It has been a notable five years for Richard Beeman as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. He has revamped the undergraduate advising program and constructed a freshman orientation program better suited to the needs of incoming students.
Beeman is also the mastermind behind the pilot curriculum. The first crop of enrollees in the research-based alternative to traditional College requirements are only beginning to think about their longer term research projects.
Unfortunately, Beeman will not be around to see his brainchild complete its first four-year trial. He will resign his post as dean in July and depart to spend a year as a visiting professor at Oxford University.
It is a testament to Beeman's innovative nature that he has been given such a high honor. A longtime champion of liberal arts, he has fought hard for interdisciplinary classes among the undergraduate schools and stuck with the pilot program's novel team-teaching format.
However, Beeman leaves some projects unfinished as he prepares to depart next year. The College's embattled Writing Program is unstable to say the least, and after a year of searching, no permanent director has been found.
Beeman also struggled to find a place for the Communication Within the Curriculum program, renamed under his tenure but still riddled with inconsistencies. And the pilot program has come under fire from students and faculty for offering courses on subjects that are difficult to integrate.
These are issues that will undoubtedly be on the forefront of Rebecca Bushnell's agenda when she takes the reins from Beeman in July. Bushnell must also ensure that the pilot curriculum continues on the path Beeman has worked hard to pave. If the program is ever to be offered to the entire undergraduate community, it needs serious analysis and a great deal of tweaking.
Bushnell must also make fundraising an immediate priority. While College students see their Wharton and Engineering peers experiencing the joys of brand new facilities, they patiently await much-delayed renovations to the seemingly rejected Bennett Hall and the Music Building.
Finally, Bushnell cannot afford to lose sight of what has made Beeman such a successful administrator -- his connection to the students. One of the most visible personalities on campus, Beeman has never neglected his teaching responsibilities and has gone out of his way to be accessible to students who seek his guidance. Bushnell would do well to roam the campus and gauge the opinions of the student body if she is to have success in her new post.
We congratulate Richard Beeman, and we encourage Rebecca Bushnell to build on what Beeman has created and finish the projects he has left outstanding.
