As a standing committee of the Faculty Council, the Liberal Studies Council (LSC) serves as the governing body of the Liberal Studies Program. The LSC's composition includes faculty, proportionately represented from each of the various undergraduate colleges in the university, and four ex-officio members - the LSP Director who chairs the LSC and one representative each from Academic Affairs, the Honors Program, and Student Affairs. The LSC considers all new proposals affecting LSP curriculum and policy, which must then receive further approval from Faculty Council and Academic Affairs, before taking effect.
The Unit Advisory Chairs of the Liberal Studies Program each represent one of the 13 unit areas of the LSP (i.e., seven core courses & six learning domain areas). Advisory Chairs oversee committees, largely comprised of faculty (and some staff), who teach in their relevant unit areas. Advisory committee responsibilities include looking at new course proposals and drafting feedback on them, conducting annual assessments, reviewing syllabi, and sponsoring workshops and retreats to help develop both new and veteran instructors teaching in their LSP unit area.
The First-Year Program Office administers the Chicago Quarter Program and Focal Point Seminar. It is responsible for the enrollment of students in their CQ courses, as well as coordinating the scheduling of CQ and FPS courses. The Director of the First-Year Writing Program oversees curriculum and administration of writing requirements, and the Director of the Quantitative Reasoning Program cooperatively administers the curriculum and course issues associated with the Quantitative Reasoning and Technological Literacy courses.
LSP Administration
Liberal Studies Program Director
John Shanahan, PhD
990 W. Fullerton Ave., Suite 4209
773-325-7309
Liberal Studies Program Manager
Celia DeBoer
990 W. Fullerton Ave., Suite 4201
773-325-4052
LSP Advisory Chairs
- Chicago Quarter
Melissa Markley, BUS
- Focal Point Seminar
Scott Paeth, Religious Studies, LAS
- First-Year Writing
Julie Bokser, Writing, Rhetoric, and Discourse, LAS
- Quantitative Reasoning and Technological Literacy
David Jabon, CSH Quantitative Reasoning (co-chair)
Mary Jo Davidson, CDM Technological Literacy (co-chair)
- Seminar on Multiculturalism in the U.S.
Katherine Brucher, MUS
- Junior Experiential Learning
Lynne Copp, University Internship Program
- Senior Capstone
Valentina Tikoff, History, LAS
- Arts and Literature
Jeff Carter, Art, Media, and Design, LAS
- Philosophical Inquiry
Sean Kirkland, Philosophy, LAS
- Religious Dimensions
Khaled Keshk, Religious Studies, LAS
- Scientific Inquiry
Mark Potosnak, Environmental Science, CSH
- Social, Cultural, and Behavioral Inquiry
John Berdell, Economics, BUS
- Understanding the Past
Lisa Sigel, History, LAS
Liberal Studies Council