As the College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences seeks to increase research visibility and strengthen graduate education, Meredith Woo, Buckner W. Clay Dean of Arts & Sciences, has identified a number of priorities to help the College move toward these goals while maintaining its long-standing reputation for excellence in undergraduate education and exceptional teaching.
The growth of regular faculty positions at the College continues to trail the pace of enrollment growth, and faculty are stretched to balance the demands of undergraduate teaching, graduate programs and research. The addition of faculty is an essential component for achieving the major objectives of the College's plan: maintaining excellence in undergraduate teaching, enhancing graduate education, strengthening research and targeting multidisciplinary initiatives in areas of developing knowledge.
Support gifted scholars at the College and help attract new faculty by supporting Program and Academic Venture Funds or Professorships
The canary in the mine at a major research university is its graduate program. If graduate students at any given Research I university are gifted as scholars and teachers, if they earn their doctorates in reasonable amounts of time and if they are adequately supported with funding and with professional development, the university is probably thriving. At the College, we are determined to increase the stipends we can offer graduate students to attract the most talented students in our applicant pool. We also need to ensure adequate numbers of faculty, who will educate and mentor graduate students throughout their doctoral experience.
Help graduate students at the College by supporting Fellowships.
Many senior faculty in the College are nearing retirement age. This is especially true in the sciences. The challenge of replacing faculty presents the College with an opportunity to invest strategically in the future by offering competitive start-up packages to new faculty in order to attract the strongest candidates and enable them to mount aggressive research programs.
Support faculty and strengthen research by investing in Professorships and Program and Academic Venture Funds.
The College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences seeks support for new centers or institutes through gifts targeting individual initiatives and emerging fields. Centers and institutes offer opportunities for joint appointments, research collaborations and graduate study that cut across departmental and school boundaries.
Learn more about supporting centers and institutes through Program and Academic Venture Funds.
Departments and programs need help to support a variety of cross- and inter-disciplinary initiatives, including research, outreach programming, scholarly speaker series and scholar-in-residence programs, conferences, forums and workshops. Funds in support of departments might also be used to pay for such variables as travel, field research, operational costs and start-up costs associated with major initiatives.
Support the department or program of your choice through Program and Academic Venture Funds.
Space at the College is at a premium and we must expand and enhance our facilities in order to ensure growth. Access to research instrumentation and lab facilities in the sciences as well as studio and performance space in the arts presents a critical prerequisite to recruiting excellent faculty and students to our programs and making progress toward the College’s strategic initiatives.
Help the College build the Arts, Sciences and Humanities through support of Facilities.
The College of Arts & Sciences is justly renowned for the excellent education it provides to its undergraduates. The heart of the College is the undergraduate experience, and many departments are regularly recognized as among the best in the country. As we seek to increase our visibility in research and graduate education, it is essential that we maintain our reputation for excellence in undergraduate education.
Help students in the College now through the Arts & Sciences Annual Fund and Program and Academic Venture Funds.