19552 GW Mag 26_Final_singles - Flipbook - Page 5
of alumni. We had conversations with staff. No one was left
out of this process. It really was a joint collaborative effort.
ever-changing landscape. Of course, many of our faculty are
ahead of the curve, embracing AI in both their teaching and
their research. (See story, page 26.)
Q: How is the plan being implemented?
Q: What are other themes driving this strategic plan?
A: We identified themes that cut across our different priorities
and set up working groups to help us execute them. One
important piece is having more of our undergraduate
students deeply engaged in research.
Thanks to philanthropic support, we have many
opportunities for student research such as the Luther
Rice Fellowship and the Robert Vincent Fellowship, which
allow students to conduct research working closely with
faculty mentors; however, we want to expand and deepen
philanthropic opportunities. To that end, we recently
launched the new Dean’s Strategic Investment Fund, which
will provide foundational resources for the five strategic
priorities laid out in the plan. I’m pleased to report that initial
gifts from the CCAS National Council of Arts & Sciences—a
volunteer advisory board made up of alumni, parents and
friends—is already helping to jumpstart our goals.
Increasing the number of Course-based Research
Experiences for Undergraduates (CURES) is another way
we can push engaged student research. Working with GW
Libraries and Academic Innovations, we’re now offering
CURES training for faculty who either want to incorporate
this component into their classes or use them to strengthen
research they are already offering. This effort is aimed
across the disciplines, from the sciences to the humanities.
When I first met [GW] President Ellen Granberg, I
described for her the engaged liberal arts opportunities at
Columbian College. She asked me, “Can you scale those up?”
Part of the implementation of this strategic plan is thinking
about how to scale it up—how to make research opportunities
available for even more students.
A: Another important prong is building community.
Let’s be honest, community took a hit during the
pandemic. Now we are looking for opportunities to bring
people back together and foster connections in creative
ways—with our staff, our faculty, our alumni and our students.
This year, we instituted Tea with the Dean—inviting staff
to have informal monthly conversations with me around tea
and cookies. We’ve recently started Stroll with the Dean,
where people can visit different spots on campus that may
not be part of their daily lived experience. For example,
we toured the Harlan Greenhouse in the Science and
Engineering Hall.
We also launched Common Grounds, a relaxed gathering
where CCAS faculty, staff, students and alumni meet to share
ideas, reflect on important issues and deepen connections
across the college. And we hosted our inaugural Amazing
Race event, a team-based scavenger hunt.
“We want our liberal arts education to
continue to be cutting-edge and
future-focused. This is an opportunity
to move forward in that direction.”
— PAUL WAHLBECK, CCAS DEAN
Q: What about adapting to emerging technology?
A: That is a topic that came up again and again in our
conversations: incorporating emerging technology, particularly
artificial intelligence, into our educational programs.
Technology will be changing at a rapid pace throughout
our students’ working lives. We need to prepare them to
navigate technology in ethical and responsible ways. Among
the initiatives that we’ve discussed with interested faculty
are a master’s degree in AI in the liberal arts and perhaps a
micro-credential that would signify to employers that our
students are well versed in these technologies. These
initiatives would focus on AI as it pertains to policy,
governance and law—our sweet spots. We are exploring
future-facing programs that also leverage our strengths
as a college of arts and sciences.
I’m looking forward to more conversations about how
our curriculum can prepare our students to adapt to this
Q: What excites you about this entire process?
A: There are a lot of questions today about the value of a
college degree. Are institutions still home to research and
scholarship that really matter?
To me, at Columbian College, the answer is an emphatic
yes! We provide an education that prepares our students for
the world in which they’re going to live. We conduct research
not just because it’s inherently interesting but because it is
solving the grand challenges facing all of us. We conduct
research for the public good—to advance society.
Why do we do these jobs? It’s because we want to make a
difference in the lives of our students. It’s because we want
to contribute to the state of knowledge that will have an
impact on our nation and the world. That’s what excites
me as dean.
GW Arts & Sciences | STRATEGIC PLAN | 5
