Completing the Whole Person
The mission of the College of Liberal Arts is to prepare students for lives of critical thinking, global awareness and service. The college offers vigorous educational programs designed to preserve and strengthen the central values of a liberal arts education, while providing specializations geared to today’s career opportunities.
Through courses and programs in the arts, humanities, language and culture, and social sciences, the college is committed to promoting critical thinking, enhancing creative skills, heightening a sense of personal and social responsibility, achieving a sound preparation for life, and cultivating a joy for learning and an excitement for continuing inquiry. In short, the college prepares students to think, analyze and synthesize, and to understand the importance of this question — and answer:
Why is a liberal arts education so important? Simple....because life doesn’t come with instructions!
The college also offers graduate-level courses to foster interdisciplinary scholarship and leadership skills, as well as a master of arts in teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL) and bilingual education.
College of Liberal Arts – Points of Distinction
- A newly implemented freshman experience course is designed to acclimate COLA students to university life and to help them understand the benefits of a broad- based education. We call this course “Exploring the Liberal Arts: Choices, Challenges and Connections.”
- Full-time faculty excel in the classroom and also enrich the general intellectual atmosphere on campus. This is exemplified by the Wilkin Faculty Chair. One of our professors uses this yearlong position as a platform from which to share his or her expertise with students, staff and other faculty. The faculty member holding the position selects a theme around which to build a year’s worth of activities (reading groups, visiting lecturers, student forums, etc.) that stimulate reflection, discussion and change.
- Numerous and increasing opportunities are offered for students to engage in research with faculty members (our psychology lab and the forensics program stand out) and to participate in experiential learning. Many of our programs work to ensure that students have internships or other practical experience before graduation. We place students locally, regionally and nationally.
- We are expanding study abroad opportunities for students and working to integrate study abroad into as many programs as possible.
The college offers vigorous educational programs designed to preserve and strengthen the central values of a liberal arts education, while providing specializations geared to today’s career opportunities.