The goals of the College of Social Science are in step with the university's goals, officials said Wednesday at the college's annual informational forum.

The forum focused on the status of the college, its place in the university and ways to collaborate on universitywide initiatives, such as MSU President Lou Anna K. Simon's Boldness by Design initiative — a plan to transform MSU into a world-grant institution by 2012.

As part of the college's plan to advance excellence in teaching and learning, integrative studies classes — which include courses in biological and physical sciences and the arts and humanities, among others — will be refocused beginning next year, College of Social Science Dean Marietta Baba said.

Only a few departments within the college handle the 50,000 student credit hours of integrative studies each year, and this will change in the fall when every department in the college will take part in the responsibility for these classes, Baba said.

Courses within the college also are being re-evaluated to help make this possible, she said.

Baba announced that the college had reached its $40 million private fundraising goal about 18 months ahead of schedule, and it's this type of funding that helps to counteract state budget cuts.

More than 200 faculty, staff and students attended the forum — the largest turnout the forum has ever received, Baba said.

She said the high turnout was due to the presence of Provost Kim Wilcox, who took questions and heard comments from the audience.

Wilcox discussed Boldness by Design and what role he sees the college playing in Simon's initiative, as well as ways that faculty can give input on universitywide initiatives.

"When I look at the College of Social Science, I see college planning influencing and being influenced by university planning," Wilcox said. "What you are proposing and what you have achieved goes with what the university wants to achieve."

Faculty members also questioned Wilcox on the status of the College of Arts & Letters — including the search for the new dean and the formation of a new residential college in the arts and humanities — since the two colleges maintain close ties in curriculum and students.

Wilcox said he enjoys opportunities for conversation with the campus community, and also has attended similar forums in the colleges of Arts & Letters, Human Medicine and Nursing.

"It's a chance not so much to talk to, but to listen to faculty," Wilcox said. "I need to understand what's important to them."

Baba said she received a positive reaction from the faculty about Wilcox's discussions and that many of the topics presented could be used for further discussions about the college.