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NEWS
| April 24
Liberal Arts
Interim dean notes main goals
Richard Cole continues in his
position and works toward increased enrollment, greater funds and
improved promotion.
By Tim
Boswell
Contributor to The Shorthorn
Interim Liberal Arts Dean Richard Cole
was prepared to leave his position, but now he’s making plans
for the college’s growth and dealing with budget cuts instead.
“Three or four weeks ago, I thought I’d be handing these
things over to somebody else,” Dr. Cole said. “Right now,
I’ll have the opportunity to watch it develop, at least for
a while longer.”
Cole has been interim dean since June 2001 and is also the Urban
and Public Affairs dean. When candidate Liahna Armstrong of Central
Washington University rejected the position in March, Cole agreed
to continue as interim until a permanent dean is found.
“When there’s something he wants, he tells us, but he
lets us run the department, which I think is the way it should be,”
said Art and Art History Chair Andy Anderson. “I’m sure
since he’s interim dean he’s not trying to do any long-term
planning, but on the other hand, he’s getting a lot of good
things going.”
Cole has identified three main goals for the college, which are
increased enrollment, more funding and improved promotion for the
college in the community. Enrollment in the college is up 10 percent
from last year, he said, and he wants to continue the increase while
attracting top students from nearby high schools.
“It’s not only enrollment. We want to get quality students,
too,” he said. “For the first time ever in the history
of the college, we have two funded National Merit scholars, and
we’re trying to find the funds for a third.”
The dean’s office is seeking donations by visiting contributors,
instituting a telethon and requesting gifts from local businesses
that employ past or present students. Cole is also organizing increased
marketing, including a new annual liberal arts newsletter put together
by academic adviser Dover Binder and Deborah Reed-Danahay, associate
dean for academic affairs. The newsletter describes the college’s
events and offerings and will help students know how to get involved,
Cole said.
“We do so many things in this college that it’s really
overwhelming,” he said.
The university hired seven new liberal arts faculty this year who
will begin in the fall, Cole said. Graduate students in linguistics,
history and music will be able to receive registration approval
over the Internet through online advising in the fall, Dr. Reed-Danahay
said.
Cole is excited about the new faculty and hopes to raise morale
through his efforts in enrollment, promotion and fund-raising.
“I think when they see that the image of the college is improving,
when they see the people in the community recognize what we are
here, when they see the quality of the faculty that we’re bringing
in and when they see that we are going to aggressively go for these
targets of opportunity, whatever they happen to be in the coming
year — I think that’s what faculty want to see,”
Cole said.
The university has hired 27 new liberal arts faculty in the last
three years, he said, which make up 20 percent of the current faculty
base. The new hires are excellent, he said, and the recent hires
are moving projects forward in the college.
The college is dealing well with the budget cuts, Cole said, although
no one knows what to expect with future cuts. This year’s cuts
affected the college in faculty hires, Reed-Danahay said, such that
about half of the requested hires were fully approved.
“We were also very happy that we were able to get the number
of hires that we did,” Reed-Danahay said. “Certainly,
we always want more money, but we’re able to do what we need
to do.”
Linguistics Director David Silva said he is bracing for budget cutbacks
but is prepared to make the best of it. Cole is doing a good job
as interim dean, he said, but he would like a dean who can focus
his or her full attention on the college.
“I think we’re doing really well, given the circumstances
in which we’re living,” Dr. Silva said. “It’s
working the way it’s supposed to so far as I can see.”
Cole said more liberal arts students should apply for scholarships.
He is excited about the new art complex, he said, and wants to continue
the momentum of the college.
“Right now, I simply want to contribute the best I can and
do whatever I can to help bring a permanent dean here,” Cole
said. “The chance just to meet new people and to have new challenges
and opportunities — it’s a great, invigorating experience.”
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Richard Cole, interim liberal arts
dean, says he wants to find more funding.
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