Academic innovation
New program would foster creativity, energize academic programs

Academic programs at most institutions of higher education are like massive aircraft carriers.

Sturdy and steadfast, they are powerful vessels, seldom affected by rough waters and the winds of change. But altering course requires a great deal of time and energy. And a rigid chain of command must be followed.

A new academic initiative, introduced to Furman faculty September 3, could give the U.S.S. Furman the agility of a torpedo boat.

If adopted, the program would provide faculty with incentives and the financial resources to enhance proven academic programs and initiate new ones. The yet-to-be named plan would create a committee, composed of a small group of faculty and senior staff, that would serve as an on-campus grant agency. The group could fund workshops, faculty and student travel, stipends for visiting lecturers, internships, and a variety of other learning tools. Faculty would submit funding proposals to the committee.

President David Shi introduced the idea at the faculty retreat. He plans to continue discussion of the proposal at several informal faculty gatherings at White Oaks. Although few colleges have adopted such a program, officials from Goucher College in Baltimore, Md., and Stetson University in Deland, Fla., spoke to Furman faculty about their on-campus grant initiatives, both recently adopted.

Stetson's program, called "The Renaissance Fund for Innovative Academic Programs," was founded in 1994 with a $10 million endowment. Three deans at the school solicit funding ideas from faculty and then forward the best ones on to the president's office for action.

In recent years, funds from the Renaissance program have been used to develop a faculty diversity initiative, support field trips to Latin America, and establish a Water/Eco Studies Center. The program has also funded numerous studies.

"It has produced an amazing amount of enthusiasm on campus among faculty and students," said Grady Ballenger, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Stetson.

"It supports innovation and creative thinking." Goucher College's "Strategic Planning and Innovation Grants" began in 1997. In recent years the school has allocated $500,000 annually to the project. Funds from the program have been used to develop job fairs, dinners, art exhibits and health fairs.

"There was such a pent-up frustration among our faculty to do something," said Bill Fox, vice president for enrollment at Goucher. "This released a lot of creative energy on our campus."