Mark Brown applied to the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs in 1961 for the graduate program in philosophy. But by the time he completed his degree, he was no longer a Maxwell student.

The philosophy program had moved to the College of Arts and Sciences, representing just one of many changes in the relationship between Maxwell and Arts and Sciences during its 89-year history.

As a student, Brown, who is now an associate philosophy professor emeritus at Syracuse University, was not the only person to identify with two different schools during their time at the university.

Although a separate school in many ways, Maxwell is still a part of Arts and Sciences, and the relationship has been an unusual one from the start. The relationship has not been without tension, but professors and administrators from both schools agree the positive aspects outweigh the negative ones.

“It’s a unique situation. In some places, the boundaries are very clear, and in other places, they’re not clear,” said Eric Spina, vice chancellor and provost. “I think from time to time, things have come up, which have led to more or less tension.”

Through this relationship, Maxwell and Arts and Sciences share many services. Undergraduate students with social science majors take classes in Maxwell, but are enrolled in Arts and Sciences. When they graduate, their degrees list both Maxwell and Arts and Sciences. Some faculty members receive dual appointments in both schools, and tenure and promotion committees are also joined.

But each school has its own budget, dean and faculty council, and many student services, including admissions and advising, are run through Arts and Sciences.

Several measures have attempted to further define this relationship, including a proposal, or White paper, which Spina distributed to faculty in March 2010. The goal of the paper, Spina said, was to clarify the relationship between the two schools and start a discussion about possible changes.

Topics discussed in the White paper included the creation of a Maxwell undergraduate signature major, faculty governance within Maxwell and the processes of appointment, tenure and promotion, according to a copy obtained by The Daily Orange.

Following the release of the paper, two committees formed to gather input from faculty: a committee on the relationship between Arts and Sciences and Maxwell, and a committee to investigate the creation of a signature undergraduate program in Maxwell. Both committees came back with comments and suggestions that are still in effect today.

One of the most important changes was the creation of a faculty council within Maxwell, said Jeff Stonecash, a political science professor who served on the Maxwell and Arts and Sciences relations committee. The council allows the school’s faculty to directly voice concerns to the dean.

Suggestions from the signature program committee led to the creation of the citizenship and civic engagement major, which will start in the fall. The program allows students to apply what they learn in class to real-world issues, said Paul Hagenloh, program director.

The program also promotes the Maxwell name and status as one of the top public affairs schools in the country, Hagenloh said, which can, in turn, attract more students.

Thomas Keck, chair of the political science department, agreed that Maxwell’s reputation can attract students, but pointed out Maxwell has no role in undergraduate admissions.

“We don’t want to take over the admissions process,” Keck said, “but it would be nice if it included some role for Maxwell to help recruit outstanding high school students.”

The relationship between Maxwell and Arts and Sciences can make establishing interdisciplinary programs easier, Hagenloh said. The new program requires students to graduate with a double major, and since Maxwell is a part of Arts and Sciences, students can easily pick up a second major, he said.

Maxwell forms the social sciences division of Arts and Sciences, but is not totally separate, said Cathryn Newton, dean emerita of Arts and Sciences. Students enrolled in Arts and Sciences can easily take courses in all three of its divisions: social sciences, the sciences and mathematics, and the humanities, she said.

“That is an immense advantage for students because universities that have a separate policy school, a separate school of government or a separate policy institute are siloed in ways in which Syracuse must never become,” Newton said. “It is the students and faculty who will pay the price if we erect barriers between these units.”

Many students are now graduating with more than one program of study, Newton said. In addition, she said prior estimates stated about 70 percent of students enter SU without knowing what they want to study. The relationship between the two schools gives students the freedom to change their minds without necessarily having to switch schools, she said.

George Langford, dean of Arts and Sciences, also noted the importance of students’ access to both schools. There is value in not duplicating departments, he said, but acknowledged a difference in perspective between the two schools.

Maxwell is a professional school, and its brand is based on its well-regarded master’s program in public administration, Langford said. Because the social sciences departments are part of Maxwell, they tend to focus more on the “professional side of things,” he said.

“We do not have the same professional orientation,” Langford said of Arts and Sciences. “We have more of a humanist approach to research that you find in our humanities departments, and you have a more basic science approach in our science departments.”

But Stonecash, the political science professor, said he doesn’t think the divide is prevalent, and said he finds it odd that people would classify some faculty work as purely academic.

“Are they saying their work doesn’t apply to the real world?” he said.

Regardless of the nature of the divide, there have been disagreements about money and fundraising in the past. The two schools have separate budgets, Newton said, which can sometimes make it difficult to sort out who pays for what.

“The question might be, well, where would the funding for this come? Should it come only from Arts and Sciences? Should it come only from Maxwell? Should it come from both? And if so, what should the proportions be?” she said. “You can just imagine how quickly that can become a budgetary issue.”

In addition, some Arts and Sciences students identify more with Maxwell when it comes to alumni donations, said Brown, the associate philosophy professor emeritus.

“There certainly is a considerable value to alumni allegiance,” Brown said. “The Maxwell school, in a way, understandably, draws that kind of allegiance in a way that the College of Arts and Sciences doesn’t.”

Asking the donor where his or her interest lies and facilitating the donation accordingly have largely resolved this confusion, Langford said. The split among students is about 50-50 in terms of which school they identify with, he added.

But regardless of which school a student or alumnus chooses to identity with, the relationship between Maxwell and Arts and Sciences benefits all students, said Hagenloh, program director of the new Maxwell program.

“It’s an unusual relationship, a unique relationship, but that’s the strength of it,” Hagenloh said. “Nowhere else in the country do you get this close connection between the College of Arts and Sciences and such a strong public affairs school. Usually, they’re just totally separate worlds.”

Published on April 29, 2013 at 12:41 am

Contact Jessica: jliannet@syr.edu | @JessicaIannetta