The Graduate Council approved yesterday a doctoral program in wildlife and fisheries science.

Henry Gerhold, professor of forest genetics, said it was appropriate to make the doctoral degree in wildlife and fisheries science available because of student interest. He said currently eight students interested in this field are students in the forest resources major.

The council also voted to drop the major in community systems planning and development and revise the admission and degree requirements for the master of arts degree in mass communications.

Senior Associate Dean Howard Palmer said the community systems planning and development major is no longer needed because other majors, such as administration of justice, have replaced it.

In other business, the Committee on Academic Standards recommended the council not review the two-tier status of membership.

The system says a faculty member may be an associate or senior member of the graduate school. A senior member has more experience as a graduate teacher, adviser and director of graduate research, than an associate member.

In addition, a senior member must also have made research contributions to his or her field.

The Academics Committee also proposed the council not enact the plus/minus grading system for graduates.

Palmer said these two issues may be reconsidered at a later date.

Terry Etherton, chairman of the Lecture Series Committee, proposed to invite one or two lecturers per semester to the University. Etherton said individual colleges would co-sponsor the speeches. Currently, the committee sponsors about one lecture a month.

Etherton had motioned at the January council meeting to disband the lecture series due to lack of attendance.

A panel discussion was presented on the relationships among graduate study, research activities, information transfer and economic development at the University.

K. Jack Yost, associate vice president for research and technology transfer, said society expects universities to be involved with economic development. He said the primary purpose of the university is to impart knowledge to the community.

"It is up to others to make knowledge into a benefit," he said.

The main issue in economic development is whether research activities are compatible with University goals, said Irwin Feller, professor of economics and the director of the Institute for Policy Research and Evaluation.

"What is the quality of work being done and how does it support graduate graduate students?" he said.

"Our role involves literacy and training the workforce," said James Fairweather, associate professor of education.