A liberal arts education offers students diverse coursework that provides insight into various academic perspectives. The College of Arts and Sciences remains dedicated to a rigorous curriculum that challenges worldviews and encourages intellectual growth. This philosophy is core to the college, and it inspires our students to become leaders and informed citizens. 

These three strategic priorities will be fleshed out into a comprehensive plan that will serve the college's goal of providing a premier liberal arts education while adapting to changing needs of 21st-century demands. This ensures students build the necessary skills to help them navigate an increasingly digital world full of complex issues. 

Education for a Complex and Changing World

Climate change. Growing inequity. An ever-changing workforce. These are some of the issues that current and future College of Arts and Sciences students will face. By staying true to the ethos of a liberal arts degree while encouraging innovation in the academic experience, our students will enter the workforce prepared for the future. 

• Deliver on the promise of a 21st-century liberal arts education. 
  • Partner with campus leaders to re-imagine the essential liberal arts principles and curriculum that best prepare students to address pressing contemporary problems and for a lifetime of contribution to their local communities, the state, and the world. Expand opportunities for experiential learning and career discovery. Promote and champion excellence and innovation in teaching. Raise visibility of the value of a University of Oregon liberal arts education
• Solidify an integrated model of undergraduate advising that centers the whole student. 
  • Prioritize effective academic and career advising. Work together to ensure that undergraduate students are well-supported in moving through their chosen curricula; connected with resources they need to flourish as part of the CAS community; and well-prepared for the future upon graduation. 
• Re-imagine the graduate student experience. 
  • Conduct a thoughtful and rigorous programmatic evaluation of CAS graduate programs. Identify and remove barriers to timely degree progression. Increase emphasis on the College’s role in preparing graduate students to contribute as scholars and professionals and fostering a supportive and respectful climate that promotes their growth and emergence as scholarly peers.

Impactful Scholarship

At the College of Arts and Sciences, our students and faculty members are making a difference in the world, whether they are researching ways to curb greenhouse gas emissions in steel production, or fighting femicide in Latin America. We want to encourage scholarship that addresses today's biggest and most complex challenges. 

• Capitalize on current and emerging strengths. 
  • Invest in areas where CAS has established — or is well-positioned to develop — a national reputation. Engage CAS departments and other schools and colleges in a deliberative process to determine the cross-cutting themes where CAS has the capacity to excel. Identify hiring priorities and resource allocation decisions that will have a multiplying effect on our research impact and standing. Showcase the impact of our cutting-edge research and history of scholarly leadership and creativity. 
• Elevate collaboration and interdisciplinarity to propel positive impact. 
  • Promote scholarship and innovation through partnerships — within the College, across the University, and beyond — to make positive change and advance the public good. Embrace public scholarship and community engagement.

A Culture of Belonging and Well-being

An academic institution thrives when its students, faculty members, and staff have a sense of belonging and well-being. We believe that our best work is produced in an environment where collaboration, open communication, and professionalism prevail. 

• Create a culture where CAS is the preferred place to work, learn, and stay. 
  • Put in place tailored and intentional structures to ensure that every member of the CAS community — especially those from traditionally underrepresented populations — feels connected, welcome, and valued with the support necessary to pursue their educational, professional, and scholarly ambitions. Identify the root cause(s) challenging recruitment and retention of students, staff, and/or faculty, and work systematically to improve. Wherever possible, apply universal design principles in instruction, collaboration, and physical space. 
• Enable meaningful, high-value work. 
  • Clarify roles and decision-making structures; streamline processes; and distribute service more equitably across CAS. Create space for each member of the CAS community to perform important work in an effective way. Seek opportunities to remove siloes and increase collaboration between and among staff and faculty. Promote healthy norms around work-life balance.