Major restructuring creates the new FLC School of Arts and Sciences

Grant funding and enrollment in the science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) disciplines at Fort Lewis College has risen significantly over the past few years. Now a major restructuring of the College’s academic organization will try to bring that same success to the arts, humanities and social sciences. Beginning for the fall 2013 semester, the FLC School of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences and the School of Natural and Behavioral Sciences will merge to form the new School of Arts and Sciences.

“Nationally we’re in a situation where the STEM disciplines are in the forefront because there’s such a demand for those graduates,” says Dr. Maureen Brandon, the dean of the new School of Arts and Sciences. “We’ve been able to capitalize on grant opportunities that have improved our infrastructure in particular. Now we need to be able to do the same thing for the arts, humanities and social sciences so everyone is raised to a similar level.”

The attention on STEM education has increased over the years, with even the White House calling for one million more STEM college graduates over the next decade. The rising demand for STEM grads has driven increased enrollment, external funding and internal investment for STEM programs at Fort Lewis College.

Yet, to increase investment in STEM while ignoring the arts, humanities and social sciences does not create the most effective college graduate. It takes high quality educational programs in both the arts and the sciences, and students well trained in them, to truly create the innovators of the future. This is a sentiment backed by such innovation heavyweights as the former CEO of Apple, the late Steve Jobs.

During the unveiling of the iPad2, Mr. Jobs said, “It’s in Apple’s DNA that technology alone is not enough—it’s technology married with liberal arts, married with the humanities, that yields us the result that makes our heart sing…”

Mr. Vivek Wadhwa, a researcher and entrepreneur who’s held positions at Harvard, Stanford, and Duke, echoes Steve Jobs’ words when he says, “It takes artists, musicians, and psychologists working side-by-side with engineers to build products as elegant as the iPad.”

The point of FLC’s new School of Arts and Sciences is to bring the artists, musicians and psychologists closer together with the engineers in more ways than one. Dean Brandon’s goal is to not only increase the connections between disciplines, but also help the arts see the same kind of resource and enrollment increases that the sciences have enjoyed lately.

“I like being able to go to the arts, humanities and social sciences folks and say, ‘how can we get you what they got?’”

Artist or engineer, the vision for the new Fort Lewis College School of Arts and Sciences is clear: to ensure that whatever a student wishes to study, the resources and opportunities will be there to give them the best education FLC can provide.