guided in developing criteria used in judging artistic
merit. Ultimately, students learn to cultivate a sensitivity to the arts
by engaging carefully formulated critical faculties.
For all students, no matter what their level of involvement, their professional
aspirations, or their career ambitions, the arts require mastery of
intellectual content and specific mental and physical capabilities.
This mastery leads to literacy in the discipline which can, in turn,
lead to a lifetime of self motivated inquiry in the arts. Students
thus find their study of fine and performing arts a rigorous part of
their undergraduate curriculum and an enriching experience which will
continue to grow long after graduation from the College.
The College also maintains the Conservatory of Fine and Performing Arts,
which serves those members of the community who wish to study in the
areas of dance, theatre, or music but who are not matriculated students
at the College. Conservatory students range in age from pre school through
adult.
John D. Tatter, Chair
The study of the humanities is at the heart of
a liberal arts education for two important reasons. First, it looks
backward to our varied cultural
heritage and forward to our future, giving us a sense of community. Second,
it hones our critical thinking and communication skills, giving us the
foundation necessary for leadership and service within that community.
The humanities teach us to know ourselves–our ethical values and
religious heritage, our cultural background, the poems, plays, and stories
of our lives. The humanities also teach us to learn from those we think
of as different–to explore other viewpoints and value systems,
to experience other people’s ceremonies and traditions, and to
listen to their stories. In celebrating our differences, we discover
what humanity has in common.
The Division of Humanities includes the disciplines of classics, English,
history, modern foreign languages, philosophy, and religion. A major
or minor concentration in any of these areas trains a student to read
critically, to think analytically, to develop a sensitivity to other
points of view, and to communicate ideas clearly and effectively. Such
skills are a prerequisite for graduate and professional study as well
as a foundation for success in any career.
Billy Pennington, Director
The Charles Andrew Rush Learning Center/N.E. Miles Library seeks to
meet the information and research needs of students and faculty through
an outstanding collection of carefully selected, well organized, accessible,
and varied materials and convenient access to resources outside the campus;
through a modern, spacious, and well designed facility that is conducive
to study, research and learning; and through a variety of services provided
by committed, proactive librarians and dedicated support staff.
The facility houses a collection of more than 257,000 items selected
to support instruction and research at Birmingham Southern College.
In addition to books and periodicals, the collections include government
documents, microfilm and microfiche, audio and video recordings and
other audiovisual materials, and electronic databases and resources,
such as e books and e journals. Special collections house the College
archives, Methodist archives, and rare books. The Learning Center/Library
is a partial government documents depository. Electronic information
is available to students and faculty locally and via online access.
Through College computer facilities, the Learning Center/Library's
collections and databases may be accessed from anywhere on campus.
In addition, computer equipment is provided throughout the building
for the use of library patrons. Facilities for viewing and listening
to audiovisual materials are also available. Study areas are located
throughout the building, and copying and printing services are available
as well.
The attractive, spacious Learning Center/Library provides a variety
of teaching and learning environments. Conference rooms, seminar rooms,
an auditorium with video and computer projection facilities, an electronic
classroom, research carrels, and a media center with listening and viewing
areas are among the facilities for individual and group study, research,
and instruction. The electronic classroom, added in the summer of 1997,
offers instruction using technology and the Internet. The Learning Technology
Center was established and furnished in the fall of 1998, and provides
an exciting facility for students and faculty to create electronic presentations
using a variety of specialized software and equipment.
Professional librarians provide a variety of
reference and information access services. They assist students in
learning to locate, retrieve,
and use information–whether in print, nonprint, or electronic form–and
direct them in conducting online bibliographic searches and locating
information, both in the in house collections and online. Library orientation
and bibliographic instruction classes are taught by the librarians to
assist students in developing sound research methodologies and information
retrieval skills, from standard reference tools to the latest computerized
databases and texts. Support staff oversee the maintenance and circulation
of the collection and ensure the smooth operation of the facility.
The Learning Center/Library provides access to its holdings and resources
across the campus via the College Local Area Network. In addition to
the 28 public workstations in the building, students and faculty can
utilize the library catalog and the numerous databases from anywhere
on campus to conduct their research, including dorms, computer labs,
and faculty offices.
The Learning Center/Library is a member of a number of state, regional,
and national library cooperatives and networks, including the Southeastern
Library network (SOLINET), the Network of Alabama Academic Libraries
(NAAL), and the Associated Colleges of the South (ACS). Excellent interlibrary
loan service is available to students and faculty. Through an inter institutional
borrowing agreement, students and faculty of the College may use the
libraries at other academic institutions in the Birmingham area.
Clyde T. Stanton, Chair
As the twenty-first century unfolds and we inhabit a world in which
science and technology will permeate virtually every facet of life, the
disciplines of the Division of Science and Mathematics will be central
to a modern, high quality liberal arts education. The Division of Science
and Mathematics includes the disciplines of mathematics, with its abstract
beauty and its practical applications; the natural sciences of physics,
chemistry, and biology, which strive to understand the natural world;
and computer science, which is opening up vast new ways of knowing.
The Division of Science and Mathematics strives to promote scientific,
mathematical, and computer literacy emphasizing the process, content,
and interdisciplinary nature of these disciplines; to develop critical
thinking skills; to enhance verbal and written communication abilities;
to encourage reasoned debate on scientific and technological issues;
and to instill civic responsibility. The Division pursues these goals
in a vital, collaborative learning community of students, faculty, and
staff centered on student-active, investigative curricula in the classroom,
field, and laboratory. In this active, collaborative learning environment,
students have the opportunity to develop their skills and abilities through
intensive study, hands-on work, undergraduate research, one-on-one interactions
with faculty, group interactions with other students, and outreach activities
to local institutions. Graduates in mathematics, the natural sciences,
and computer science will have the foundations necessary to be competitive
in the twenty-first century, whether in the work force, or in quality
graduate and professional programs, including those in the health care
fields. Both majors and nonmajors will have the skills to make informed
decisions on increasingly complex scientific and technological issues
affecting their communities.
Disciplinary majors and minors are offered in biology, chemistry, computer
science, mathematics, and physics. Interdisciplinary majors are offered
in biology-psychology and computer science-mathematics. An interdisciplinary
minor in environmental studies is also offered.
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