Task Forces

In April 2019, the Purdue University College of Liberal Arts Faculty Senate, and subsequently, the CLA Faculty, voted to endorse a Strategic Visioning/Planning 2019-2024 document developed by the faculty and staff committee co-chaired by Rosalee Clawson and Kirke Willing. During the 2019-20 academic year, the College will begin to explore opportunities to implement a series of proposed initiatives identified by the committee as ways to advance the College toward its goals.

Acknowledging Engagement

Mission and Goals

The Acknowledging Engagement task force is charged with identifying opportunities to generate awareness, create opportunities, and reward and recognize engagement work among the faculty.

Broadly, acknowledging engagement is a strategic initiative connected to promoting influential social engagement with public and private stakeholders, advancing the role of liberal arts in the contemporary spirit of a land-grant institution.

Acknowledging Engagement should:

Propose expanded Promotion and Tenure guidelines and identify ways to recognize engagement. Acknowledge, accommodate, and address engagement as a distinct performance area.
Reward engagement with awards and grants that encourage faculty, graduate students, and staff to develop partnerships across the University and with external constituents.
Explore a mentoring program for junior faculty interested in engagement with faculty mentors to help with promotion and tenure process focusing on scholarship of engagement.

Commitee Members

Co-Chairs:

Stacey Connaughton, Fenggang Yang

Members:

Erik Otarola Castillo, TJ Kim, Randy Roberts

Arts & Humanities

Mission and Goals

The Center for Arts and Humanities task force is charged with drafting a plan to establish a Center for Arts and Humanities in the College of Liberal Arts. The goal of the Center is to focus on scholarship and creative endeavor to complement the Research Academy. The Academy will garner national and international visibility and recognition function as a vehicle for outstanding and diverse faculty and those with successful grants to mentor and provide guidance to junior and newer faculty.

Broadly, the Center for Arts and Humanities is a strategic initiative connected to achieving distinction in scholarship and creative endeavor advancing the liberal arts with faculty excellence.

The Center for Arts and Humanities should:

Provide support for a diverse faculty to submit their creative works nationally and internationally, funding for exploratory creative activities, and enable cross campus collaborations.
Focus on exceptional scholarship and creative endeavor, complement the Research Academy, and garner national and international visibility and recognition.

Additional goals tied to transformative scholarship include: raising the College’s profile and visibility; recognition at national and international levels of research and creative endeavor by faculty and students contributing to new knowledge and setting new standards; creative activity of the highest caliber in design and the arts signified by peer-reviewed works (e.g., juried exhibitions, distinguished performances, award-winning works); demonstrable leadership of initiatives at the intersection of liberal arts and other disciplines across the University; a robust portfolio of grants, contracts, and commissions that advance the competitiveness of the College and contribute to the reputation of Purdue University.

Commitee Members

Co-Chairs:

Arne Flaten, Jennifer Freeman Marshall

Members:

Michael Johnston, Pat Kain, Christine Wuenschel

Benchmark and Advance Diversity & Inclusion

Mission and Goals

The Benchmark and Advance Diversity & Inclusion task force is charged with identifying benchmarks of activities and attitudes and beginning to chart the course forward by determining metrics to benchmark and building collection protocols.

Broadly, benchmarking and advancing diversity and inclusion is a strategic initiative connected to integrated diversity and inclusion that is integrated into all aspects and endeavors of the College as a model for a land-grant university.

To Benchmark and Advance Diversity & Inclusion, this task force should:

Propose distinct strategies to accelerate growth and integration of diversity and inclusion into programs and departmental culture and climate.
Determine benchmarks and collection and dissemination opportunities to track departmental and administrative activities in diversity and inclusion.
Explore and propose plans for recruiting diverse undergraduate and graduate students responding to changing demographics.

Commitee Members

Co-Chair:

Rachel Brooks

Members:

Elena Coda, Silvia Mitchell, Monica Trieu, Ralph Webb, Nadege Veldwatchter

Experiential Learning Programs

Mission and Goals

The Experiential Learning Programs task force is charged identifying programs such an internships, undergraduate research and conference participation, study abroad, and courses in other languages that advance intercultural competencies and to determine strengths, gaps, and opportunities for increased impact.

Broadly, Experiential Learning programs are a strategic initiative connected to advancing excellence in innovative undergraduate education in the liberal arts preparing students for varied and meaningful careers, active citizenship, and advanced studies in a globalizing world.

Experiential Learning Programs should:

Further develop and offer high-quality educationally substantive internships (national and international) for students, support Job-Ready internship awards, and offer workshops on how to prepare for and succeed in internship and career search.
Create and offer courses that focus on personal and professional development with an emphasis on how to prepare for various career paths.
Encourage departments to offer a diverse learning community, particularly in collaboration with the Honors College.
Create an undergraduate research community and expose students to faculty research through seminars and participation in undergraduate research conferences.
Increase study abroad opportunities integrated into curricula; support with financial assistance for diverse groups of students.

Commitee Members

Co-Chairs:

Al Lopez, Derek Pacheco

Members:

Josh Boyd, Lori Czerwionka, Bobby Chastain, Steve Visser

Faculty Mentoring

Mission and Goals

The Faculty Mentoring task force is charged with identifying opportunities to improve faculty mentoring of graduate students.

Broadly, improved faculty mentoring is a strategic initiative connected to advancing prestigious graduate education that is synergistic with faculty excellence in research and creative activity, attracting national and worldwide recognition.

Improved Faculty Mentoring should:

Respond to the varied needs of MA, MS, MFA, and PhD student development in research, grants, creative activity, and careers.
Explore support by recruiting professors of practice and/or incentivizing a range of career exposures.

Contribute to a welcoming and supportive atmosphere for a diverse mix of high-caliber students in all programs, pursuing research and creative activity along with personal and professional growth.

Commitee Members

Co-Chairs:

Melanie Morgan, Ken Ferraro

Members:

David Atkinson, Harry Denny, Zoe Nyssa

Research Academy

Mission and Goals

The Research Academy task force is charged with drafting a plan to establish a Research Academy in the College of Liberal Arts. The goal of the Research Academy is to function as a vehicle for outstanding and diverse faculty and those with successful grants to mentor and provide guidance to junior and newer faculty.

Broadly, the Research Academy is a strategic initiative connected to achieving distinction in transformative scholarship advancing the liberal arts with faculty excellence in path-breaking research and creative activity.

The Research Academy should:

Facilitate high-impact research and creative activity to improve the understanding of the human condition and address society’s most important challenges; and
Mentor faculty to nurture a culture of stellar research and outcomes, faculty recognition at national and international levels with inducted memberships, increased grant activity, and advanced national program rankings (for disciplines that are ranked nationally).

Additional goals tied to transformative scholarship include: path-breaking research addressing societal grand challenges, raising the College’s research profile and visibility; recognition at national and international levels of research conducted by faculty and student contributing to new knowledge and setting new standards; demonstrable leadership of initiatives at the intersection of liberal arts and other disciplines across the University; a robust portfolio of grants, contracts, and commissions that advance the competitiveness of the College and contribute to the reputation of Purdue University.