MCS College Council
October 11, 2001

In Attendance:
Rea Freeland
Irene Fonseca
Beth Jones
David Owen
Bill Brown
Amy Kennedy
Jim Greenberg
Fred Gilman
Brianna Blaser
Daniel Hennessy
Eric Grotzinger



MCS College Council
Minutes for meeting of Thursday, October 11, 2001

I. PROPOSAL FOR NEW COURSE IN MATHEMATICAL SCIENCES

Jim Greenberg presented a proposal from the Department of Mathematical Sciences for a new course, 21-366 Selected topics 
in Applied Mathematics.  This course would allow the department to present occasional special topics courses with an 
emphasis on applications.  This would be a 9-unit course offered in fall or spring and presented at the junior or senior 
level.  Since it is difficult to assign prerequisites to a course with changing topics, it was suggested that students 
be required to get the instructor's permission in order to register for the course. 

COLLEGE COUNCIL ACTION: The council voted unanimously in favor of passing this proposal, with the modification that the 
instructor's permission be required for registration in the course.

II. PROPOSAL FOR NEW BS/MS DEGREE IN CHEMICAL BIOLOGY  

Rea Freeland presented the Chemistry Department's proposal for a new BS/MS degree in Chemical Biology.  While the existing 
BS/MS degree offered by the Chemistry Department has a strong focus on undergraduate research, this degree would be more 
attractive to students interested in pursuing a career in industry.  It will be possible for students to complete this 
degree in nine semesters, though ten might be required.  Bruce Armitage will serve as the faculty advisor for this degree.

Bristol-Myers Squibb has approached the department about sponsoring one MS student per year as part of their recruiting 
effort.  The department feels that this program will be beneficial in attracting students to MCS and also to corporate 
sponsors such as BMS.

The following issues were addressed:

What is biology's role in this degree?
Several biology courses are required and the Department of Biological Sciences is also interested in developing more 
team taught courses.  "Chemical Biology" is the accepted term for this area (as opposed to "Biological Chemistry"), 
which involves chemists looking at biology at the molecular level, using chemical techniques.

Are the resources available to support this program?
There is a strong involvement in this area within the department and a growing group of faculty members who will develop 
such courses.  However, the goal for this program, based on the existing BS/MS degree, is to bring in only a couple of 
students per year, so resources should not be a problem.

Finally, it was suggested that the name "BMS" be replaced with "the corporate sponsor" in order to allow this degree 
program to serve as a blueprint for future corporate sponsors.

COLLEGE COUNCIL ACTION: The council voted unanimously to adopt the new degree.  The wording of the description will be 
changed as noted above.

III. PROPOSAL FOR NEW MRI COURSE IN BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES

Beth Jones presented a proposal for a new MRI course to be offered by the Department of Biological Sciences: 03-315 
Introduction to Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Neuroscience.  Eric Ahrens would teach this course, which should serve 
a more diverse population of students than the current NMR course and also prepare students for the current one.  
Since this course will have more focus on neuroscience, it will also attract students from other departments and colleges. 

Some concern was expressed in CUA over the fact that there is not a physics prerequisite.  However, Eric Ahrens' 
background is in physics and he is prepared to teach the necessary physics during the course.  Bill Brown presented two 
textbooks that Ahrens is considering if the course is approved.  Both books have a significant review of physics and 
mathematics as they apply to MRI.  The lack of physics prerequisite is not intended to make this a course for non-majors, 
but rather to open it up to a wider variety of students.

The expected course size is about ten students.

COLLEGE COUNCIL ACTION: The council voted unanimously in favor of the new course.

IV. RENAMING OF THE BS IN BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES/COMPUTATIONAL BIOLOGY TRACK

Amy Kennedy presented a proposal from the Department of Biological Sciences to rename the current "BS in Biological 
Sciences/Computational Biology Track" degree to "BS in Computational Biology".  The university has recommended that 
departments streamline their degree names as they appear on diplomas; with tracks and concentrations will still appearing 
on transcripts.  The department opted to change the degree title to "BS in Computational Biology" rather than simply "BS 
in Biological Sciences" because the requirements for the computational biology track are significantly different from 
those for the standard degree in biological sciences.

COLLEGE COUNCIL ACTION: The council voted unanimously in favor of the new degree title.

V. PRELIMINARY EVALUATION OF FIRST-YEAR SEMINAR COURSE "EUREKA!"

Eric Grotzinger presented a brief overview of the new MCS first year seminar course that was developed by CUA and taught 
for the first time during fall 2001 mini 1.  The course, 38-101 MCS First-Year Seminar:EUREKA!, was designed to provide 
first-year students with an opportunity to get to know one another and some faculty members while studying and discussing 
scientific topics that interest them.  The textbook Best American Science Writing 2000 presents articles from all 
disciplines of science and is useful in generating discussion and student interest.  For this initial semester of the 
course, 47 students were enrolled.  Copies of course evaluations, which were very positive, were distributed.

VI. REVSIONS TO MCS POLICIES ON PASS/FAIL GRADES

David Owen presented suggested revisions to the current MCS policy on pass/fail grades.  There was some concern over the 
fact that not all departments have the same policy about pass/fail grading or minimum grade requirements for graduate 
students.  On page 53, under "Grading Policies", the phrase, "in the absence of such policies" should be emphasized in 
bold to ensure that if departmental policies are in place, they take precedent over the stated policy.  

COLLEGE COUNCIL ACTION: The council voted unanimously in favor of these revisions.