Last Friday, faculty members gathered for their monthly meeting to acknowledge the impact of the Trump administration on higher education as well as to review potential changes to honors projects and independent studies.

President Safa Zaki opened with remarks on last week’s federal grant scare, which would have had broad implications for research funding across many departments. Zaki tied this to the growing role of artificial intelligence in the College’s classrooms, explaining that, like other new technologies, it will not change Bowdoin’s pedagogy.

“We need to prepare students in the way we have been preparing students,” Zaki said. “We will double down on the liberal arts model.”

Zaki also briefly acknowledged faculty concerns about U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials entering campus to search for undocumented individuals. Zaki shared that if faculty see an ICE officer, they should call the Office of Safety and Security.

Professor of Romance Languages and Literatures and Latin American, Caribbean, and Latinx Studies Nadia Celis and Associate Professor of English Emma Maggie Solberg, members of the Curriculum and Educational Policy Committee (CEP), introduced three new motions to be voted on at the next meeting.

Two motions stemmed from a CEP report on interdisciplinary independent studies and honors projects. While this type of student research is currently only recorded on students’ transcripts in one department, according to the report, significant interdisciplinary collaboration is already happening.

Jonathan Li ’25 spoke on his interdisciplinary research for his honors project, co-directed by Associate Professor of Economics Matthew Botsch and Associate Professor of Romance Languages and Literatures Katherine Dauge-Roth, on the decline of wine drinking among French youth. Though Li consults with both advisers frequently, he will only be recorded as receiving honors in economics.

“We have so many wonderful discussions in their offices that just demonstrate the spirit of the liberal arts,” Li said. “We should be able to empower future students to do the same.”

The first proposal to address this lack of official interdisciplinary student research is to allow independent studies and honors projects to be cross-listed on a student’s transcript if they are a double major or coordinate major in both departments and the project is co-directed by faculty in both departments.

The second proposal expands on this transcript fix by providing students with the opportunity to receive honors in two departments if they are a double or coordinate major with co-directors in both departments. Both directors and departments on the project would be listed when it is published in the Bowdoin Library Digital Collections.

Celis and Solberg also introduced a motion to change the current title of pre-major adviser to liberal arts adviser. The CEP wants to update the language to better define what advising consists of and rework how incoming first-years are assigned pre-major advisers.

Professor of History and Associate Dean for Curriculum Dallas G. Denery II provided a quick update on the Workday transition. Faculty will have access to online training on Workday at the end of the month, with Workday going live for students two weeks after spring break.

Professor of Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies, Senior Vice President and Dean for Academic Affairs Jennifer Scanlon introduced a motion to update the language concerning the work of lecturers on campus. Scanlon noted this is the first change to the position description in over a decade and has grown out of conversations about giving thanks for the key role lecturers play at the College.

Faculty adjourned early for informal conversations on the future of federal funding for research and higher education.