Organization of the College of Liberal Arts

The College of Liberal Arts, established in 1963 as the School of Humanities, Social Science, and Education, has six academic departments: Anthropology; English; History; Philosophy; Political Science; Sociology; and four schools, the Brian Lamb School of Communication, the School of Interdisciplinary Studies, the School of Languages & Cultures, and the Patti and Rusty Rueff School of Design, Art, and Performance. Education was included as a department until 1989 when it separated to become the College of Education. The name change to Liberal Arts was implemented at that time. In 2010, three departments (Health and Kinesiology; Psychological Sciences; and Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences) moved into the newly created College of Health and Human Sciences. Undergraduate students may select programs from over 90 majors, minors, or certificates from one of the departments and schools, or from one of fourteen interdisciplinary areas. There are over 2,600 students pursuing majors in the college.

David A. Reingold, dean of the College of Liberal Arts, has budgetary and administrative responsibility for the academic programs and personnel of the college. The College of Liberal Arts employs approximately 300 faculty members and 140 staff in 12 separate campus buildings. The college operates on a $61 million dollar annual budget administrated by the dean. The dean is assisted in the administration of the college by three associate deans and a chief operating officer. These individuals share responsibilities for student services, assessment of academic programs, faculty research activity, engagement, interdisciplinary programs, and the coordination of college diversity activities. For the College of Liberal Arts organizational chart,  click here. Ancillary to the dean’s office and reporting to the Chief Operating Officer are offices with responsibilities for academic advising, career services, student recruitment, student diversity initiatives, and marketing and media. Also reporting to the dean are the directors of development (who also have responsibility for alumni relations); the director of financial affairs (to whom departmental business managers report); and the director of information technology (who oversees the college’s computing services). For additional information about history and current administration of the College of Liberal Arts, visit the College of Liberal Arts homepage.

CLA faculty have input into the decision-making process of the college through the Liberal Arts Faculty Senate, a body of forty members. The senate meets regularly six times yearly, and the full faculty meets once each semester. Senate committees deliberate about educational policies, proposed curriculum changes, nomination of faculty to various committees, and issues affecting faculty welfare. They bring proposals to the senate for action. At the two faculty meetings each year, candidates for degrees are approved and committee chairs report on activities since the previous faculty meeting.  For information about the operation of the Liberal Arts Senate, consult the Liberal Arts Faculty By-Laws. Additional college committees deliberate upon faculty promotions and conduct student grade appeals. The CLA Diversity Action Committee is an advisory committee to the dean on issues of diversity and inclusion, and the Sexual Harassment Advisors Network provides support to individuals who have concerns about sexual harassment.

The Liberal Arts Student Council is a group of 25-30 Liberal Arts students who provide important assistance to the college. They help at various functions sponsored by the college, serve on committees (such as grade appeals and the curriculum committee) and assist in recruitment programs.