Committee on General Programs, 1974 - 1996

General Programs provides courses offered by members of various Departments with a distinct focus upon the student who is a non-major. They may be introductory and undirected toward further work in the major; or they may attempt to bring the insights and techniques of one discipline to bear on the problems important to another. They attempt to introduce students to intellectual experiences which are different from the ones they might otherwise choose. They have no prerequisites except where explicitly stated. The program had its beginning in an interdisciplinary Freshman Seminar Program, begun in 1969, that floundered because it was not a priority for faculty and had no political or financial clout. The Committee on General Programs was established in 1974 with budget and authority to develop the program, “the permanent institutional footing for a ‘liberal education which is more than a motto.’”