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New college being created
Academic structures are changing as well. In January, the Department of Agriculture moved from its home in the College of Education to the forestry college, which is now named the Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture. During the next academic year, departments within the College of Applied Arts and Sciences and the College of Liberal Arts will join to become one college. The change comes at an opportune time. Dr. Robert Herbert, dean of the College of Liberal Arts, leaves SFA in July for Youngstown State University in Ohio, where he has accepted the position of provost. Herbert, the newest dean at SFA, will be replaced with SFA's longest-serving dean, Dr. James Standley. Standley will lead the process for merging the two colleges. "In order to facilitate a smooth transition during this period of change, I have asked Dr. James Standley to accept the position of dean of both applied arts and sciences and liberal arts for the next two academic years through summer 2007," said Dr. Mary Cullinan, provost and vice president for academic affairs. "As a longstanding dean who has served the university in many ways, he is an excellent choice to take over the leadership of the two colleges." University study of liberal arts is generally defined as language, philosophy, history, literature and abstract science intended to provide chiefly general knowledge and to develop the general intellectual capabilities, such as reason and judgment (as opposed to professional or vocational skills). The study of applied arts and sciences involves applying general principles to solve definite problems. It is a combination that SFA officials believe will be a dynamic new entity within the university. "Liberal arts has long been the heartbeat of the success of SFA, teaching students abstract and critical thinking skills and enhancing their writing ability," Standley said. "During the last two decades, the College of Applied Arts and Sciences has developed a solid reputation as a professional school, preparing students who are career-ready when they leave the university. We'll have the best of both worlds within this new college." Currently the College of Applied Arts and Sciences, which was created in 1979 with Standley as founding dean, comprises the departments of communication, criminal justice, military science and the School of Social Work. The College of Liberal Arts is composed of the departments of history, modern languages, psychology, sociology, English and philosophy, and political science, geography and public administration. Other areas within the college are the American English Language Institute, preprofessional programs and interdisciplinary studies. "We're trying to reduce as many barriers as we can so that students have easy access to SFA and to the baccalaureate degrees they pursue. If you look at the top 15 majors at SFA, these two colleges have six of them," Standley said. "This move will create one-stop shopping for a lot of students who, because of the subjects they choose to study, have had to go to two different deans' offices in this past." According to Cullinan, the two colleges will remain separate in name for the 2005-2006 academic year, while discussion takes place regarding the organization of the new college and its new name. Tasks to be accomplished include consolidating promotion and tenure policies, and chair review and appointment procedures. Dr. James Lowry, associate dean of liberal arts, will continue to serve in that capacity. By fall 2006, a national search will begin for a dean who would start at SFA in summer or fall 2007. "These two colleges have each played a significant role in building the solid reputation of SFA," Cullinan said. "Joining them will enhance and enrich the opportunities we offer our students."
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