by Leann Holt
Daily Lobo
UNM's Department of History is one of 14 history departments selected from universities across the nation to participate in a Carnegie Foundation project aimed at improving doctoral degree programs.
The foundation's project is a five-year study designed to revise doctoral programs in English, chemistry, neuroscience, mathematics and history throughout the United States.
As part of the project, UNM's doctoral program in history, in conjunction with other participating universities, will help serve as a model for history doctoral programs across the nation.
Carnegie Senior Scholar Chris Golde said in a news release the foundation chose departments for the project that "have a critical eye toward the future, who are willing to take risks and move the discipline forward."
The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching was founded in 1905 by Andrew Carnegie and chartered in 1906 by Congress. It is a major national and international center for research and policy studies about teaching.
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Jane Slaughter, chairwoman of UNM's history department, said UNM was selected partly because it is already thinking about the future of education.
"Because of conditions in our state and because of our diverse student population, we are different," Slaughter said. "We believe UNM is in every way a university that is especially ready to confront the challenges of education in the 21st century."
UNM Provost Brian Foster said participating in the Carnegie Initiative has put UNM in the middle of a national discussion about doctoral education.
"There are a couple of major debates going on about why and how we train Ph.D.s, what a doctoral education means and what role it plays in faculty and research," Foster said. "This is one of the first times that UNM has been able to be part of a national conversation that will shape the future."
Slaughter said a history department team of 12 people has been developing goals for the department to work toward during the three years of the initiative. Carnegie will supply a framework, such as timelines and specific project requirements, for the team to use as it develops and implements objectives. The foundation will also send consultants to UNM several times throughout the course of the project.
Timothy Moy, a UNM history professor, graduate coordinator and member of the history department's team, said Carnegie recognizes the new challenges facing history departments across the nation.
"Once upon a time, the only reason a person would get a Ph.D. in history would be to be a professor," Moy said. "Now there are more opportunities in the field. Academic departments haven't evolved as quickly with those changes."
Slaughter said the team is talking about creating doctoral programs that emphasize new ways to teach history to the public.
"Public history is not just a book or a class anymore," Slaughter said. "We have a lot of people in the department who do filmmaking, museum work and online writing. How do we create a doctoral program for that?"
Another goal of the program is to build strong relationships with high school teachers, Slaughter said.
"We need to find out what they need to teach in the 21st century. We also need train our doctoral students how to teach," he said.
Slaughter said being part of the program could help the University secure future grant and research funding.
"It's a prestigious thing," Slaughter said. "We now have the Carnegie stamp of approval."
