Faculty convened last Friday, September 27, for their second meeting of the academic year to discuss, among other topics, how to encourage student interest in the humanities.

Nadia Celis, a professor of Romance languages and literatures and Latin American, Caribbean and Latinx Studies, shared the steps that the Curriculum and Education Policy Committee—which she is on—is taking to address declining enrollment in the humanities majors.

Celis said those steps include more communication with students about the career paths graduates can take with a humanities major and more interdisciplinary collaboration between departments.

Associate Professor of History Meghan Roberts suggested the Office of Career Exploration & Development (CXD) list alumni occupations on its website to show the kinds of jobs that students can get with a major in the humanities.

“We have so many alumni in [the] history [department] who have gone on to do so many amazing things, and that’s true of all of our humanities departments,” Roberts said. “I know that we have that data. I just want to be able to get it in the hands of our students.”

Roberts also suggested that the College bring its alumni with humanities degrees back to campus more often.

“Is there some sort of funding source that we could seek to at least occasionally bring students back to campus?” Roberts said. “I think they are our most effective ambassadors to talk about how their degree in the humanities and the arts has enabled them to pursue the career that they’re doing.”

Vineet Shende, a professor of music who is on the Government & Faculty Committee, said that Bowdoin should start allowing students to have two minors and majors, as long as they are in different divisions—which are natural science and math, social and behavioral sciences, and humanities. Shende also suggested a similar policy for double majors, which students are already allowed to have.

“I was involved in one of the workshops we did on … the humanities last year, and one of the things that came up was this possibility of double minoring, but with the caveat that, if we do allow double minoring, we would insist that the minors be in different divisions,” Shende said. “I’m just asking if that’s still a possibility…. Could we do the same with double majors … to create a more liberal arts atmosphere?”

Emma Maggie Solberg, an associate professor of English and member of the Curriculum & Educational Policy committee, responded by saying that the committee is researching several ways to allow double minors.

“We have many geometric and figure models across double majoring and double minoring—we have interesting possibilities,” Solberg said. “We’re trying to figure out what would happen if we did this…. We’re going to be in the research phase for a while. If it survives the research phase, we will bring it to the faculty board.”

Additionally, Senior Vice President & Dean For Academic Affairs Jennifer Scanlon said that the Office of Academic Affairs is now offering four $10,000 sabbatical research funding awards rather than one. Janice Staples, an administrative assistant in academic affairs, wrote in an email to the Orient that the office has also increased the maximum amount of funding for its Porter and Mellon awards to $10,000.

Near the beginning of the meeting, Scanlon encouraged faculty to use comment cards—which are sent to the student as well as the student’s dean, advisor and coach—when a student is struggling in a class, rather than solely communicating with the student.

“Comment cards are incredibly important means of communication with your students and also with their deans in Student Affairs,” Scanlon said. “Sometimes you think, ‘Well, a student might be struggling in my class, but I can work with them.’ There is a likelihood that if a student is struggling in your class, they may be struggling in another class, and it may be really beneficial for them for their dean to know.”

Scanlon also announced that Jeanne Bamforth, assistant to the dean and academic policy specialist, will leave Bowdoin at the end of the year.

“[Bamforth] has decided that she’s ready for a new chapter in her professional life outside of Bowdoin College,” Scanlon said. “We will start a search soon for her replacement.”