Harkening back to my own liberal arts education at Wesleyan University, I came to a realization that meaningfully furthering the experiences of undergraduates would be my next calling. I’m so grateful that I was able to make that turn in becoming Dean of CAS last July at an institution that is deeply committed to the common good.

What a year it’s been! The last two semesters students were back participating in classes mostly in-person, and they brought an exceptional energy to campus that was fueled by their thirst for learning and for experiencing education through personal interactions with faculty and peers. These meaningful faculty/student relationships are what make St. Thomas special. Indeed, the importance of these relationships in furthering learning and personal growth—in the classrooms, laboratories, practice rooms, and greater community—is a common thread woven through the stories featured in this issue of Spotlight. Consider the stories about microbiologists tackling antibiotic resistance, integration of art history and science to uncover past civilizations in Croatia, and studies of Black Lives Matter street murals in eight cities across the nation funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Each illustrates some of the various ways CAS faculty engage with students to enhance their learning experiences and do impactful work. Indeed, because of the centrality to our mission of powerful faculty/student interactions, the strategic priorities we’ve established for the comprehensive campaign are designed to fuel them through scholarships aimed at closing financial gaps for students, endowed professorships purposefully designed to attract and retain world class faculty, and funds to support experiential learning.

It's also been a great year of accomplishments and awards for the CAS community. For example, Dr. Paola Ehrmantrout (Modern and Classical Languages; Women, Sexuality, and Gender Studies) was selected by her colleagues as the University Professor of the Year. Dr. Dalma Martinović-Weigelt (Biology) was chosen to receive the John Ireland Presidential Award, which recognizes outstanding academic achievement of faculty in teaching and scholarship. Graduating student Katie McGinnis (’23, Environmental Science) received the Tommie Award, chosen for best representing St. Thomas Aquinas’ ideals of scholarship, leadership and campus involvement. I’m so very proud of these award winners, as well as all the dedicated faculty, staff, and students who comprise our college community.

Looking forward, we’re excited about the progress in the construction of the Schoenecker Center, which is on schedule to be open for the spring 2024 semester. On a recent tour with some alumni and members of the Board of Trustees, I was impressed by the size of the spaces and the complexity of the project. Bringing Emerging Media, Music, Art History, Film Studies, Earth, Environment, & Society, Chemistry, Biology, into confluence with multiple engineering departments in the new space offers incredible opportunities for interdisciplinary learning in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM). Planning for programming in the new spaces is underway.

Now more than ever, studying the liberal arts is a pathway to career success and personal growth. These conclusions are supported by recent data on career outcomes for CAS students. These data show that >95% of 2022 graduates from CAS are employed, in the military, or engaged in volunteer service, and not seeking employment 6 months after graduation. How did the unique liberal arts education that we provide in CAS make a difference in your life? Drop me a line and tell me your story, and we just might feature it in a future issue of Spotlight!

Thanks for reading!

Bill Tolman
Dean, College of Arts & Sciences