Greetings from the College of Liberal Arts! The photograph of the Oval, taken by communication studies professor Eric Aoki, captures the extraordinary beauty of this fall in Fort Collins as well as that magical spot on campus that holds a special place in the heart of every Ram.
The Oval is one of the few areas of our campus that has remained relatively unchanged over the past few years. Recent alumni visitors all have remarked on the physical transformation of campus, from renovations of buildings they remember to the beautiful new buildings. In the next few years, more structures will be completed, including chemistry and biology buildings, apartments on the south side of campus, a parking garage at College and Pitkin, a medical center at College and Prospect, and a new stadium. If you have not been back to campus in a while, I hope you will be able to visit us soon and witness the transformation first hand.
I also hope you enjoy the new College of Liberal Arts Magazine in an all-electronic format. The stories in this edition strike me as a wonderful response to the current national discourse on higher education that focuses solely on the STEM disciplines — science, technology, engineering and math. The extraordinary accomplishments of our faculty, alumni, and current students counter that exclusion by demonstrating the relevance of a liberal arts education to a wide variety of careers and engaged citizenship in the 21st Century. You all make me proud to be a CSU Liberal Arts Ram.
The ways in which our students have displayed their empathy, made thoughtful statements, and stood up for what they believe in the face of tragedies and issues in this country and around the world this fall also has made me very proud. While allowing for and respecting diverse opinions, groups of students have rallied to address issues including civil rights, racism, terrorism, and violence in our schools and communities. Further, they once again have broken their own record for the amount of food and donations they collected for the Northern Colorado Food Bank. I know all of you will join me in welcoming these wonderful students into the ranks of alumni one day soon. I suspect they will make you proud too.
For today, I wish each of you a wonderful holiday season and thank you for your continued loyalty to and support of the College of Liberal Arts. It has been one of the great joys of my life to serve as your dean.
With gratitude,
Ann