
DATE: Thursday, October 9, 1997             TAG: 9710090777

SECTION: FRONT                   PAGE: A1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY PHILIP WALZER, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: RICHMOND                          LENGTH:  178 lines

VCU, COUNCIL CLASH OVER CURRICULUMA PLAN TO ADD AN AFRICAN-AMERICAN STUDIES MAJOR RAISES CONCERN OVER WHO SHOULD HAVE THE FINAL SAY ON COURSE OFFERINGS.

Virginia Commonwealth University wants to begin offering an undergraduate major in African-American studies. Standing in its way is the only black board member of the State Council of Higher Education.

The debate, which has gone on in Richmond for more than three months and may come to a head this week, revolves around a politically charged field of study.

But to observers, it raises a question that goes beyond black studies and touches every college in Virginia: Who should have the real say over curriculum, the university or the state?

The council member, Jeff Brown, a buyer for Circuit City Stores in Richmond, has researched the matter in painstaking detail, poring over course syllabuses, questioning even glossaries. What he's seen hasn't won him over.

Brown has argued that the VCU degree doesn't guarantee job prospects, encourages separatism and has a liberal tint that overstates the importance of racism.

``We have a choice right now in America,'' Brown said last week. ``We can distill ourselves into separate, distinct groups, each vying for an equal footing, or we can realize that we're in this all together, and that our contributions are American contributions.''

VCU says the plan has strong student demand, needs little extra money and meshes with the university's goals of helping solve urban problems and linking faculty from different disciplines.

``It's an important part of where we are now, where we've been and where we're going in the future,'' said VCU President Eugene P. Trani. ``The role, contributions, problems of African-Americans in our society is a legitimate area to study.''

Both the staff of the state council and VCU's board have endorsed the program. That's usually enough to merit approval by the council members, all appointees of Gov. George F. Allen. But Brown has twice deferred a vote, requesting more answers from VCU.

Last month, the university's board reaffirmed its support for the proposal and the council is planning to reconsider it Friday.

But it's not just a black issue. Or a VCU issue.

Administrators and professors across the state see an unprecedented level of interference from the state in the VCU proposal. Some fear the onset of a new level of micromanagement in a system that has given great leeway to colleges in curriculum matters.

``I think there is concern about the role the council wants to play in the management of universities,'' said Jo Ann Gora, provost of Old Dominion University.

``I think that it's appropriate for the council to ask questions and to have concerns, but there is concern when the council wants to substitute its judgment for the judgment of the university community and the board.''

Brown's response: ``The law says we have to review and approve new (academic) programs. The law doesn't say you can't look at the syllabus. The law doesn't say there are proprietary issues we can't touch. . . .

``I took an oath to serve the commonwealth, and that's what I'm doing.''

The University of Virginia is the only public four-year college in the state that now offers a full-fledged major in African-American studies.

VCU started courses in the subject in 1969. Using faculty from areas such as sociology and history, the university offers 20 to 25 courses a semester, such as ``Sociology of Racism'' and ``Black American Writers.'' About 700 students take them each year, said Ann Creighton-Zollar, director of African-American studies.

VCU now wants to offer a major, allowing students to choose African-American studies as their primary course of study. That would not mean creating an academic department. Administrators say they would need to add three courses and perhaps a professor. VCU estimates the additional cost at $46,000, which it will reallocate from savings.

VCU says the program would attract 60 majors, with 10 to 15 students graduating every year.

Vice provost David Hiley said the program is justified by strong student demand, the quality of its faculty and its link with VCU's mission. VCU's student body is 18 percent black, one of the largest percentages in Virginia.

The state council's staff endorsed the change earlier this year. Then came Brown.

His concerns include:

Job prospects. VCU officials say graduates would have the same job opportunities as students with other liberal arts majors, such as history. But Brown said: ``Why do we need another major if we're not enhancing employment opportunities for students?''

Fostering separation. Brown says the major would fragment the campus into racial camps. ``If you spend four years at VCU learning that minorities are relatively powerless and subject to unequal treatment - if you don't hate white folks when you start this major, you sure are going to by the time you graduate,'' he said.

VCU says black studies so far has not divided the campus, which Hiley calls a ``model for diversity.'' Besides, nearly half the students now taking the courses or pursuing a minor are white.

Summing up the black experience. ``The contributions of African-Americans are so varied,'' he said. ``I believe that it is not possible to take a grouping or a collection of African-American contributions and say this represents the African-American experience.''

But ``can't one say that about European or Asian history?'' asked Michael Hucles, director of ODU's Institute for the Study of Minority Issues. ``The point is, there's diversity of opinion and experiences within any group. That doesn't make it less plausible to study.''

Liberal bias. Brown said the curriculum is ``one-sided,'' tilting almost entirely to liberal thinkers. Where, he asked, are works by conservatives such as Shelby Steele or Thomas Sowell?

Creighton-Zollar said both professors and students offer a variety of perspectives. Her introductory class, for example, reads a column by conservative journalist George Will on ``Afrocentrism.''

Nationally, the boom in the creation of black studies programs and degrees came in the late '60s and early '70s, with the ferment of the civil rights movement, said Lemuel Berry Jr., executive director of the National Association of African-American studies.

The number of colleges adding programs and degrees has leveled off in the last decade. ``I think a lot of that has to do with job opportunities,'' said Berry, dean of the Caudill College of Humanities at Morehead State University in Kentucky. ``That's the big question that most state legislators will ask.''

But Berry said the programs often focus attention on overlooked subjects, such as the health problems of minorities. ``The same topic would probably not be covered in the traditional health course.''

Within the past year, the members of the State Council of Higher Education have taken a more activist stance, challenging the accuracy of the agency's enrollment projections and firing longtime Director Gordon K. Davies.

In that time, they have yet to reject an academic program proposed by the staff. But they are growing more inquisitive.

They held off approving a new Virginia Tech degree in environmental policy until Brown received assurances that business leaders could vouch for the job potential for graduates.

The challenge to VCU worries Margaret A. Miller, a former associate director of the agency who recommended approving the degree.

``It looks to me like the council members don't like what's going to be taught in these courses, and they seem to be overstepping the bounds of their authority and knowledge,'' said Miller, now president of the American Association for Higher Education in Washington.

``They really do need to respect the professional knowledge of the faculty and administrators at VCU, the Board of Visitors and the council staff.''

Brown said it's his job. ``Whether it's curriculum or enrollment projections, you should look for us to be actively involved,'' he said. But ``just because somebody asks questions about a major is not analogous to a dogma that you will teach x, y and z.''

The other council members have kept a low profile on the issue. The agency's Planning Committee considered the degree at both its June and July meetings. After hearing Brown's objections, his colleagues did not vote on it, but sent it back to VCU to address his concerns. The item is on the agenda for the council's meeting Friday.

Norfolk lawyer John D. Padgett, vice chairman of the agency, said he's still not sure how he'll vote. Brown said even he could vote for the program if he receives new information from VCU to erase his doubts.

``The simple question,'' Brown said, ``is: What is the African-American experience, and how do you capture that?'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo

Jeff Brown

Graphics

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