The 2010-2011 course catalog will see three additions to the Chesley and Elizabeth Pruet School of Christian Studies degree programs. Students will have the opportunity to major in church media/production arts, biblical languages or Christian media/communications (a double major in mass communications and Christian studies).
“We’re excited about it [the new majors],” said Dr. Danny Hays, dean of the Chesley and Elizabeth Pruet School of Christian studies. “[We] think it will interest existing students and new ones.”
There is no connection between the three new options, according to Hays, “they just all happened at the same time.”
The majors were the result of collaborations between Hays, Dr. Scott Holsclaw, dean of the School of Fine Arts, and Dr. Jeff Root, dean of the School of Humanities, along with some input from other professors. They were created using existing courses so there was no need to add courses or new faculty.
“These deans found ways to work together to use existing courses and faculty to make it work,” said Dr. Stan Poole, vice president of Academic Affairs and dean of the School of Interdisciplinary Studies.
Poole said another great thing about this combination of majors is the fact that they “cross departmental lines.”
“What I [also] liked about it was that it shows that our faculty is trying to find creative ways to [help prepare students] for life after Ouachita,” Poole said.
The church media/production arts major is the result of collaboration between Holsclaw and Hays.
“We had some discussion about the possibility of offering a degree that would meet some of the needs of students going out [to work with churches]” Holsclaw said.
It will include the 55 hours of CORE curriculum, 29 hours of Christian studies, 18 hours of fine arts courses and six hours of courses in the humanities.
Included in these hours are practicum with Joey Licklider, manager of Jones Performing Arts Center (JPAC), and an internship with a local church to help students gain “expertise in a lot of different areas,” Holsclaw said.
Holsclaw called it a “forward-thinking degree” that will help students to “build a strong foundation for whatever job [after Ouachita].”
Holsclaw also said the degree is an attempt to help students to “bridge the gap between traditional and contemporary worship,” as more pastors ask for media ministers to help with the worship and media aspects of churches.
The Christian media/communications major was created by Hays and Root in response to the number of students who chose to double major in Christian Studies and Mass Communications. The double major entails the CORE requirements, 37 hours of Christian studies courses and 31 hours of mass communications courses.
“We had a number of students who discovered [the double major] was what they wanted,” Root said.
There are currently 15 students majoring in Christian studies and mass communications and others minor in one or the other. According to Root, the decision to create a specific double-major arose out of the number of students choosing it on their own.
“The communication skills you learn from mass comm. you apply [to Christian studies],” Root said.
Root also said the new option will help recruit new students, and show departmental cooperation.
“We’re excited because we know students are already interested in it,” Root said.
Senior Brittany Vick started Ouachita with a Christian studies major and added mass communications later when she was asked what one does with a Christian studies degree.
“I looked at it as broadening who I was and what I was capable of,” Vick said. “I looked at it as being a much more rounded person and allowing myself to be able to obtain a lot more wide range of jobs [after graduation].”
Junior Nicci Fillinger is also double-majoring in Christian studies and mass communications, but for different reasons.
“The two degrees for me are unrelated,” Fillinger said. “Christian studies is knowledge for life; mass communications is knowledge for work.”
Fillinger looks at her degrees as a way to “prepare [her] to live out the Christian life,” and get a job after college.
The last addition to the department is the biblical languages major. While Ouachita had a program about 15 years ago, Hays said the department underwent a restructuring and removed the major due to lack of demand. As a result of an increased demand for such a degree from current and prospective students, the department has decided to bring it back.
“We haven’t really had to add any courses [for the degree],” Hays said. “If a bunch of students want the major [they may look into] new courses later on.”
A degree in biblical languages will require 49 hours of CORE, 30 hours of Greek and Hebrew courses and comes with a minor in Christian studies—the minor can also be made a major.
According to Poole, in order to add a new degree to the course catalog a department must propose curriculum changes. Changes are taken to a school curriculum committee which then goes to a university curriculum committee. The university committee is made up of representatives from all the schools. Once the university committee has approved a proposed change the curriculum committee reports to the entire Ouachita faculty. The faculty approved the new additions to the catalog in December, meaning the whole process took several months to a year.
“It was a more complicated process as it crossed departmental lines,” Poole said.
Poole also noted that all three options allow students to “combine Christian Studies training with other skills that allow you to minister.”
By Ananda Boardman, Signal Writer
