Faculty Advisory Committee

            Since its inception at SJSU in 2001, the Global Studies program has engaged hundreds of people in planning, evaluation and oversight. The first such group was the Task Force, presided over by Carmen Sigler and Lela Noble. The Task Force, in turn, held several open forums in order to gather information and opinions about the proposal to create a new administrative unit. It also collected 130 questionnaires from professors covering their international experiences and capabilities.

            In fall 2002 the new director of global studies convened monthly forums, each of which attracted 15-20 members of the faculty to discuss the general approaches to be taken. A listserv, GSI-Forum, also began disseminating information about the program to scores of subscribers.

            In winter 2003 the college deans appointed representatives to serve on a permanent Faculty Advisory Committee, which held its first meeting on 27 February. Since then the FAC has met once per semester and maintained e-mail contact monthly. The monthly forums were eventually replaced by the FAC and the GSI-Forum.

            The FAC receives an agenda prior to each meeting, together with supporting documentation. The meetings consist of discussions of the major agenda items, such as the degree program, advisement, grant initiatives, links to other schools, personnel, mini-grant awards, etc. Afterward the director drafts and circulates minutes which, when approved, become part of the FAC record. These meetings are open to the public.

            FAC members may also be asked to serve on subcommittees—for example to choose applicants for the Fellows’ program or judge the submissions to the Global Lens photo contest. Some have also participated in grant-writing and administration. FAC members are encouraged to attend as many lectures and other Global Studies-sponsored events as possible.

            In July 2005 the FAC was comprised of the following members:

Global Studies Listserv

To subscribe to the Global Studies Listserv that circulates information about grant and contract RFPs, fellowships, conferences and international events and lectures, please click on How to Subscribe to GSI-Forum

Below: The Faculty Advisory Committee Meeting in May 2008 L-R George Vasquez, Ken Gehrt, Kathy Sucher, Mike Conniff, Bob Bornstein, and Peggy Cabrera."