Martin Singer, now in his fifth year as dean
of Concordia’s Faculty of Arts & Science, sees nothing but
good things on the horizon for the Faculty.
Dean Martin Singer, at his Loyola Campus offices,
sets a high — but practical — goal
for liberal education: “We expect to expose people to a broad
range of topics such
that they can be informed citizens, active participants in society,
and intelligent cocktail companions.”
From the window of his office in the Administration Building on the
Loyola Campus, Martin Singer can witness the rapid progress on construction
of Concordia’s impressive new science complex. The landscape
alters daily and is just one of the many tangible signs of change
under his five-year tenure as dean of the Faculty of Arts & Science.
The Faculty’s transformation is also evident in its classrooms
and research centres, where a new generation of professors reside.
More than 100 new faculty members have been hired over the last four
years, with the total of new hires expected to reach over 200 by 2006.
Enrolment, too, is rising dramatically, particularly for international
students, while the curriculum has been updated with new programs
and courses.
Singer feels the realization of the Faculty’s 1997 strategic
academic plan is clearly underway. “Our academic plan laid out
13 goals, among them to strengthen research, do a better job of providing
a more general education as well as a disciplinary undergraduate education,
and internationalize the Faculty,” he says. “There is not
a single goal for which we are not making progress, some more rapidly
than others.” Singer adds, “We are going to have a world-class
professoriate in our areas of excellence — psychology, communication studies
and education technology, to name just a few — and produce informed
Canadian citizens for the 21st century.”
Literally and figuratively, there’s no comparison of the state
of the Faculty today to when Singer assumed leadership in 1997 amid
massive budgetary cuts and following the retirement or early retirement
of many professors. Rebuilding the faculty ranks remains his number-one
priority. “The most important decisions we’re making are
in hiring, because that’s where the future of the university
lies,” says Singer. “The people we’re bringing in reflect
our new priorities and will shape the next generation of students.”
The new science complex will enhance teaching, education and research
in science at Concordia, bringing the departments together in state-of-the-art
facilities. Once the new complex is completed and open for classes
and research in September 2003, work will begin on revamping Loyola’s
Drummond Building to accommodate new digital
facilities for the communication studies and journalism departments.
As ever, the Faculty of Arts & Science is focused on the need
to produce well-rounded students. In 1996, it began offering “clusters,”
groups of courses that cut across departments on diverse topics such
as life sciences and environmental, legal, Native and Quebec studies.
In January, the Faculty’s new Loyola International College began
offering interdisciplinary courses that address today’s international
and global challenges. And beginning next fall, new Arts & Science
students will be required to take a selection of general education
courses from outside their core area of study.
A liberal education is more important than ever as Canada faces a
crisis of leadership, according to Singer. “It isn’t clear
who our next generation of leaders are, and that’s true of just
about every country in the western world. At a higher level, part
of the job of universities is to train the next generation of leaders,”
he says. “We need people who are able to identify the problems
of our society, understand them critically, engage in meaningful discussion
about them, and lead their community to change the things that need
to be changed.”
The Faculty is attracting a growing number of outstanding professors
and students from around the world, and sending more students for
study experience abroad. International opportunities were augmented
last fall by a $1.2 million government grant towards academic exchanges.
From where he sits, Martin Singer can watch the metamorphosis of the
Faculty of Arts & Science day after day. The plan is clearly on
track.
Visit the Arts and Science web site at
artsandscience.concordia.ca.
