ACADEMIC GROWTH AREAS

The university's future depends on our ability to foster rigorous intellectual growth and appropriate academic development. Our overarching objectives are to build on existing strengths, to respond to emerging needs and interests in the next decade in order to prepare our students as citizens and as workers, and to offer better service to the state through instruction and research. The areas for investment discussed in this section have been chosen because of their academic excellence; their importance to the university mission of instruction, research, and service; their vital links to New Jersey's growth and development; and their potential contributions in the national and international arenas.
    In addition, two overriding goals will be integral to all academic planning, and will receive special attention in academic areas targeted for growth: internationalization of the undergraduate and graduate/professional curricula, and integration of computer and information technology into academic programs.
Moreover, it will be our aim to encourage excellence in research, which invigorates both undergraduate and graduate education, and enhances our public service programs. During the 1980s, Rutgers made enormous progress in research: federal funding for research and development was approximately $20 million in 1983, $45 million in 1990, and $93 million in 1994. This represents substantial growth. However, according to the latest comparative data, in FY 1993 Rutgers ranked 35th among the top 100 public and private higher education institutions in the total amount of research and development moneys received, and 66th in the amount of federal funds received.1 To improve our standing, we should capitalize on our momentum in this area and stimulate increased participation in national competition for research dollars. In order to increase our national distinction as a research university, we must persist in our efforts to promote outstanding scholarly and research attainments.  It will be our aim to encourage excellence in research, which invigorates both undergraduate and graduate education.
    Finally, as New Jersey's flagship public comprehensive research university, Rutgers will maintain access for New Jersey citizens. Academic support programs and enrichment programs, which ensure maximum access to our programs, will be enhanced.

Criteria for Evaluation and Development

Decision making regarding academic programming is an important faculty responsibility. New program initiatives arise primarily from the ongoing scholarly, instructional, and public service work of the faculty. The rationale for setting priorities--examining past, current, and future educational endeavors, allocating resources, and determining areas of strength and weakness--is affirmed in the university's Policy on the Suspension or Discontinuance of Programs, Departments, and Centers, approved by the Board of Governors in 1991. The following criteria, based on guidelines developed originally as part of the strategic planning process in New Brunswick, and modified for this document based on the principles set forth in the 1991 Board of Governors policy, will be used to assess existing and proposed areas for investment.
Excellence...will be  continually  monitored, assessed, and nurtured.    Excellence: The support and enhancement of academic programs of exceptional quality will have a profound effect on the future of the university. Excellence in instructional programs, faculty scholarship and creative endeavors, and service to local, regional, national, and international communities will be continually monitored, assessed, and nurtured. University support for programs will reflect long-range judgments about the educational mission of the univer-sity, with the greatest emphasis placed on the quality of programs.
    Centrality: We will maintain our commitments to academic programs, research, and service activities that are central to our mission as a state university and a land-grant institution, that serve important New Jersey student and labor market needs, and that address critical issues facing New Jersey. Strategic planning calls for continual monitoring and assessment of changing community needs and employment trends.
   Diversity: Rutgers is characterized by its diverse ethnic, cultural, and social groups, by its commitment to gender equity, and by the wide array of its intellectual offerings. Strategic planning will support diversity in student, faculty, and staff recruitment, in curricular and cocurricular development, and in college life programming.
   Responsiveness to Emerging Needs: Programs that serve current needs may not be adequate or appropriate in the future. Responsiveness to emerging needs is a significant component of the planning process. Each of the three campuses should have opportunities to develop discipline-based and multidisciplinary undergraduate and graduate/professional programs that meet the university's planning criteria, so that the university, as a statewide system, remains at the forefront of instruction, research, and service.
    These four criteria nurture excellence where it already exists and also provide opportunities for targeted development of new programs at all campuses of the university. In addition, decisions must be made within the framework of availability of resources and with a view toward strengthening the unity of the university.
    Sound management requires close consideration of the cost-effectiveness of our activities. Experiences with budgetary stringencies have contributed to an understanding that our strength as an institution depends on our ability to allocate scarce resources appropriately. Joint faculty hiring, enhanced efforts at collaborative research, and increased cooperation in the provision of undergraduate and graduate programs will make wise use of our limited resources. Assessments of cost-effectiveness and potential contribution to other university initiatives will be a central consideration as we make decisions regarding enhanced support of existing programs and the development of proposed programs.
   Decisions regarding academic areas are properly the domain of chairs, directors, faculty bodies, deans, and provosts, particularly as they relate to each of the three campuses. However, in order to realize the concept of one university, all of these academic divisions must assume greater responsibility for developing intra- and intercampus collaborations. Allocation decisions must be viewed as choices that have consequences for the entire Rutgers community. The descriptions of areas for investment described below illustrate the kinds of intra- and intercampus developments that will strengthen our academic enterprise at Rutgers, as well as our ties to the larger social, economic, political, and cultural communities around us.  Academic divisions must assume greater responsibility for developing intra- and intercampus collaborations.
 

