Fall 2017 letter from Dean David A. Reingold
Justin S. Morrill Dean of Liberal Arts shares his thoughts with alumni, faculty, and students
Dear Friends,
I am pleased to share exciting updates from the College that build upon goals I outlined in this space a year ago.
The College rolled out our Degree in 3 program in September, offering students a three-year path to a bachelor of arts degree in all of our academic units. For students who want a robust, expedited undergraduate experience and significant cost savings, Degree in 3 is a compelling option.
Our Cornerstone Integrated Liberal Arts program launched this fall with students from a variety of colleges across campus enrolled in our first introductory Transformative Texts classes. Cornerstone positions the College to better define our role in the education of all Purdue students.
With our commitment to helping our students make connections to launch their careers, we opened our Career Center in February. Partnerships and developing corporate relationships already are creating connections that have led to internships and jobs for our students in the for-profit and not-for-profit sectors.
Faculty in the College continue to advance important research in the arts, humanities, and social sciences. I am proud to see their work recognized by top agencies and funders, such as the National Science Foundation and the Gates Foundation, that enable them to expand research that addresses important challenges. Also noteworthy is the Shanghai Academic Ranking of World Universities, which placed our Brian Lamb School of Communication #17 and the Department of Sociology #36 in its global ranking.
In the coming year, we will do the following:
Scale up Cornerstone to offer more Purdue students the opportunity to choose a first-year experience that includes classes with some of our best faculty.
Continue to grow our recruitment of incoming students, which saw an increase of 11 percent this fall.
Build awareness of the excellent work of our faculty and encourage their efforts to secure external support for their research programs.
This fall, the College has benefited from noteworthy and very public support for our initiatives from the central administration of the University. Together, I am confident that we can continue to elevate the reputation of the liberal arts at Purdue.
Thank you for your support of these efforts.
Sincerely,
David A. Reingold
Justin S. Morrill Dean
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