Message From the Director

Interdisciplinary Studies continues to grow in its new role as one of five interdisciplinary academic degree programs in University College. We now have 50+ majors, most of them in our Individually-Designed Major concentration, and multiple stu-dents have signed up for our new Non-Profit Man-agement minor. Next year three “new” faculty (you may already know them) officially join IDS: Dr. Kristan Cockerill, Dr. Joseph Gonzalez, and Dr. Dave Haney, who has a joint appointment with Appalachian Studies. All are offering exciting new courses (see below). We are in the process of updating our existing American Studies Major concentration to give it a 21st century emphasis on Global America, and we recently received ap-proval for an Africana Studies minor that draws on a greater variety of courses across the campus than the Black Studies minor did. Several IDS majors are now pursuing our new IDS Honors Track, and our recent graduates senior projects some of which are featured here showcase the breadth and depth of interdisciplinary studies.

Many of you returned to campus for the IDS/Watauga Homecoming luncheon this fall when two very special gifts from the McFarlane family were announced, The McFarlane Family Profes-sorship in Interdisciplinary Education and The McFarlane Family International Travel and Re-search Endowment that supports faculty and stu-dents in Watauga Global Community. We thank the McFarlane’s for their generosity, and the powerful reminder that as interdisciplinary stud-ies continues to grow, our roots remain strong.
As I end my second year as Director, I ask you to join us in celebrating the past and shaping the future. Please email us, if you want to know more about how you can stay connected. Include your years in IDS, your concentration, and your graduation date. Please also attend our Home-coming reunion next fall. We hope to hear from you, and we will keep you posted!

-Nancy S. Love, Ph.D.

click link below for full edition of the newlsetter