When it first was announced that UVA would take over academic leadership of the Semester At Sea program from the University of Pittsburgh, many professors weren’t interested in providing safe harbor. With a “booze cruise” reputation lingering from the 1999 MTV “Road Rules” filmed on board, the program sparked a minor conflagration largely because of the process—the Faculty Senate wanted to have more say in such crucial decision-making rather than having it flow top down from the President or the Provost’s office.
 “As more faculty experience this,” says Karen Ryan, “I think word of mouth and just the buzz around Semester At Sea has really grown.” |
While the process question still needs some sorting out, more and more University profs seem to be buying into the Semester At Sea program, which only has an initial contract of five years. But with two voyages notched on UVA’s belt, it looks like the program might be here for a long time.
“I think it’s something that’s going to stick with the University,” says Rich Collins, an emeritus professor of urban and environmental planning who sailed on the Summer 2007 voyage, the first voyage led by UVA. Spanish Professor David Gies was the academic dean for that voyage, and he worked to raise the academic bar.
“David charged us all early on, ‘Step it up, we really want to make sure we hit them with something we want to be proud of,’” says Peter Rodriguez, a Darden professor. “That wasn’t popular. We certainly got some blowback. But most everybody stuck to their guns.”
And student behavior varied, as one could expect on a trip where the drinking age is 18. “You see it all,” Rodriguez says of student behavior. “It took a while to get used to that and having that in your face, which is probably not a bad thing. But it could be shocking.”
Both Collins and Rodriguez thought the voyage was rewarding overall, though they both say that the curriculum they planned didn’t always work out. Still, as Rodriguez notes, some lessons worked out amazingly well: He could teach students on the ship about developing economies and open air markets, and then go visit one in Guatemala the next day.
This summer, Karen Ryan will say “bon voyage” to her duties as interim dean of Arts & Sciences, and serve as academic dean for a voyage to Europe with the theme of “Russia and the West.” UVA academic deans are slated through the Spring 2009.
“What I saw was a unique possibility to create a curriculum,” says Ryan, a Slavic literature scholar. “You pick the faculty and shape the curriculum in a way that interests you most.”
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