Mission Statement of the College of Liberal Arts

 

The College of Liberal Arts is a community of teachers, scholars, and students whose primary mission is the pursuit of knowledge. Through teaching, advising, scholarly or creative endeavors, and community service, the faculty of the College seek to extend their own knowledge, knowledge of their students, and the knowledge of other members of the larger community. By exploring and freely exchanging ideas, members of the College attempt to enhance the understanding of different disciplines, cultures, and viewpoints. The College of Liberal Arts is committed to establishing and maintaining a culturally diverse environment characterized by openness and mutual respect. Through its recruitment of faculty, staff, and students, its curricular offerings, and its extra-curricular activities, the College seeks to introduce students from many backgrounds to the great diversity of groups and cultural traditions that characterizes American society and the broader world.

The College provides all university students with a broad education in the liberal arts. The goals of such a liberal undergraduate education include the following:

        

  • to introduce students to a variety of disciplines and categories of human knowledge so that they may discover, develop, and use their full range of abilities;

  • to enable students to reason clearly, to inquire deeply into the purposes and consequences of events, and to exercise sound, critical judgment;

  • to provide students with a basic foundation of knowledge on which more advanced learning in the various disciplines and majors can later build; and

  • to help prepare students to become more complete, flexible human beings who understand the complexity of a constantly changing world and who are prepared to function effectively in the global community.

 

All students at the university, usually in their first two years, take between 15-21 hours of general education courses in the College. In addition, the College of Liberal Arts provides opportunities for more comprehensive learning in a number of academic areas, including several interdisciplinary programs. Students who choose one of the College's major or minor undergraduate programs of study begin to master the knowledge and research methods of a particular field of learning and, as appropriate, to prepare for a career. Graduate programs in English, History, and Spanish are provided for post-baccalaureate students who wish a more advanced, focused education in these areas. Through public lectures, conferences, and other cultural offerings, the College also provides members of the university and the general community with numerous opportunities for intellectual and personal growth.