Association for Integrative Studies

Formation: 1979
Headquarters: Western College Program, Miami University, Oxford, OH 45056 [http://aisorg@muohio.edu]
Membership: 350 members
President: Pauline Gagnon, PhD
Website: http://www.units.muohio.edu/aisorg/

The Association for Integrative Studies is a professional organization representing interdisciplinary and integrative studies in the US

Profile

The Association for Integrative Studies serves as an organized voice and a national source of information on integrative and interdisciplinary approaches to the discovery, transmission and application of knowledge.

Mission

The AIS Mission is to advance integrative and interdisciplinary thinking: The Association for Integrative Studies is an interdisciplinary professional organization founded in 1979 to promote the interchange of ideas among scholars and administrators in all of the arts and sciences on intellectual and organizational issues related to furthering integrative studies. Incorporated as a non-profit educational association in the State of Ohio, it has an international membership.

The Association for Integrative Studies strives to:

1. Articulate the nature of integrative studies and to document their importance for higher education and for society.
2. Establish standards of excellence for the conduct of integrative studies in both teaching and research.
3. Maintain a communication network for the exchange of scholarly and pedagogical information on integrative study among faculty and administrators in undergraduate and graduate education in the arts and science and the professions.
4. Enhance research and teaching in integrative studies by promoting the development of interdisciplinary theory, methodology and curricular design.
5. Facilitate the success of interdisciplinary endeavors by collecting and sharing information on supportive personnel policies, programmatic structures, and administrative methods.
6. Serve as an organized voice and a source of information on integrative and interdisciplinary approaches to the discovery, transmission, and application of knowledge.
7. Become a broad-based professional home for reflective interdisciplinarians.

Annual Conference

Each year since 1979, the AIS has attracted scholars and administrators from across the country with a keen interest in developing and promoting research, pedagogy, and programs in integrative and interdisciplinary studies. In recent years 150-250 participants from over 30 states and 5 countries, representing colleges, universities, community colleges, professional associations, and graduate schools have gathered annually to present the products of their research and practice, to network with others about recent developments in integrative studies, and to draw upon the resources of the AIS.

The 2008 AIS annual conference: In 2008 the conference is in Springfield Illinois

The University of Illinois at Springfield invites you to participate in the 30th Annual Conference of the Association for Integrative Studies, scheduled for October 23-26, 2008. The conference will serve as a celebration of 30 years of work by the Association for Integrative Studies to promote interdisciplinary and integrative teaching and scholarship. The 2008 conference theme is Interdisciplinarity and the Engaged Citizen: Integrating Higher Education, Public Policy, and Global Action.

Future conferences and locations are:

2009: 31st Annual Conference: October 8-11, University of Alabama-Tuscaloosa

2010: 32nd Annual Conference: October 7-10, San Diego State University

2011: 33rd Annual Conference: October 13-16, Grand Valley State University.

Awards

The Boulding Award is "to be given to a person who has clarified or expanded the concept and the scholarly or public understanding of interdisciplinarity through a combination of the teaching, scholarship and integrative community involvement." The Boulding Committee consists of three members of AIS who are appointed by the Board of Directors. When feasible, past AIS presidents who have not already served on the Committee will be given priority to serve. Membership changes every three years. Each year, one member will rotate off and a new member is added to maintain the number at three. The Boulding Award is to be given to a person who has clarified or expanded the concept and the scholarly or public understanding of interdisciplinarity through a combination of the following: teaching, scholarship, and integrative community involvement. The award is to be given to one whose writings or professional performance has made major, long-term contributions to the concept or the enactment of interdisciplinarity. The scholarly or professional work of winners of the Boulding Award for sustained excellence in interdisciplinary work will manifest such qualities as the following:
· Create demonstrably important, but unexpected or new connections between disciplines or professions.
· Create major institutional or social change or awareness based on the conscious promotion and a deep understanding of interdisciplinarity.
· Create widespread and demonstrably crucial new understandings or redefinitions of interdisciplinarity.

Definition of Integrative, Interdisciplinary and Transdisciplinary Studies

For definitions:

For arguments about why a common definition is important see:

Publications

Issues in Integrative Studies is the Association's official journal.
Newsletter:

Directory of IDS Doctoral Programs

The Association for Integrative Studies has long recognized the importance of providing surveys of interdisciplinary programs. In 1986, the AIS published Interdisciplinary Undergraduate Programs: A Directory. The second edition, edited by Alan F. Edwards, Jr., and published in 1996 by Copley Publishers, is still available. We now provide a survey of interdisciplinary PhD programs in the Liberal Arts in the United States. Whereas our previous undergraduate directories provided brief descriptions of programs, in this directory we provide links to the websites of all listed programs.

