Humanities Express

From the Dean

Last month, I noted in this column without much elaboration that the president and provost had accepted a recommendation to reorganize the five colleges of the arts and sciences at Ohio State into a single College of Arts and Sciences. This month we officially begin the process of reorganization, I thought that it might be helpful if I share with you some of what I think the creation of a College of Arts and Sciences will mean for the College of the Humanities, its alumni, and, of utmost importance, my always insightful monthly commentary that sets the tone for the rest of the Humanities Express. As part of the plan to create a single College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Humanities will eventually cease to exist as an independent administrative unit at Ohio State. However, the humanities as an area of research and teaching by dedicated and distinguished faculty; as a valued site of intellectual engagement with language, literature, history and culture study on a global scale; and as an approach to knowledge production, will continue to constitute an important focus within the College of Arts and Sciences and an important part of the education of every student who attends The Ohio State University.

For many of the same reasons, the creation of the College of Arts and Sciences will not significantly alter the identification of graduates of The Ohio State University with the humanities or significantly diminish the value of the Humanities Alumni Society. The primary determinant of alumni identification and participation has always been the major field of study rather than the college in which that major is housed. As many of you know, major degree programs have, for various reasons, moved from one department or college to another from time to time. In these cases, the administrative unit in which the major is housed is far less important than one’s intellectual grounding in a field of study about which one feels passionate engagement. Even in the absence of an administrative unit called the College of Humanities, we hope that you will continue to identify with the work of humanists, support humanities faculty, students, and programs in ways that will enhance their well-being at the university, and even participate in the Humanities Alumni Society. In the end, we are all loyal Buckeyes regardless of our major or the college from which we graduated.

Finally, I want to reassure you that you will continue to receive from us a monthly e-newsletter in your inboxes. However, you will notice changes in the content and perhaps even the form of the newsletter beginning with the September issue. These changes, especially in terms of content, are necessitated by other changes that are a part of the reorganization. For the next two years, I will serve as interim dean of both the College of the Arts and the College of Humanities. During that time, I will work with the new executive dean and the other divisional deans to create an administrative and intellectual framework for the new College of Arts and Sciences. Among the many ways that we will work with our colleagues in the College of the Arts during this period will be to collectively envision and produce a monthly e-newsletter that will communicate with you and the arts community about the wonderful accomplishments of the faculty, staff, and students in both colleges. As we embark on this exciting new era at Ohio State, we will need the energy and support of our faculty, staff, students, and alumni.

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