Retaining and Sustaining our Students

With the chorus of “Welcome back to campus!” ringing in my ears I am sitting down to consider the current state of CASL. The beginning of the fall semester is always an exciting time here in the college; there are new classes to teach, new colleagues to meet, and new students to welcome into the CASL family. Sadly, however, over the past few years, the number of new students (both traditional and transfer) enrolling in the college has been declining, in some areas very significantly. While the CASL community takes some solace in knowing that this trend is evident in virtually every college of arts and humanities across the country, its impact on our college is significant. This decline poses major challenges for CASL…weak enrollments in many areas across the college, cancelled courses, and constrained finances which have impacted our ability to hire new faculty and staff and to invest in the college’s many strategic priorities.

Accordingly, last year, the college invited one of our faculty members, Ellen Judge-Gonzalez (the Director of our SOAR Program), to examine the college’s efforts around the retention of our students in the hope of generating ideas that will help us to keep the students that we do recruit, convince them to stay here in CASL, and to help move them toward graduation. The results of Ellen’s great work were recently shared with the college at large

CASL White Paper on Retention
https://umich.box.com/s/sb3ntqhs0ejopf2tb6p1q4pn2f7xmdza

CASL Former Student Experience Survey
https://umich.box.com/s/vwe1mvoc6jwup60fl4lvlok4m64xgbw6

and will serve as the basis for a CASL-wide conversation on retention. Holding onto just a small number of these students will have a very positive impact on the college’s bottom line and, even more importantly, on our students’ ability to fulfill their dream of a college degree.

The report is sparking a great deal of buzz in the college and faculty, staff, and CASL alums are all taking up the challenge of thinking about ways that they can (both individually and collectively) make the college a more welcoming and supportive environment for our students. Last evening, for instance, the CASL Alumni Affiliate set up a table in the CASL Building to hand out cookies and other snacks to students as they arrived back on campus. As we all know, even the smallest of actions can make a tremendous difference in making a student feel both welcome and supported and that such feelings go a long way toward encouraging a student to continue on with their studies here at the university.

Over the course of the 2019-2020 academic year I will be highlighting the importance of retention work to our faculty, staff, and alumni and the college will be launching new initiatives designed to enhance our retention and four-year graduation rates. I look forward to reporting out on our new initiatives and on the results of these efforts and invite you to share ideas that you might have!

Hands on Learning

Late last year I was invited to join our Geology Field Study students for their trip to Cyprus in the spring of 2019. Having just returned from that trip I have to say that it was an incredible experience for our students, and for myself. Beyond the geological sites that the students visited and interpreted (led by one of our amazing faculty, Dr. Jacob Napieralski), they were also exposed to Cyprus’s rich culture and history, including some time with the U.S. Ambassador to Cyprus and a trip through the UN Buffer zone that separates the Greek Cypriot side of the island from the Turkish Cypriot side of the island. As always, it was amazing to watch the growth in the sophistication and confidence of our students as they analyzed the sites they visited and as they navigated their way around a new cultural milieu. That the experience was transformational for the students is undeniable:

“As it was my first time traveling alone I was very nervous and unsure of how it’d end up. I’ve learned so much and I’m so grateful to you all for making it one of the most amazing and unforgettable experiences of my life.”

“I was so nervous but this was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had!”

Comments such as these are typical as our students reflect upon their study abroad experiences and they speak to the power of immersing our students in High Impact Learning Practices like Study Abroad. I am so proud that CASL is able to provide such experiences for our students and to assist them in making travel of this sort affordable. I am also reminded of the commitment of our talented faculty to work closely with our students and to push them to do things they never knew that they could do. As I’ve indicated in any number of different forums, I am committed to ensuring that the college expand these opportunities for our students and that we do all that we can to make such experiences accessible and affordable. I look forward to sharing more stories from the global education front with you in the future.

CASL Faculty Rock!

The College of Arts, Sciences, and Letters is abuzz these days. The most recent round of Fulbright Faculty Scholars was recently released and three college faculty were named as recipients (Daniel Davis—who will be working in the Philippines, Bill DeGenaro—who is off to Jordan, and Anna Muller—who is beginning a new project in Poland). This would be an amazing achievement for most universities collectively let alone for one college within a university. Just to provide some context, in 2017-2018 Faculty at Michigan State University (a university that far surpasses the University of Michigan-Dearborn both in size and in its research portfolio) were awarded six Fulbrights while our colleagues in Ann Arbor were awarded twelve.

