I think it's common to hear people say that the boundaries of the disciplines are becoming less distinct. Many of the most interesting questions that people are pursuing now require the expertise of multiple disciplines. I think that we need to find ways to encourage interdisciplinary activity. We've tried a few things. For example, last year we started the Interdisciplinary Fellows Program which provides a semester for faculty members to spend time in another department.
Disciplinary loyalty can undermine interdisciplinary initiatives.
Many times personnel committees feel like that the faculty member is participating in other things and the department won't get full credit for it. So, a number of steps have been taken to try to overcome that. In terms of research grants, we try to distribute the credit appropriately. In terms of teaching, when it crosses departmental lines we try to give credit to where the line is budgeted and not where the course is offered. Each of these things has helped us encourage interdisciplinary work and remove some of the barriers to it.