The Association for Integrative Studies hopes that this directory will aid prospective PhD students who desire an interdisciplinary education. We also hope that the directory will be useful to scholars and administrators who wish to know if and where certain sorts of interdisciplinary program exist.

The Association for Integrative Studies as an organization embraces the study and practice of interdisciplinarity in all of its forms. We had originally envisioned a directory of all interdisciplinary programs. We limit ourselves, at least in this first effort, to the liberal arts, primarily because virtually all programs possess interdisciplinary elements. We will explore ways of identifying "self-consciously interdisciplinary" professional programs in the future. We also hope to extend the geographical scope of this directory, and investigate whether certain types of Masters Degree programs can be included.

Interdisciplinary PhD programs:

Past Presidents

2007-Present: Pauline Gagnon, Chair of Mass Communications and Theatre and Professor of Theatre, University of West Georgia
2005-07: Don Stowe (Interdisciplinary Studies, College of HRSM, University of South Carolina)
2003-05: Cheryl Jacobsen (Vice President for Academic Affairs, Loras College)
2001-03: Carolyn Haynes (Honors Program, Miami University)
1999-2001: Joan Fiscella (Library, University of Illinois at Chicago)
1997-99: Roz Schindler (Interdisciplinary Studies, Wayne State University)
1995-97: Constance Ramirez (Academic Affairs, English, Duquesne University)
1993-95: Stephen Gottlieb (English, Quinnipiac College)
1991-93: Slobodan Petrovich (Psychology, IDS, Interprofessional, University of Maryland at Baltimore)
1990-91: Nelson Bingham (Psychology, Earlham College)
1989-90: Michael Field (English, Honors, Faculty Development, Bemidji State University)
1988-89: Anne Brooks (Humanities, Eastern Kentucky University)
1987-88: Julie Thompson Klein (Humanities, Interdisciplinary Studies, Wayne State University)
1986-87: Beth Casey (General Education/Special Program, Bowling Green State University)
1985-86: Raymond C. Miller (Social Science, San Francisco State University)
1984-85: Thomas L. Benson (President, Green Mountain State College)
1983-84: Thomas R. Murray (Center for Bio-Medical Ethics, Case Western University)
1981-83: Forrest Armstrong (Dean, Grand Valley State University)
1980-81: Barbara Hursh (Associate Provost, Psychology, Northeastern University)
1979-80: William H. Newell (School of Interdisciplinary Studies, Miami University)

Past Editors of Issues in Integrative Studies

2004-Present: Joan Fiscella and Francine Navakas
2002-2003 Roslyn Schindler and Stuart Henry (guest editors)
2000-2002 Jay Wentworth; Leslie Gerber guest editor on euthanasia symposium in 2000)
1998-1999 Stan Bailis (editor)
1996 Bill Newell, (guest editor)
1994 Julie Klein, guest editor of European perspectives volume
1994-1997 Stan Bailis (editor)
1993 Leslie Gerber, guest editor of special volume on narrative theory
1992 Joan Fiscella, guest editor of special volume on IDS and information
1990 Julie Klein and William Doty, guest editors of special volume on IDS resources
1988-1993 Stan Bailis (editor)
1987 Julie Klein, Stan Bailis, and Ray Miller (co-editors)
1982-86 Ray Miller (co-editor with Julie Klein)

News

Allen Repko’s Interdisciplinary Research: Process and Theory available.

Members who have been waiting for the publication of Allen Repko’s textbook, Interdisciplinary Research: Process and Theory (Sage Publications), can now pre-order copies through Amazon.com. It is available in both hardcover and paperback editions. Sponsored by AIS, Interdisciplinary Research is a landmark publication in interdisciplinary education. It is the first textbook to offer a comprehensive treatment of the interdisciplinary research process for interdisciplinary graduate students writing theses and dissertations and advanced undergraduate students writing capstone projects. Faculty of interdisciplinary programs, particularly at the doctoral level, should find this book indispensable. To pre-order copies, go to Amazon.com and search for Repko under Books.

