College dean focuses first year on students

Robert Rescorla had big plans for undergraduate education when he became College of Arts and Sciences dean a year ago. He was especially interested in providing research opportunities to all undergraduates. "It seems to me that this is one of the greatest contributions that a research institution can make to its undergraduates," Rescorla said. Along with the deans of the three other undergraduate schools, he sat on the 21st Century committee, which focused on improving undergraduate education. He also chaired the Research Experience subcommittee. And he was pleased to report that his strong interest in research was able to be included as an important part of the resulting recommendations. He said he has also been trying to reward individual students, adding that the College Alumni Society funded eight student research projects this year. And this year's 25th reunion class gift goal went towards financing a research project, he said. "This came about as a result of discussions with alumni and their seeing the importance of undergraduate research," Rescorla said. And funds from the Pew Foundation have allowed his office to support a "wide range of educational initiatives," including ongoing assistance to the restructuring of the calculus curriculum around Maple and supporting many electronic innovations for the English Department. The money has also been put towards the development of many individual courses, such as research experience courses in economics and psychology. And it has been used to reconsider how some of our chemistry courses are taught and to develop a new way of teaching Hebrew. "It is very important that we be able to support the creative efforts of our faculty in developing new courses and teaching opportunities," he said. Rescorla also appointed a committee concerned with students' mathematical ability, as well as their analytical skills. The committee is chaired by Psychology Professor Paul Rozin. "My own belief is that they are going to find some shocking deficiencies," Rescorla said. He has also strived to increase respect for good teaching. In February his department awarded the first Kennedy Chair for excellence in good teaching to Undergraduate Mathematics Chair Dennis DeTurck. And in May the College Alumni Society presented Religious Studies Chair Ann Matter with the first Outstanding Teaching Award. In perhaps the most ambitious attempt to recognize excellent teaching Rescorla recognized the top 50 instructors, based on Penn Course Review ratings. He then wrote them personal thank-you letters. "Often you feel like nobody notices," he explained. Rescorla said he feels that all of these initiatives are paying off. "I think it is really happening," he said. "I think people are now paying much more attention to teaching." He said a large part of his job is overseeing the department, which includes the College Advising Office. "I hadn't appreciated that I was inheriting such a large staff," he said. "The number of things that just happen in this office that I don't have to make happen is amazing. "All of the people really care about undergraduates," Rescorla added. "In a way, it is kind of awe-inspiring to be a part of it." He said he was worried that when he gave up his position as chair of the Psychology Department, he would become out of touch with "what the University is about." "I was concerned that I wasn't going to have much contact with students," he said. But Rescorla went out of his way to insure that this was not the case. He said he found it useful to hold a lunch in a different dining facility every Friday, during which he was accessible to students who wanted to talk with him. And he also maintained his in-the-classroom contact with students by teaching a course in the spring. He also worked to improve communication with parents by personally writing letters telling them what is going on on campus. "It's been an historic problem that parents don't feel like participants," he explained. School of Arts and Sciences Dean Rosemary Stevens said Rescorla has an enthusiastic commitment to undergraduate education, which shows in everything he does. "I just think he is superb, and Penn is very fortunate to have him in this position," she said.

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