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COLLEGE OF ARTS & HUMANITIES
This is a great college and I couldn't be happier to be here. We have excellent, committed faculty who are very accomplished. I see the role of the Dean as facilitating the good ideas of the faculty, so if I have a vision, it really is enact their vision and goals. Part of what I am doing as Dean is creating an infrastructure to make these things possible. It is pretty mundane work, actually, but I believe important things are going to come as a result. Beyond this, the single most important thing we will do as a college is hire new faculty. If I have any goal, it is that during my time as Dean, that we continue to hire highly qualified, committed faculty that will lead this institution for the next 30 years. As a philosopher, I have to remind myself that "The College does not exist; only faculty exist." Place your bets on what is metaphysically real.
In whatever way they ask. When we give someone tenure, we are essentially saying that we no longer need to observe them because we know that they will continue to productive, contributing members of the academy. That includes teaching and scholarly / creative activities. Sometimes we bemoan the fact that our faculty appear to be independent contractors, but that is the only way the University could function. So my intent is to offer faculty the support they personally need to flourish professionally as faculty. That's the job of the Dean, to provide that support and move the obstacles out of the way. Typically this means more release time for scholarship and more money for travel, and I've got some plans to make progress in both of those areas.
Many of our smaller programs in the College would benefit from collaboration with other programs, but also with other divisions on campus. This is especially true with Student Affairs, because some of our smallest programs are also mission critical in terms of their support for vulnerable populations of students. I'd like to explore new opportunities for student affairs professionals to be more closely associated with the College and its Departments.
3. What opportunities do you see to strengthen collaboration at CSUDH?
4. What is your vision & goals for the college?
5. What ways would you offer professional support to lecture and tenure track faculty?