The fact that three of CASL’s faculty were named Fulbright Scholars reminded me of just how accomplished our faculty are. Not only do our faculty excel in the classroom but they are exposing our students and the world to their leading-edge research and scholarly findings. This comes as no surprise to me or to anyone else who has had the privilege of sitting in one of the courses offered by CASL faculty members but it is always wonderful to have what you know to be true validated by outside sources.

Though the college’s enrollment decline continues to challenge our budget we have been consistent in ensuring that the resources that we do have are allocated in ways that promote both the success of our students and the success of our faculty. The recognition of these three scholars by this very prestigious body confirms that the college is making an excellent investment. Congratulations to our Fulbright recipients! We wish you much success in your work!We are all extremely proud of you!

Welcoming our new Alums!

Dear CASL Alums,

Please join me in welcoming to the alumni family the students graduating this fall.


Our soon-to-be new alums are now busy finishing up their course work but they will soon be challenged with finding their way as they adjust to life after college. For some this will mean graduate or professional school. For others this new life will focus on employment. In all cases, however, the pressures one feels to make a difference can often feel daunting. I want to reassure our newest alums that they are in good company; we all experienced the same sense of excitement and angst that many of them are now dealing with. As they will soon realize (if they do not already) is that they are joining an illustrious group of very successful and devoted alumni.

Whether you’re a seasoned CASL alum, like myself, or a recent addition to the family, CASL alums remain committed to our chosen profession, to fundraising efforts on behalf of the college, to networking with our graduates, and to engaging with diverse groups of supporters. Other CASL alums serve as mentors, or work as dedicated faculty and staff, supporting the mission of the University and the College in a variety of ways. There are, of course, a great many CASL alums who choose to assist the college financially (both in small and large ways), and this doesn’t go unnoticed. Among the most impactful area of support is student scholarship money. No fund exemplifies more the impact that our alums are having than the “Get to Graduation.” This initiative, funded entirely by generous CASL alums and designed to assist those students who have exhausted their financial aid eligibility or who have encountered some sort of unanticipated financial crisis that imperils their graduation, remains close to my heart. To date we have assisted nearly twenty students in their quest to achieve their dream of earning their CASL degree. Please consider supporting this initiative. Your gift, no matter the amount, makes a huge difference for these students.

During this season in which many naturally focus on joy and giving, I sincerely thank each of you for your generous spirit. Whether you feel your role played in correlation to CASL is major, or minor, it ultimately advances the humanities, arts, and sciences.

I look forward to continuing to learn about the work and efforts of our alums.

Can't Do it Without You!

As I embark upon my second term as Dean I have much to be grateful for. The college is engaged in promoting its strategic initiatives and in fostering student and faculty success. This is energizing! I am eager to continue this work.

Among the most important of our initiatives, though, remains our effort to enhance and strengthen the CASL community and to more fully engage with our alumni. Last week, I was reminded once again just how much our alums care about this campus and our students and how much they give to their alma mater when I attended the CASL Alumni Affiliate Scholarship Recipient reception. This annual event is one of my favorites and I always leave inspired after hearing about the great work that our students are doing and I am always deeply moved by the adversity that many of them have had to overcome. Equally as important is the deep feeling of pride that washes over me as I see the members of our college’s Alumni Affiliate interacting with the students and with each other. These volunteers give countless hours and much energy in service to CASL and they inspire all they come into contact with. Last week’s reception marked the 22nd year for the scholarship and brought the total amount of scholarship money distributed to CASL students to just under $200,000! That is an amazing feat for an unpaid voluntary board and the impact of this selflessness is profound.

As I mentioned to those in attendance at the event, I am incredibly blessed to work alongside of such committed alums and am both inspired and humbled by their devotion to the college. I also shared with the students just how proud I am of them (both as their Dean and as a fellow alum) and how eager all those in attendance were to see just where their lives would lead them. As I told those in attendance (and I firmly believe this to be true), the ability of this campus to transform lives is something I haven't found anywhere else that I’ve ever been or that I am aware of. It is the most salient characteristic of the university and it is something that we should all be incredibly proud of.

