UF professors to chair key curriculum committees

Two professors with long experience in curricular matters will chair the committees charged with reviewing the University of Florida’s curriculum, the Provost’s Office announced in January.

Dr. Hans van Oostrom will chair the University Curriculum Committee (UCC) and Prof. Lauren Solberg will chair the Professional Curriculum Committee (PCC), both serving three-year terms. They will join Dr. Toby Shorey in the Office of Undergraduate Affairs, who will serve the committees as operational chair.

“These committees are key to determining the courses and programs that are available for our students, reviewing both their content and rigor,” said Dr. Angela Lindner, vice provost for undergraduate affairs. “Hans and Lauren have a lot of experience in this realm, and I’m thrilled they’ve agreed to lead our efforts going forward.”
 
Dr. van Oostrom is the founding chair and associate professor of the Department of Engineering Education in the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering. He has served on the UCC for over 10 years while guiding the development of new programs in biomedical engineering and engineering education.

As chair, he’ll head a 24-member committee that in 2024 approved 260 requests, including new degrees, new courses and modifications to majors, certificates, and courses, Dr. van Oostrom said.

“My goal is to have a fair and efficient review of curriculum while updating and maintaining clear policies,” he said. “It’s also my goal to bring faculty from different disciplines together to develop curriculum jointly rather than duplicating curriculum.”

Prof. Solberg is associate professor and director of the Program in Bioethics, Law and Medical Professionalism in the Department of Community Health & Family Medicine at the College of Medicine. She leads the Medical Ethics and Law track and the Ethics and Law thread in the MD curriculum and has served on the UCC for more than 10 years, and on the PCC for more than two years, since its inception.

The 12-member PCC has reviewed 28 policies, programs, and certificate requests and 119 course requests since its launch in 2022-23, Prof. Solberg said. The committee was created because of the distinctive nature of professional programs and courses, she said.

“One of my goals is to help further elucidate the attributes of a ‘professional’ program in order to help programs and units design and align their curriculum accordingly,” Prof. Solberg said. “I also want to ensure a curriculum review process that meaningfully allows for shared governance and provides a collaborative space for professional programs to both align and distinguish overall goals and share best practices.”