In keeping with Penn President Amy Gutmann's goal of interdisciplinary study, the School of Arts and Sciences has introduced a collaborative approach to research and education.
In the recently released SAS Strategic Plan -- which sets forth the school's goals for the next five to 10 years -- Dean Rebecca Bushnell outlines the creation of five new interdisciplinary areas of study.
The programs will not, however, be official departments or majors in the mold of the popular Biological Basis of Behavior major.
Rather, the areas of study "are a way to coordinate efforts," Bushnell said. The school hopes to invest an undetermined amount of money in funding research and recruiting faculty for these interdisciplinary areas.
Crucial to these efforts is the appointment of University professors to more than one school or department.
Through joint appointments, Bushnell hopes faculty will share everything from ideas to laboratory spaces, and, for the most part, faculty feel that a joint approach to research is vital.
"Nanoscience is the place where biology, physics, chemistry and engineering meet," Materials Engineering professor I-Wei Chen said, referring to a nanoscience-focused interdisciplinary program. The other four programs will involve the study of genetics and its relationship to behavior, the development of cross-cultural contacts, the studies of democracy and constitutionalism and the social dimensions of health.
"All these disciplines deal with the same issues. We need people to work together," Chen said about the various scientific fields.
Like Chen, Anthropology professor Paula Sabloff feels research collaboration is "critical for both students and faculty."
But despite her eagerness to solicit help from other Penn departments, Sabloff feels there are inevitable barriers to interdisciplinary study.
"It's an awkward [situation] because of the way a university is set up," she said. "People are trained in [specific] disciplines."
"I know that faculty who have joint appointments sometimes get caught between the two places," she added.
Bushnell said that because faculty will have defined responsibilities within interdisciplinary studies, conflict should be avoided.
The School of Arts and Sciences is "trying something new with joint appointments," she said. "We will only hire people that want these appointments."
After Bushnell raises the necessary funds to complete construction of a new life-sciences building, she plans to house the Biology and Psychology departments, which are involved in the genetics and behavior interdisciplinary study, together. That way, professors involved in the program will be able to share laboratory space.
But four of the interdisciplinary fields will not be based in the same area, nor will they include the same administrators. And only one of the programs -- nanoscience -- will be available to undergraduate students as a minor.