I concluded the evening by inviting the scholarship recipients, as I would invite you, to consider giving back to CASL and to the university. This need not mean a financial contribution (though those are always welcome). There is always the need for mentoring, advising, and there are myriad other opportunities to reconnect with your campus and to share your experience and knowledge. Should you have the time and inclination to give back I strongly encourage you to reach out to our Alumni Affiliate (https://umdearborn.edu/casl/alumni-friends/alumni-engagement/casl-alumni-affiliate-scholarship/scholarship-reception) or to the university’s Alumni Relations office (https://umdearborn.edu/alumni). Now, perhaps more than at any other time, the University of Michigan-Dearborn and its students could benefit from your engagement!

High Impact Research

Beyond the joy and pride that accompanies the Spring Commencement ceremony, the end of the academic year is also notable for the celebration of research and scholarship (both faculty and student) that is the lifeblood of CASL.

Attending the annual Meeting of Minds tri-campus undergraduate research forum (hosted by our campus this year) always leaves me inspired by the work that our students, with the guidance and direction of their faculty mentors, engage in. In their research posters, oral presentation, and (new this year) their art exhibition, our students demonstrate the critical value of mentored research and its ability to help students apply the theoretical materials that they learn in class to real world problems. The pride that they manifest and the enthusiasm that is evident when they talk about their work is inspiring and clearly reaffirms that the college’s decision to make this high impact practice a priority for its students is on the mark.

Likewise, the culmination of our annual Promotion and Tenure cycle highlights the many scholarly accomplishments of our excellent faculty. The breadth and depth of their work, along with its impact and critical reception, is a testimony to true meaning of our Teacher/Scholar model and infuses the classrooms of these faculty members (and, of course, their students’ classroom experience) with intellectual energy and leading-edge content. For more on our most recent Promotion and Tenure cases please see:

Congratulations to both our students and these outstanding faculty members for their accomplishments and for making tangible the impact of research and scholarship, both on the individual, and upon the wider world.

Guest Blog...France's Sites of Memory

Winter break is now in the rear view mirror. I was fortunate enough to spend my break in France with a group of UM-Dearborn students and faculty engaged in a study abroad course. I could go on and on about what the experience meant for our students but I thought it a wiser course to turn to my Associate Dean, Professor Gabriella Scarlatta (who co-lead the course) and ask her to share her thoughts on the trip with you.

Exploring France’s Sites of Memory during Spring break

Eighteen students, two faculty members in French, and the Dean embarked on an exploration of the major sites of France’s collective memory, from the Roman conquest during the first century BC to the French Revolution of 1789. This study abroad experience is linked to my course French 336, French Civilization of the Past.
The trip started in Paris where we visited the most important sites intimately connected to French history and civilization, such as the Catacombs, Place des Vosges, the Church of Saint-Sulpice, the Cathedral Notre Dame, the Place de la Bastille, and Montmartre, with its imposing Basilica Le Sacré Coeur. We also visited the seventeenth-century castle of Versailles. Students had a chance to experience French life in restaurants and cafés, go up to the top of the Eiffel Tower, and have a full 360 degrees view of the City of Lights. We walked everywhere, some days covering ten to eleven miles, not worrying about the cold, but only caring about the unbelievably beautiful, old surroundings!
After four days in Paris, we went by private bus to the Loire Castle region, and visited the castles of Chenonceau, Chambord, Azay-le-Rideau, and Villandry. Students were fully awed by the splendor and details of these Renaissance castles, as well as by the beauty of the region surrounding the river Loire, where many more castles were built to greet the old French nobility. We stayed in a quaint small hotel in the main square of Tours, right across the train station, where we had the opportunity to experience life in a French province town. From the City of Lights to the small city of Tours, students were able to appreciate the essence of French life and culture.
We continued our discovery toward Southern France, where more sites of memory were waiting. We stopped at the Pont du Gard, a 50 kilometer-long aqueduct and bridge, built by the Romans about 2100 years ago to carry water from a spring to the city of Nîmes. And then on to Nîmes, where we visited its Roman Arena and the Maison Carrée, erected by the Romans to impress the local population and to entertain themselves. Our last two nights were spent in the beautiful port city of Marseille, founded by the Greeks on the Mediterranean sea. Finally, we visited two more charming cities, Arles and Orange, in which their Roman vestiges, including the Arena, Theater, and the Triumphal Arch, still stand tall and imposing.
This was a fabulous educational and empowering experience for our students! They learned to navigate a foreign environment with genuine curiosity and gusto! Every single one of them was completely engaged in the daily activities and took full advantage of every opportunity they encountered. I truly appreciated traveling with them and watched them with pride as they discovered France and its many treasures!