Dear College Faculty and Staff,

Last fall, I shared with you the strategic goals that my team and I developed for the College of Arts and Sciences. Today, I want to share some of the progress we have made towards those goals. 

We have continued our work toward a more diverse, equitable and inclusive learning and working environment here at the College. With the help of the JEDI Council, a group of College leaders with expertise in DEI work, we have implemented a FAR process for faculty to highlight the DEI work they do in their scholarship, creative work, teaching or service. That group also worked with President Sullivan to support her efforts to initiate SCU becoming a Hispanic Serving Institution. We welcomed our first official faculty cluster hire on Race, Inequality, and Social Justice and that group of seven faculty is finishing their first year as tenure-track assistant professors. Our second cluster hire will begin this Fall. Additionally, we have co-created our first DEI Implementation Plan for the College that will guide our work over the next few years. Thank you for your feedback on the plan and we look forward to continuing our work in this area.

As I shared in my note a couple weeks ago, we have made significant progress towards providing engaged, experiential learning opportunities for our students. We will continue to build out resources for our CAS students while we also foster existing connections—and build new ones—within our local community.

I am pleased to announce the new Associate Professor Faculty Development Program designed to support associate professors who have invested a significant amount of professional time and energy into important university leadership roles and have, therefore, not been able to invest in their research and creative work in ways they may have wanted to. The College of Arts and Sciences has partnered with Faculty Development to create this program, which will launch in the 2023-24 academic year. Additionally, we have implemented some reclassifications and range adjustments for a number of staff members in the College. All of this works towards supporting faculty and staff in their professional development.

Our Sustainability and Social Justice videos did a wonderful job of highlighting the collaborative work of our students and faculty. Looking forward, we will continue to foster this engagement and provide support so our faculty, staff, and students can flourish in their disciplines. Throughout this next year, we will also work on growing our majors in the arts and humanities and continue work we have been engaged in to boost those disciplines. 

Please take a moment to recognize the work of your colleagues – and yourself – by submitting a nomination for the Annual College Awards presented at the Fall Convocation. Nominations are due by Friday, June 9.

Wishing you a restorative Memorial Day weekend – a collective breather before plunging into the last stretch of spring quarter and the academic year!

Sincerely,

Daniel

College of Arts and Sciences Calendar