The University has established a Division of Science and has selected Prof. Eve Marder (BIOL) as its first head in an effort to facilitate interdisplinary communication and coordination among all science departments, according to Marder and Provost Marty Krauss. According to an e-mail to faculty from Krauss, Marder will be charged with leading "the nascent effort to coordinate and integrate the science curricula and strategic planning," as well as examining how the University currently supports the sciences with respect to staff and resources.

"The first phase of implementation will occur this fall, as the curriculum and budget plans submitted by all departments for [the 2011 to 2012 academic year] will be integrated into a single plan for the science departments," wrote Krauss. The University is also working with an outside consultant, which Marder identified as the Huron Group, to study "all aspects of our administrative structure and policies affecting research,"according to Krauss' e-mail. The Huron Group could not be reached for comment.

Marder said in an interview with the Justice that the first task for the division was to create a coordinated curriculum among the science departments. In creating a coordinated curriculum, the Division of Science will "basically ask [science faculty] to relook at the organization of the curriculum-who's teaching what-in what order and why and then try and see if we can make some minor modification that would make pedagogical sense," said Marder.

Marder explained that while the science departments at the University have remained virtually unchanged since the middle of the last century, the fields of science have "changed enormously" in that time. She said that many scientists are now working across traditional scientific boundaries, and she believes it will benefit students to be able to work more easily across such boundaries. Marder said that she believes there will be advantages to "stepping back and looking at the curriculum for all the students as part of a more integrated whole."

Marder said that she hoped the interdisciplinary coordination created by the Division of Science could help students learn the skills necessary to work across "traditional boundaries."

In an interview with the Justice, Marder said that she did not expect students to see many changes within the upcoming academic year, a sentiment echoed by Krauss, but Marder added that in following years there may be changes designed to enhance course offerings.

In an interview with the Justice, Krauss said that the idea for the Division of Science "grew out of all those discussions we've been having over the last couple of years about how to really make sure that we are using all of our resources as efficiently as possible."

Krauss also said that she expects Marder, as head of the Division, to provide leadership, creative thinking, collaboration and mutual problem solving. She referred to Marder as an "incredibly renowned person" and someone who is "very committed to Brandeis."

Marder explained that the University and the outside consultants will be looking at the technical processes within the science departments, including how grants are administered and how accounts are kept and reported. She said that the conclusions drawn as a result of that process might affect the decisions of the Division of Science if they offered the science departments the opportunity to become more efficient in their practices.

According to the e-mail to faculty, the University and the outside consultant will "discuss and then settle upon possible new structures and policies designed to provide better support." Any changes would be implemented by July 1, 2011.

In an Aug. 18 e-mail to the Justice, Marder wrote that she also hoped that the Division of Science "will allow us to make more visible, both on campus and in the outside world, the outstanding work in the sciences [being done here at Brandeis].