Academic Disciplines

Concern with global, political, economic, and social policy and intellectual issues, as well as preservation of the environment, urban renewal, educational reform, health care, and technology and industry, are reflected in the university's priorities for growth. At the same time, the university will maintain its commitment to the continuous improvement of undergraduate education, especially in the arts and sciences, the cornerstones of liberal education. The university will continue to provide programs for students that foster intellectual growth, technical skills development, and appropriate preparation for employment, as well as increased ability to participate in a diverse democratic society.
    In many fields, cutting-edge scholarship is taking place within established disciplines. Other academic areas are in states of rapid transformation, with changing methodologies and subject matter. Most fields can benefit from interdisciplinary relationships. Important areas for future growth in academic disciplines and professional studies are briefly described below.
Liberal Arts and Sciences The arts and sciences disciplines on our three campuses represent the traditional academic fields on which our national reputation is built. They underlie all of our interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary efforts, which would lack academic substance and methodological rigor without strong disciplinary bases. Excellence in the core disciplinary areas is critical to the provision of general education programs for all Rutgers undergraduates and for the provision of distinguished undergraduate and graduate programs in diverse fields. It is also critical to our standing in the Association of American Universities.  The arts and sciences disciplines represent the traditional academic fields on which our national reputation is built.
    The university will assure high-quality under-graduate education in biological, physical, and social sciences, and in the humanities and the arts at all three campuses. Priorities for support will be given to those departments that have already achieved national and international distinction, those that are well positioned to achieve it, as judged by the university's ongoing process of external peer reviews, and those disciplines essential to the academic integrity of important multidisciplinary programs.
    In addition to support for basic undergraduate disciplinary strength on each campus, planning in arts and sciences will seek to reduce duplication in graduate programs and research. The intent is to strengthen the programs that have the greatest distinction or promise, while at the same time ensuring that each campus is able to maintain appropriate breadth and depth in its research and instructional programs. Strategic planning objectives can be met even in adverse budgetary circumstances through a focus on curricular revision, cooperation between campuses at the graduate level, emphasis on junior faculty appointments to ensure continuity in high-quality instruction, and the appropriate training and utilization of teaching assistants. In order to strengthen our graduate programs, an increase in the number of teaching assistantships, to bring us closer to the number now offered by our peer universities, is also a high priority.

Cognitive Science and Neuroscience The related fields of cognitive science and neuroscience are undergoing a period of rapid and exciting growth. Recently hired distinguished faculty in these fields have joined faculty members in a range of arts and sciences departments, includ-ing computer science, linguistics, philosophy, and psychology. The Center for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience in Newark, the newly established Center for Cognitive Science in New Brunswick, and the joint Rutgers-New Brunswick/University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) graduate program in physiology and neurobiology are ready to build on existing strengths and to foster additional interdisciplinary research. Continued support will enable Rutgers to become one of the leading centers in the world for research and training in cognitive science and neuroscience.

