Strategic Plan
Designing the Future of the College
In a time of global uncertainty and unending change, the liberal arts and sciences have never been more necessary or valuable. The College of Arts and Sciences stands ready.
The College challenges students to see beyond their own perspectives, understanding the problems of today to pioneer the solutions of tomorrow. With a diverse range of programs spanning the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences, we drive positive change in the world in a wide range of areas, from cancer research and environmental sustainability to social activism and disaster preparedness, and so much more. Through our comprehensive, real-world approach to education we empower graduates to respond confidently to the world’s most pressing issues — now and long into their future.
Looking Back, Moving Forward
In 1990, the present-day College of Arts and Sciences (CoAS) was created out of a combination of the College of Science and the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. Our current strategic planning process is an opportunity for us to review our distinguished past and align our core values toward future success. The College’s core mission is central to ensuring excellence in foundational education across the entire University. We are a dynamic and diverse community of inquisitive scholars and thoughtful learners, each focused on making a positive impact on the world around us. We strive to build the knowledge and skills needed to develop students as leaders in a changing world with an eye toward improving the common good.
The Planning Process
The College’s strategic planning effort began in 2020 under the guidance of former Dean Norma Bouchard, PhD, who retained the independent consultant firm Fairmount Ventures to lead the process. From the fall of 2020 through the spring of 2021, Fairmount conducted stakeholder interviews and focus groups and met numerous times with the College’s Strategic Planning Steering Committee. The firm submitted its initial plan in spring 2021, and after input from the Steering Committee, it submitted the final plan that fall.
With Bouchard’s departure, Interim Dean Kelly Joyce, PhD, assumed leadership of the project. In the fall of 2021 and winter of 2022, the College conducted multiple strategic planning retreats during which department heads, program directors, associate deans and administrative directors collaborated on a draft vision, mission, core beliefs and values, and goals and priorities. The College then held a face-to-face town hall and survey that gave the entire CoAS community the chance to weigh in with feedback, with the final plan representing a consensus of opinion on the College’s strategic path forward.
To ensure the methods of this process were comprehensive and inclusive, Fairmount Ventures engaged a wide range of CoAS students, faculty, and staff to take part in conversations in order to garner a variety of insights and perspectives on the College, and inform its future direction.
Tenured Faculty
- Eric Brewe, PhD, Associate Professor of Physics and Science Education, eb573@drexel.edu
- Rebecca Clothey, PhD, Interim Department Head, Global Studies and Modern Languages; Associate Professor, School of Education; rac52@drexel.edu
- Kelly Joyce, PhD, Interim Dean, Professor of Sociology, kaj68@drexel.edu
- Ryan Petrie, PhD, Assistant Professor, Biology, rjp336@drexel.edu
Teaching Faculty
- Stacey Ake, PhD, PhD, Associate Teaching Professor, Philosophy, sea29@drexel.edu
- Ludo Scheffer, PhD, Teaching Professor, Psychology, lcs22@drexel.edu
- Dane Ward, PhD, Assistant Teaching Professor, Biodiversity, Earth and Environmental Science, dcw33@drexel.edu
Students
- Nickolas Giardetti, BS Physics ’21, njg67@drexel.edu
- Hana Graybill, BA Communication ’21, heg37@drexel.edu
- Hannah Johnson, BA Biological Sciences ’21, hsj27@drexel.edu
- Weixiang Yu, PhD Candidate, Physics, Vice President International Graduate Student Association, wy73@drexel.edu
Staff
- Tom Durso, Director, Marketing and Communications, twd45@drexel.edu
- Amelia Hoover Green, PhD, Inaugural Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, aah92@drexel.edu
- Amanda Leslie, Executive Administrator to the Provost, arl98@drexel.edu
- Barbara McAleese, Web and Digital Content Designer, Marketing and Communications, bm3236@drexel.edu
- Gene Phan, IT, cgp23@drexel.edu
- Emily Urban, Associate Director, Alumni Engagement and Development, eau32@drexel.edu
Vision
Our vision is to be locally, regionally, nationally and globally recognized for impactful research, scholarship, creative inquiry and civic engagement. We are a leader in experiential learning through our Co-op program, community-based learning courses, and undergraduate and graduate research opportunities.
Mission
The College of Arts and Sciences aims to identify and address the grand challenges of our world through our research, teaching and community outreach. The College’s dedicated, engaged faculty and staff train and educate new leaders to provide vision and direction in an ever-changing world. Through our emphasis on experiential learning, community engagement and hands-on research experiences, students learn to identify and solve societal challenges. Educated in modes of inquiry ranging from historical to scientific, from theoretical to data-driven, students are prepared to participate in local, regional and global communities in thoughtful, meaningful ways.
Core Beliefs and Values
Our faculty, staff and students are committed to solving society’s greatest challenges. We draw on our significant disciplinary and interdisciplinary expertise in the creation of actionable research and experiential learning that lead to social change at the local, national and international levels. Collectively, we tackle issues that affect many people, aiming to support the goals and priorities of diverse communities.
The College of Arts and Sciences emphasizes the importance of creativity, the cultivation of analytical, critical reasoning, and the development of clear, effective communication. Arts and Sciences faculty and courses foster skills that are necessary to all disciplines.
We complement our deep disciplinary expertise with interdisciplinary scholarship, experiential learning and an exciting, challenging and diverse curriculum. Such an approach helps address societal challenges and promotes the connections between and among the College, industry, civic society and government.
We value an inclusive, varied community of students, staff and faculty. The College of Arts and Sciences has a proud history of leading initiatives that seek to promote diversity, equity and inclusion. We are committed to addressing and alleviating systemic bias within all institutions, and we invite all members of the College community to join us in these efforts.
We model the social values of accountability and transparency to drive our stewardship of resources and the development and execution of policies and procedures that foster the collective action and good of the College.
Implementation
Our next step will be to develop an implementation plan that addresses our vision, mission, core beliefs and values, and goals and priorities. We look forward to working together on implementation and sharing our progress as we move forward.