Dean's Messages Archive

The new academic year is officially underway and you likely have visions and memories of campus at this time of the year, filled with new students roaming the halls, friends hugging and reconnecting, and faculty and staff prepared and ready for another promising semester ahead. Yet, as we know, this fall will be unlike any we have faced previously.

As we frame our path forward, we will do so in the spirit of a #CultureOfChange. In short, the ways we reimagine what and how we do what we do will define who we are as a college and where we will go.

Within this evolving landscape of change, some elements have remained essentially the same but taken on different formats. For example, I have maintained the ability to meet many long-time donors, friends, and alumni of the college through events; however, the locations for these meetings have been confined to our computer screens.

The online space has also enabled us to rethink some of our work and the engagements we make beyond campus. Penn State Centre Stage has produced a series of streaming video evening performances. The Palmer Museum of Art has provided a host of virtual museum resources to keep access to our collection, exhibitions, and educational programs available. Penn’s Woods Music Festival offered a rebroadcast of some of last year’s concerts along with live, virtual discussions with some of the performers.

One of our new efforts is a conversation series called “Movers, Shakers, Designers, Makers,” in which I talk one-on-one with some of our inspirational alumni. Check out the second installment in the series, with architect Samantha Josaphat, lower on this page. The first interview was with social media entrepreneur Mike Karns, and next up is visual artist Roberto Lugo. You can see them all on the College of Arts and Architecture’s YouTube channel.

While we deal with health and safety issues directly related to the pandemic, the past several months have also elevated the national conversation on racial injustice and the need to address systems of oppression. The College of Arts and Architecture is committed to resisting racism, bias, and oppression is many ways, not the least of which includes positioning this goal within our strategic plan. As you may be aware, President Barron has established a matching program to support the creation of equity scholarships for students whose economic and financial situations would otherwise limit or prohibit them from attending college. In essence, these scholarships recognize what many of us already know—to make a positive difference in the world, sometimes we need to make a positive difference for each other.

As we move into yet another semester, one that will certainly be defined by more uncertainty, I am confident in our efforts to forge ahead.