Creative Arts Several programs offered by the Mason Gross School of the Arts (MGSA), as well as by faculty in arts and sciences on all three campuses, have achieved national and international distinction. Visual arts graduates and faculty are artists with worldwide reputations who, in printmaking, sculpture, video, and painting, have played a seminal role within both the regional and international art community. World-class faculty and scholars at the Institute of Jazz Studies have contributed to New Jersey's reputation as a strong center for the arts. SummerFest, theater, opera, concerts, and exhibits at the Zimmerli Art Museum and the Stedman Art Gallery have contributed significantly to the cultural life of the state and have attracted audiences from all over New Jersey and neighboring states. The art studios and galleries in the new MGSA building will make a vital contribution to the expanding cultural center in downtown New Brunswick, and the recent reorganization of arts programs in Newark, as well as the development of graphic arts in Camden, will also lead to significant distinction. These endeavors provide a clear and visible aesthetic presence to the larger community. Furthermore, arts programs have been very successful in building intercultural understanding through artistic exchange programs and international residency programs.
    Plans for the next five years include investment in technology to support interactive multi-media productions. Growing expertise in this area will then support other efforts within the university to integrate multimedia technologies to enhance instruction.
Engineering The demand for education and training in engineering will remain strong, with continuing needs in industry, business, and government for technical expertise. Many engineering programs at Rutgers have already demonstrated their excellence. These programs, such as mechanical and aerospace engineering, biomedical engineering, ceramics, and chemical and biochemical engineering will continue to be enhanced. Other areas of engineering will also be strengthened so that engineering as a whole can continue to attract and educate the best students in the field.  Engineering and applied science represent fertile ground for cutting-edge, high-technology research.
    To meet these challenges, both the individual programs and synergistic collaborations involving interdepartmental programs must be emphasized. Engineering and applied science represent fertile ground for cutting-edge, high-technology research. Along this line, collaboration among different programs within the College of Engineering, and among engineering and related arts and science disciplines, Cook College programs, and related centers, bureaus, and institutes will remain a strong priority of the university. Joint hiring of new faculty will effectively maximize our existing resources. Several centers of excellence, such as the Center for Ceramic Research, the Center for Materials Synthesis, and the Center for Advanced Food Technology have provided additional research and instructional opportunities. The development of such centers, funded with external resources, will continue to be a university priority in the future. Selected cooperative projects with other institutions can also be effective. Since the provision of technical education is so critical for the state, and the cost of program delivery is so high, we will emphasize interdepartmental, intercampus, and interinstitutional cooperative efforts whenever possible in order to achieve efficient use of available resources.

