Dear Colleagues,

As we transition from last week to this one, many of us may be experiencing a complex mix of emotions. There’s pride in our Provost, Dr. Junius J. Gonzales, as he steps into a transformative role leading Academic Affairs for the 22-campus California State University System. There’s sadness as we anticipate missing his intellectual guidance, visionary leadership, and sincere care for the people of Montclair State University. And there’s enduring confidence in the momentum and steadiness of this institution and its people. As President Koppell expressed, Montclair “will continue to be a dynamic, mission-driven university that serves the public interest and people will continue to take notice, regionally and nationally.”

Last week, during our college leadership meeting, we discussed the CHSS goals for the year. We are seeking faculty participation in at least two of them: Distinguished Lecture Series, and a CHSS Faculty Fellow for Research and Scholarship.

For the lecture series, we need a small team to finalize the theme and format of the series, and select its anchor speakers and thought leaders. 

• Theme: Current events are unfortunately rich with topics of vital importance to our students and society at large: Environmental degradation, unregulated technologies, and cruel wars, to state just the obvious. We will use Humanities and technology as a starting point. One of the chairs suggested Wellness in the age of AI. President Koppell challenged all of us last week with the question “How do we prepare our students to navigate the disappearance of entry level jobs, being filled by AI?” 

• Format: We want to design an inclusive and engaging series that speaks to how students today consume information. We'll explore formats that leverage their 'distributed trust'[1]—their tendency to trust digital communities and peers more willingly than they trust experts sometimes. Our goal is to bring in expert voices while also engaging students and the community in new and innovative ways.

If you are interested in helping shape the theme, content, and format of the lecture series, please fill out this form. We will finalize membership by September 1st.

If you are interested in applying for the CHSS Faculty Fellow for Research & Scholarship, please fill out this form. We will select a fellow in early September.

Have a great week, 

Fatma

[1] Gillian Tett, “Whom Do We Trust,” YouTube, 2020.