From the Dean
Greetings,
As the school year ends, and we prepare to send the Class of 2013 out into the world, we have many opportunities to celebrate the accomplishments of the students in the School of Arts and Sciences.
On April 9, we held the Honors Convocation to recognize our honors students across the disciplines. There, we presented the David C. Evans Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Scholarship and the Creative Arts to seniors Aleah Goldin (interdisciplinary studies), Alex Hahn (chemistry), and Mary McDonnell (theatre and dance, business). Prof. John Gordon, who will retire this summer after 46 years as a faculty member and leader, addressed the Convocation on the contagious quality of ethics (and the infectious quality of moral failure). His modesty, wisdom, and resourceful spirit will be greatly missed. Senior Sandra Zuniga Guzman (international studies and political science) spoke of the value of a liberal arts education as a lifelong resource for engaging complex problems in the world. The music offered by our students—Walter Beers on piano, and a jazz ensemble of Tyler Tillage, Owen Hutchinson, Mike Haliczer, Erin Good and Blake Dailey—was wonderful. Our students’ gifts and achievements amaze and inspire us. Each time we celebrate the end of their time on campus, we find ourselves refreshed to begin again.
On April 19, we hosted the 28th Annual Student Symposium, which featured over 200 students from 30 disciplines sharing their scholarly pursuits and creative discoveries in the form of oral presentations, posters, and art exhibits. They have done this work under the guidance of committed faculty mentors. As President Ayers said at the dinner following the Symposium, our faculty have the humility as well as the conviction to realize that we don’t know everything and we don’t know enough to imagine that we can exclude our undergraduates from the process of research and discovery. So many of our faculty members include our students in projects that are ongoing in the labs, studios, or libraries. Undergraduates learn best when they are solving a problem, working on a team, or engaged in a creative activity, rather than sitting in a classroom “being taught.” When we shift our focus to student engagement and learning, everyone thrives.
To support engaged teaching and learning, we have begun to update our classroom master plan. A steering committee is meeting with faculty members in small groups in order to assess current and forecast future needs. We are especially interested in informal spaces, or even outdoor spaces that can become sites of education. A learning space can be furnished with movable desks, or lab tables, or walls made of whiteboards. Or, other learning spaces could be sparsely furnished with blackboards, or flexibly furnished with workstations and technology of all kinds. We are exploring many possibilities. Unexpected interdisciplinary collaborations happen here every day, and I want to ensure that our learning spaces are flexible to allow these new connections to thrive.
I am excited to share more about this initiative as it moves forward.
Sincerely,
Kathleen Roberts Skerrett
Dean, School of Arts and Sciences
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