Contact Us
Stephen Brauer
Associate Dean, School of Arts and Sciences
Associate Professor of English
Phone: (585)385-8168
E-mail: sbrauer@sjfc.edu
Academic Courses 
First-Year Program
Freshman Seminar
All incoming students will take ITDY 101, "Freshman Seminar," in the Fall semester. The Freshman Seminar is a one-credit course that provides students with an orientation to college life and a support system intended to foster their academic success, personal growth, and career exploration. Meeting with about eighteen students once a week, a Freshman Seminar Leader will operate in tandem with a returning student who acts as a Peer Advisor. Together, they will help students with the transition to college life, dealing with issues of personal wellness and community and diversity. Other topics include goal setting, study skills, time management, stress management, and the ins-and-outs of successfully navigating the academic world of St. John Fisher. Freshman Seminar Leaders serve as the academic advisor for all the students in the class for the entire freshman year.
Learning Communities
All incoming freshmen will take CORE 101, or what we commonly refer to as Learning Communities, which is the first component of St. John Fisher’s required core curriculum. For Core 101, faculty members from two different academic disciplines teach linked courses sharing a common theme. Because of the connections between different departments, Learning Communities give students the opportunity to learn about a topic from at least two perspectives. Students will explore topics of social importance both in discussion with other students and teachers and in writing. The LCs target writing, discussion, research, and group work skills as the first step in improving students’ ability to succeed in college. In these two paired classes, students will meet with the same group of students, helping them form lasting social bonds that will complement the academic objectives of the first semester for freshmen. St. John Fisher offers a wide variety of LCs from which incoming students can choose. Topics have included, "Work in America," "The Fog of War," "YRU? Nature and Nurture in Human Development," "Living with Other Gods," and "Empowering the Powerless." These two courses are for the Fall semester only.
Research-based Writing
In the Spring semester, all freshmen will take DEPT. 199, "Research-based Writing." Students will learn the basics of writing an academic research paper through an individualized course organized around a theme. Fourteen different departments offer a version of this course, and students can choose to register for a 199 section in any department, regardless of major. Topics for sections have included "Scientific Writing," "Literature and Politics," "Computers, Communication, and Culture," "Political Tolerance," and "African American Cinema." The emphasis in each section of the DEPT. 199 courses will be on the research process, the elements of persuasive argumentation, the proper use and documentation of sources, the integration of more than one perspective on an issue in the student’s paper, and the revision process of writing. Students will also learn how to make an effective oral presentation of their research.