Environmental Studies Rutgers is well positioned to further develop already strong programs in the broad, interdisciplinary field of environmental studies. Faculty with expertise in policy, social science, physical and life sciences, and engineering are already involved in a wide range of teaching, research, and public service activities. These faculty, representing departments in the Faculties of Arts and Sciences on all three campuses, Cook College, the College of Pharmacy, the College of Engineering, the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, close to a dozen centers, bureaus, and institutes, including the joint Rutgers/UMDNJ Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute (EOHSI), the Center for Agricultural Biotechnology, the Environmental Law Clinic at the School of Law-Newark, and the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station (NJAES), will be encouraged to seek more collaboration to enhance their productivity and service to the state.
   In New Brunswick, a Provost's Environmental Science and Engineering Coordination Council, with expanded membership to integrate social science and policy approaches, has been created. Joint hirings planned in New Brunswick will also help to bring some units closer together over the next five years. In Newark, a cooperative Rutgers-New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) interdisciplinary major in environmental sciences will increase cooperation across departments. The programs of the Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences include extensive projects in southern New Jersey, such as the Fisheries and Aquaculture Technology Extension Center, and the Division of Pinelands Research/Pinelands Field Station. Collaborative efforts of the institute and the city of Camden will yield important instructional and service benefits, including technology transfer opportunities. The programs of Cook College/NJAES focus on the environment and, in particular, the relationship of agricultural and other human activities to the environment. The diverse ongoing programs include integrated pest management, sustainable agriculture, environmental technology, ecosystem policy, and remote sensing and spatial analysis.
Throughout the state, cooperative programs with neighboring institutions, especially NJIT and UMDNJ, have already enabled us to launch ambitious programs by combining resources. EOHSI is an excellent example of collaboration between Rutgers and UMDNJ. Over the next five years joint hirings, interdisciplinary degree programs, and interinstitutional cooperation will be enhanced, and duplication of programs will be reduced. The key task for these disparate programs is to recognize further their common objectives so that they may plan curricular and instructional innovations, research projects, and public service programs in closer coordination with one another.  Cooperative programs with neighboring institutions have enabled us to launch ambitious programs.
Gender Studies The field of gender studies, in which Rutgers has achieved international distinction, depends on interdisciplinary concepts and methodologies. Rutgers' distinction in gender studies has already fostered the growth of several units at the university in the fields of law, management, public policy, and arts and sciences, including the Women's Studies Program, the Institute for Research on Women, the Center for the American Woman and Politics, the Center for Women's Global Leadership, the Center for Women and Work, the Blanche, Edith, and Irving Laurie New Jersey Chair in Women's Studies, the Institute for Women's Leadership, and the Women's Rights Litigation Clinic. These units, along with Douglass College programs, have all contributed to the broadening of knowledge in traditional disciplines in important ways, and have encouraged interdisciplinary research and service programs of national and international distinction. The university will continue to support initiatives in this area, including joint faculty appointments and the new professionally oriented graduate degree in women's studies.
Information Science and Related Fields The explosive growth of information science and computing is continuing to have significant impact on instruction, research, and service at Rutgers. Research and development in these areas is essential for the university's growth and distinction. There has been enormous momentum in these fields in recent years, with several exciting national initiatives focusing on major advances in the science/technology of computing (for example, in high performance computing and communications), and on the exploration of innovative applications of computing on several critical areas, such as the environment, health, design/manufacturing, and education.  Rutgers is well positioned to leverage its strengths in the information science field.
    The university is well positioned to leverage its strengths in the information science field, to participate actively in the intellectual challenges of research at the cutting edge of computing, to make contributions to the areas of major economic/social significance that rely increasingly on computing, to educate those who will further the development of the computing field, and to respond appropriately to changes in research/instruction in all disciplines that are induced by the computer revolution.
    The instructional/research units in the area of computers make up a cluster that has great potential for attaining national distinction. They provide an opportunity for major impact by the university in this area. To achieve this, it is essential to increase the coordination and collaboration among the units in these areas and to continue the cooperation with business and industry that results in support for our programs and provides opportunities for technology transfer that will encourage economic enterprise in the state and the nation.
    The university must continue to develop the impressive strength of the New Brunswick campus in information science and related fields. In addition, if the university is to remain competitive statewide, it is also crucial that these fields be promoted at the Newark and Camden campuses. Opportunities to develop intercampus and/or multidisciplinary activities in these areas will be encouraged.
International Studies Faculty in diverse fields throughout the university have achieved distinction in the study of international issues. As our world grows smaller and as we interact with more and more ideological, economic, social, and political systems around the globe, we need to enhance educational programs at Rutgers to better prepare graduates for that new world. Internationalization of the curriculum is necessary to prepare graduates to compete effectively in a shifting global environment. Accordingly, at every planning level, from updating an undergraduate course and redesigning a laboratory to devising new graduate programs and creating new centers and institutes, we need to address questions regarding international issues. Internationalization of the curriculum is necessary to prepare graduates to compete effectively in a shifting global environment.
