In response to the recent economic downturn, President David Skorton and Provost Kent Fuchs set up eight different task forces, under the umbrella title “Reimagining Cornell,” to tackle Cornell’s budget crisis from different perspectives. One of them was the Life Sciences Task Force, chaired by Dean of Life Sciences Steven Kresovich. Among other things, the Life Science Task Force is charged with identifying thriving and struggling disciplines within the division, suggesting mergers or closures of some units while finding ways to minimize the budgetary constraints.

Asserting that Reimagining Cornell was triggered by the financial crisis, Prof. Hening Lin, chemistry, suggested that “combining two departments could lead to a smaller support staff, which might help.” However, he reiterated that there are justifications as to why some courses come in duplicates. In the case of organic chemistry, which has three separate course sequences, Lin suspected that the honors version is designed for chemistry majors who might need a more in-depth understanding of the subject’s chemical underpinnings. CHEM 3570-3580: Organic Chemistry for the Life Sciences, on the other hand, is aimed at biochemistry majors and prospective medical students.

He added that it would probably be difficult to cut the third option: a one-semester organic chemistry course, as departments that require just one semester worth of organic chemistry orientation would inconvenience their students by holding them responsible for an extra course.

Kresovich and Lin agreed that the difference between chemical biology and biochemistry is based on the academic orientation of the instructor. In light of the abundance of introductory statistics classes — numbering nearly a dozen — Kresovich advised that there is no point of holding separate meetings unless the classes focus on different topics. He suggested that members of the faculty teaching these courses meet and compare their syllabi to make sure that the information taught in the different departments are not unduly repeated elsewhere.

Input from everyone is healthy, Kresovich said, especially the undergraduates. However, undergraduates will only be afforded that opportunity after the task forces have put out their first draft in Oct.

He added, “There’s plenty of time between October and March — the time stipulated for the final report” to refurbish the report and suit the needs of the community at large.

“At this point we haven’t gone into the very specific questions. We haven’t talked about particular courses.”

A draft of a report issued by the Ad Hoc Committee for Academic Planning for Arts and Sciences in July suggested that the University maintain separate biology majors within both the College of Arts and Sciences and CALS. “There are growing linkages between basic and applied research,” the report stated, “that increasingly blur the distinction between them for both A&S and CALS faculty. These linkages ... are a particular strength of Cornell and would be in jeopardy if all of basic biology moved to A&S.”

The report advocated for continued collaboration between the cross-college departments, calling the programs “a successful model for other disciplines.”

When asked about a task for force for the physical sciences, Kresovich said that physical science and engineering disciplines are not as dispersed as other sciences.

“The consensus was that arts and engineering could effectively plan the physical sciences. They are very organized; they set the bars high for themselves. [Thus], we don’t need to be concerned about what opportunities to build for physical sciences and engineers,” he said.

Prof. Ronald Hoy, neurobiology and behavior, said that a task force for refurbishing the undergraduate biology curriculum “has been in place way before the economic downturn that made necessary the reimagination.” Hoy is currently in charge of a committee set to implement the recommendations of last year’s Undergraduate Biology Task Force created by the Deans of CALS and the College of Arts and Sciences.

He reasoned that duplications in chemistry and physics courses for the purpose of accommodating biological sciences majors do not constitute redundancies. Instead, he said that they are considered a service to the division. In sum, he added, “The curriculum revision committee is very much in tune with Reimagining Cornell.”