Messages from the Dean

February may be the shortest month of the year, but it was very busy, especially for our College of Arts & Sciences Rethinking the Academy initiative. We were grateful to have an extra, 29th day this year since all aspects of the initiative were activated.

Dean Dianne Harris reflects on the importance of being together in person on campus after spending so much time interacting virtually during the pandemic. 

What tools are required in order to think productively about the future? What methods do we need to learn to structure futurist thinking, and what values will inform our visions of the future? How might we be able to identify a set of preferred futures, and then set about working towards their eventual realization?

The dean's leadership team has adopted a set of guiding principles for our shared work as we continue to reimagine liberal arts education for the next 50 years.

A group of undergraduate and graduate students meet with Dean Harris regularly as the Arts and Sciences Advisory Council for Students (ASACS). "I consider these generous students as being among my greatest campus resources," writes the dean. 

Dianne Harris, history and dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, and Nancy Allbritton, bioengineering and dean of the College of Engineering write that we need governments, universities and private companies to come together now to grow the number of quantum-literate professionals.

Launching this initiative offers opportunities for us to collectively consider what higher education can be when we design it for today and for the near future, writes Dean Harris.

The document provides a framework and a set of actions we can take towards becoming a more equitable, inclusive, accessible, and just university.

Dean Harris welcomes Huskies - returning and new - to the College of Arts and Sciences.

Dean Dianne Harris writes that the UW's beloved cherry trees provide no better symbol of the College of Arts and Sciences.

"Our faculty continue to make significant contributions to their fields despite the pandemic, and they welcome students to join them in this important work," writes Dean Dianne Harris.

Dean Dianne Harris reflects on the Common Good and what that means for the future of higher education in the 21st century.

Dianne Harris reflects on her first six months as dean, and the “dedication to excellence and deep veins of creativity” she has found throughout the College of Arts & Sciences. 

A conversation with Dianne Harris, new dean of the UW College of Arts & Sciences.