Don’t be confused. If you are an undergraduate social science major, you will take the courses for your major in a Maxwell building with Maxwell faculty. However, your records, advisers and home school will be in the Hall of Languages with The College of Arts and Sciences.

This situation is unique at Syracuse University because of our own distinct setup. Most universities do not have a multitude of undergraduate professional schools to supplement a liberal arts college. For example, at Duke University, students either go to Trinity College of Arts and Sciences or the engineering school as undergraduates, according to Michael Wasylenko, senior associate dean of the Maxwell school.

Since Syracuse already sports nine undergraduate colleges, we could avoid the complexities of the current setup between Maxwell and Arts and Sciences by adding a tenth.

At Syracuse University, the natural sciences, humanities and social sciences are housed under Arts and Sciences and constitute the disciplines for a liberal arts degree. Yet because there is a graduate school for the social sciences, undergraduate social science students physically take their courses at the graduate school. The degree is signed by the deans of both schools but it is clearly from Arts and Sciences.

It’s a complex relationship.

Susan Wadley, associate dean for curriculum, instruction and programs, finds the system beneficial for both schools. Maxwell does not have to deal with the bureaucratic burden that comes with undergraduate students. It also benefits from using funds it receives because of its undergrads to finance its more expensive graduate programs like public administration and international relations, said Wadley, who rose to the level of associate dean in Arts and Sciences by working as a professor at Maxwell.

Making Maxwell its own undergraduate school has come up in the past. ‘There has been some tension,’ said Wasylenko. He said there is currently no movement pushing for drastic reorganization, though it does come up episodically.

Social science undergrads could benefit from a Maxwell undergraduate program. They could use the highly regarded reputation of the school to bolster their resumes and become part of a college that represents their major.

There are alternative arrangements to explore. At the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs of Princeton University, undergrads can not be accepted into the school until their junior year. The program is very competitive but it allows students to graduate from the prestigious school. Maxwell should consider a similar policy.

At a minimum, Maxwell understands it needs to create a stronger spirit of community with undergrads.

‘It’s part of your home,’ said Wasylenko, who is working towards integrating undergrads into the Maxwell community more efficiently.

So, while students can comprehend the relationship between Maxwell and Arts and Sciences, it is only appropriate to dream of making citizenship and public affairs the next new undergrad school. SU students have an affinity and obsession with the various undergraduate schools, and most identify themselves by the school they attend. It is not the norm but it is the SU way.

And maybe somewhere down the line, undergrads will proudly declare themselves as ‘Maxwell.’

Matt Reilly is a featured columnist whose columns appear Mondays in The Daily Orange. Email him at msreilly@syr.edu.

Published on October 15, 2006 at 12:00 pm