AIS looks forward to its 30th anniversary year

AIS will observe the 30th anniversary of its founding this year at the 2008 conference in Springfield, Illinois. The 30th Annual Conference will be hosted by the University of Illinois at Springfield, October 23-26, 2008. This year's theme is "Interdisciplinarity and the Engaged Citizen: Integrating Higher Education, Public Policy, and Global Action." For conference information, click here.

2008 is also the 25th year for Issues in Integrative Studies

The Association will mark the 25th anniversary this year of Issues in Integrative Studies, its peer-reviewed academic journal. The co-editors are Joan Fiscella of the University of Illinois at Chicago, and Francine Navakas of North Central College, Naperville, Illinois. For information on submitting manuscripts to Issues in Integrative Studies, click here.

May edition of the AIS Newsletter available

The May edition of the AIS Newsletter features Richard Carp’s review of Interdisciplinary Hiring, Tenure and Promotion by the Council of Environmental Deans and Directors. The CEDD online resource is among listings in the Connections section of the AIS website. (Click Go>>) Carp is Associate Professor and Chair for the Department of Interdisciplinary Studies at Appalachian State University. There is also a review by Rick Szostak, Professor of Economics at the University of Alberta, of Interdisciplinary Community Development, a new book by Alice K. Johnson Butterfield and Yossi Korazim-Körösy. Copies of the May edition have been mailed to 2008 members. Individual copies are also available for purchase at $2 per copy.

AIS welcomes feedback on website redesign

The Association for Integrative Studies welcomes feedback on its redesigned website, which debuted in April. Members should find all the resources that were present on the previous website: information about AIS, its organization, and its membership; resources such as the doctoral program directory and sample syllabi, past editions of the AIS Newsletter and Issues in Integrative Studies, a listing of consultants, job postings, and the Connections section with links to related organizations-all easily accessed from the homepage. One new feature users should find helpful is the capability to search the site by entering a keyword. There is also a handy sitemap. Website visitors also will notice that AIS has a new logo with sleek contemporary lines, replacing the former “jigsaw puzzle” logo. Members will see the new logo in other AIS publications as well, such as the AIS Newsletter. Although the redesigned website went online in late March, work on it continued through April, and updated material is still being added. To comment, click here.

User-friendly version of AIS teleconference video now online

Visitors to the AIS website may now access the video of Interdisciplinary Studies Today: Where Are We? by the sections of their choice. The teleconference was presented to subscribing institutions in November 2005 and featured a panel which included Julie Thompson Klein, Professor of Humanities, Wayne State University, and an internationally respected authority on interdisciplinary research, education, and problem solving; Carolyn Haynes, Director of the Honors and Scholars Program and Special Assistant to the Provost for Academic Planning, Miami University; and AIS Executive Director William H. Newell.

Interested in hosting an AIS Conference?

The Association for Integrative Studies has sites in line for conferences beyond 2010. The AIS Board invites you to attend all of them. Any institutions that are interested in hosting a conference in the next decade should contact AIS Board Conference Coordinator Roslyn Schindler at roslyn.schindler@wayne.edu. To learn more about AIS conferences, click here.

Job Postings in Interdisciplinarity

We welcome the opportunity to post job openings as a service to institutions and members. We accept postings from universities, colleges, and other academic institutions, or from professional education organizations with openings for faculty or staff. In addition to posting the vacancies on the website, we will post them on the INTERDIS Listserv.

Allen Repko joins list of AIS consultants

Allen F. Repko, director of the interdisciplinary studies program at the University of Texas at Arlington, has been added to the AIS list of consultants in interdisciplinary studies. Repko is the author of the textbook, Interdisciplinary Research: Process and Theory, which is being published this year by SAGE Publications, Inc. He has been a member of the AIS Board of Directors since October 2006, and he regularly presents at AIS conferences. For more information on his background, as well as listings for other consultants, click here.

CEDD releases new resource on hiring, tenure and promotion

The Council of Environmental Deans and Directors (CEDD) of the National Council for Science and the Environment (NCSE) has announced a new online resource: "Interdisciplinary Hiring, Tenure and Promotion: Guidance for Individuals and Institutions." Links to CEDD's new online resource and to other organizations can be accessed via the AIS website's Connections section under Resources.

AIS email addresses

Not sure who to contact regarding AIS? We have an e-mail address where you can direct all of your questions. Just send your inquiries to aisorg@muohio.edu and they will be directed to the appropriate person.

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