    The development of specialized programs to prepare students for a global environment will draw on faculty expertise in international issues throughout the university, in arts and science programs; in specialized centers, bureaus, and institutes; and in professional schools. This effort also supports our goals of enhancing diversity and inter-cultural understanding.
    Faculty with international prominence in law, education, criminal justice, agriculture, business, management, public policy and administration, and in the humanities, social science, and foreign language fields on the three campuses, will be the nucleus of development efforts in international studies. In addition, faculty affiliated with diverse centers, bureaus, and institutes, such as the Center for Women's Global Leadership and the Walt Whitman Center for the Culture and Politics of Democracy, will contribute to the university's priorities in the area of global studies. Faculty strengths in the fields of worldwide human rights, transnational business, democratization, global environments, ethnicity, international law, and global health issues are illustrative of the areas that combine excellence in existing programs, clear student need, responsiveness to community needs, and opportunities for major new initiatives. The Peace Corps training program within the public policy and administration program on the Camden campus is an excellent example of the university's increasing emphasis on international education.
    International programs require strong intercampus collaborative efforts and are particularly suitable for cooperation because they do not require extensive physical plant resources. Joint efforts may result in the creation of new programs and research centers, and possibly a school of international studies, as well as the continued enhancement of our current undergraduate and graduate programs.
Life Sciences and Agriculture Exciting advances in our understanding of fundamental biological processes are generating attention across a wide range of traditional disciplinary areas. Rutgers faculty are well positioned to be major players in basic biological research and in applied biomedical and biotechnological research. Cook College and the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station will continue to support and enhance agricultural programs as well as programs in nutrition and marine and coastal resources. Interdisciplinary centers at the Newark and New Brunswick campuses, including the joint Rutgers/UMDNJ Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine, the Center for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience, and the Waksman Institute of Microbiology, have greatly expanded the contributions of the academic departments and will continue to make significant contributions to research and instruction in the life sciences. Universitywide areas of high priority for development over the next five years include biomedical sciences and biotechnology, behavioral sciences, public policy, health care delivery, disease control and injury prevention, and cellular biodynamics.  Rutgers faculty are well positioned to be major players in basic biological research.
Professional Studies The provision of excellent professional education, research, and serv-ice in a wide array of professional schools is central to the university's mission. Many professional programs have already been discussed in other parts of this document.  Rutgers graduates fill important professional positions in government, industry, and educational settings. As a comprehensive state university, we have a responsibility to provide undergraduate and professional training, in-service training, research, and service to practitioners and clients of the professions throughout New Jersey.
Rutgers graduates fill important positions in government, industry, and educational settings. Programs in agriculture, law, social work, education, business, communications, psychology, criminal justice, nursing, pharmacy, library studies, management, labor studies, engineering, and planning and public policy educate thousands of New Jersey citizens for social service and for public and private sector employment throughout the state. Some outstanding examples are the program in public policy and administration in Camden, the program in public administration in Newark, programs offered by the Faculty of Management in Newark, and programs offered by the School of Management and Labor Relations and by Cook College in New Brunswick.
  The enormous breadth of professional studies will require us to make hard choices about which programs we can support in the coming years. Since many of these programs fulfill specific needs of practicing professionals in the state, our concerns for need, access, and diversity will play important roles in our decision making. However, excellence in professional studies, as measured by ability to conduct important research and offer high quality instruction, will remain an essential criterion in these decisions.
    The fields of law, education, management, and public policy are areas of strength at Rutgers and will remain in the forefront of development in professional studies. Completion of the consolidation of the Newark and New Brunswick management programs is a high priority. Ties to the public and private sectors, developed through degree programs, through distinguished continuing professional education programs, and through research centers, such as the Eagleton Institute of Politics and the Center for Urban Policy Research, are central to the university's mission and will continue to be supported. With effective coordination, these programs can provide strong leadership in public and private sector development in the state and can enhance the university's initiatives in the global arena.
    Research, instruction, and service in health policy fields represent another important priority area for professional studies development at the university. Distinguished Rutgers faculty in the arts and sciences on all three campuses-in the joint Rutgers-UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School program in public health, in the Institute for Health, Health Care Policy, and Aging Research, and in programs offered by the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, the College of Pharmacy, the Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology, Cook College, and the School of Social Work in New Brunswick; in both the physical therapy and the public policy and administration programs in Camden; and in programs of the College of Nursing and the Department of Public Administration in Newark-are contributing significantly to the national debates about the future of health care in the United States.
    The areas for investment identified in this section provide a broad range of options for New Jersey citizens and support productive linkages between higher education and corporate and public interests. Critical support for these academic thrusts, as well as for imaginative and creative new endeavors, must be provided by enhancements to academic and administrative services, especially computer resources, libraries, laboratories, and updated classroom and research facilities.

1. National Science Foundation, "Top 100 Institutions in Total Research-and-Development Spending, FY 1993," Chronicle of Higher Education, January 27, 1995.