College of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies Dean's Message

Mary Coleman, the Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies, reflects on the 2012 - 2013 academic year.

Seniors, your accomplishments are stellar and hard-won. Congratulations! Your self-efficacy, discipline and joy of learning are hallmarks of your years at Lesley University. There is much to applaud. A number of you wrote papers that were accepted in peer reviewed journals; some of you turned your internships into job opportunities; by applying your knowledge in real-world situations, all of you learned the connection between theory and practice. Scores of you studied abroad in at least 25 different countries. While abroad you learned or expanded your knowledge of a foreign language, observed new customs and norms, and delved-deep into your studies. You have become well-informed and thoughtful citizens of the world. Several of you completed the degree in three years and graduated with highest honors, all while working or serving as a Course Assistant (CA), a Peer Advisor, a leader of a club or active members in a number of co-curricular activities, including athletics.

So many people have contributed to your success. Over the years our faculty and staff in the advising center and student life have listened to your aspirations, anxieties and dreams. Through your intellectual engagement with your own experiences, texts, ideas, ideals, your peers, community activists and others, you have added value to the Lesley University degree and to a Lesley University education. Lesley University continues to improve opportunities for students to engage the world. In addition to raising funds to support student scholarships, we also created 27 new courses and hired 14 new faculty and staff members. Three new faculty members were hired in biology, as many were hired in education, two new faculty were hired in the social sciences, and the Humanities, respectively. Among the new hires are Dr. Kazuyo Kubo, a sociologist who specializes in transnational studies; Amy Mertl, an ecologist, who specializes in the diversity of the rainforest and molecular phylogeny; and Joshua Baldwin, a PhD in Social Work. Josh’s focus is forensic social work.

Bold new initiatives are underway for first-time freshmen, transfer, and continuing students. Working with our faculty and guided by Linda Pursley, from the Academic Affairs Assessment office, the Integrated Assessment Team evaluated all 1000 and 2000 level courses and made recommendations from which continuing students will benefit. The new first-year seminar will add immeasurably to the experience of new students and greatly inform the second and third-year programs underway. Thanks to the founding gift from alumnae and friends and an interdisciplinary Lesley University faculty, the Child Homelessness Initiative (CHI) is now an integral part of the curriculum and is indicative of our institutional commitment to strengthening the life chances of children. Our goal is to build a trauma-informed asset model as an integral part of the child studies, psychology, education and neuroscience curriculum.

I close the year as I began, with great confidence in the future of Lesley University and abundant trust in your capacity to use a Lesley education to make sound moral choices, grapple with complex issues, and care for yourself and, as you are able, others.

Excel in your ambition. Engage the world.

Mary Coleman
Dean, College of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies