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Dear Colleagues,


Welcome back! I look forward to seeing all of you at our college meeting today. We will share an update on the restructuring process and discuss the plans for implementing the design as well as shaping the remaining decisions together as we move forward.


At the university level, we are hosting the Middle States Commission on Higher Education Evaluation Team this week. This visit is a significant milestone in a process that began two years ago and engaged hundreds of colleagues and students to produce our Self-Study report. I invite everyone to read the report; it is an excellent reference point for our history, character, and future ambitions. General information about our accreditation process can be found here, and the self-study report is posted here. This massive effort was led by Joanne Cote-Bonanno, Christine Lemesianou, Brandon Fralix, and Danielle Insalaco-Egan. We owe them a deep debt of gratitude for their tireless work and leadership.


Closer to home, the CHSS Dean search committee is hard at work. We have a robust pool of applicants, and the committee is targeting campus interviews between April 16 and April 23. Please put a hold on your calendars for those dates; your participation in small group meetings and general presentations is essential to this process.


With my best regards,


Fatma

Upcoming Events

Governing Beyond Elections: Accountability, Prosperity and the American Administrative State

Date: Monday, March 23, 6 - 7:30 p.m.

Location: Presentation Hall, College of Communication and Media


The AI-Ready Campus: From Pockets of Innovation to a Coherent Institutional Strategy

Join us for a lecture with Dr. Adam Pryor exploring how colleges and universities can move beyond isolated experimentation with generative AI and develop a more strategic, institution-wide approach. Drawing on his work with the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) and experience developing AI-readiness programs for institutions across the country, Dr. Pryor will introduce a three-stage framework for becoming an “AI-Ready Program.”


This lecture will provide practical insights for faculty, staff, and leaders interested in thoughtfully integrating AI while maintaining the core values of the humanities and social sciences.


Date: Wednesday, April 1, 10- 11:30 a.m.

Location: Presentation Hall, College of Communication and Media

Register to Attend

Philosophy for Lunch

P4L is a weekly event at which students, professors, and other philosophy enthusiasts close-read and discuss a few great passages of philosophy. The themes are different every week. No preparation or previous knowledge of philosophy is needed. Everyone is welcome!

Date: Wednesday, March 18, 2:00 p.m.

Location: Schmitt Hall 104


Psychology Colloquium Series

All are invited to join the first ever Psychology Colloquium Series, bringing regional scholars to campus to share their research with faculty and students.

 

How do our brains navigate the social world: Studying how we form and maintain social connections, with Sebastian Speer, PhD, a postdoctoral scholar at Princeton University.


Date: Wednesday, March 18, 2:00 p.m.

Location: Brantl Lecture Hall, Dickson 177

Register to Attend


Irish Fever - A Book Talk by Dr. Meredith B. Linn

The Department of Anthropology will host Dr. Meredith B. Linn, Associate Professor, Bard Graduate Center, as she presents work related to her most recently published book, Irish Fever: An Archeology of Illness, Injury & Healing in New York City, 1845-1875. All are welcome


Date: Tuesday, March 24, 2- 3:30 p.m.

Location: 1st Floor Reading Room, Sprague Library

CHSS News

Public and Professional Writing Minor Kira Paul Publishes Op-Ed

Student Kira Paul, published the op-ed, “The STEM Teacher Pipeline is Waning. We Can Rebuild It” in NJ Spotlight. Kira participated in our first challenge-based “Collaboration and Design” course co-taught by Seán McCarthy (Writing Studies) and Scott Kight (Biology), and she’s currently completing an independent study that looks at science and storytelling with Liz Martin (Writing Studies).

CHSS Faculty in the News

Arnaud Kurze (Justice Studies) co-authored a piece for The Conversation about how social media can draw attention to atrocities and is a key factor in reducing risk of recurrence.


Daniela Peterka-Benton (Justice Studies, Global Center on Human Trafficking) and Bond Benton (Strategic Communication) are quoted in this New Jersey Monitor article about the politicization of human trafficking. 

Kudos

Teresa Fiore (World Languages and Cultures) coordinated four projects as part of the prestigious national initiative Agrigento Italy's Capital of Culture 2025.

Announcements


Student-Led Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activities (SL-RSCA) Program

The Office of Research is pleased to announce the launch of the FY27 Student-Led Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activities (SL-RSCA) Program. Please help us distribute this information to your students and please encourage your students to apply!


Overview

The SL-RSCA program supports undergraduate and graduate student-led activities such as theses, dissertations, culminating applied projects and capstone projects in which the student has been, and will continue to be intellectually involved in the project design, execution, and dissemination of results. This program also develops RSCA leadership skills through a student committee that reviews the proposals and makes funding recommendations. Information concerning this committee will be distributed separately.


Application Deadline: April 30, 2026

Information Session: Thursday, March 19, 11:00 a.m. Register Here

Find More Information on the Program

Coursera Career Academy Sessions

Faculty are invited to join an upcoming virtual Coursera Career Academy Enablement Sessions, held online via Zoom. These sessions are designed for faculty interested in integrating Coursera content into their courses and curriculum. Registration is required for attendance.


The session will introduce Coursera Career Academy and demonstrate how you can leverage its career‑aligned learning pathways and professional certificates to enhance your courses, enrich programs, and help students build the skills needed for today’s workforce. We will also share several use‑case scenarios, followed by time for Q&A.


Please register below:


If you have attended a Coursera Enablement Session in the past, there is no need to attend again, but you are welcome to join if you’d like a refresher or have additional questions.


Nominate a Student for the Future Student Affairs Professionals Program

The Future Student Affairs Professionals aims to educate, mentor and engage with undergraduate students who have the potential to pursue a future career in Student Affairs. Through an application process, 20 juniors and seniors will be selected to learn more about the field of Student Affairs. Participants will have the opportunity to shadow different departments, attend conferences, join committees and meet and build relationships with current professionals in different functional areas of Student Affairs. Submit a Nomination


At Your Service

Join an AI Reading List

AJ Kelton is curating a living document of articles on AI in the humanities, social sciences, and/or pedagogy. The document is searchable and each entry includes a citation and a 150-word AI-generated synopsis, organized by topic headings.

If you’d like access to view the document, please complete this form.


Those with access receive a brief update on Fridays listing new articles added that week, including the citation and a 50-word summary.


CHSS Resource Guide

This guide is designed to support our faculty, instructors, and staff by providing quick access to the tools, policies, and information you need to carry out your work effectively. Inside, you’ll find resources on office operations, administrative processes, technology support, and campus services all in one place. Whether you’re new or a tenured colleague, this guide will help you throughout the academic year. If you have a question and cannot find the answer in this guide, or don’t know who to contact, start with the Administrative Services Team.

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