Dean: Optimism abounds in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

The payoff for achieving the goals of Rider University's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences? More programs, more faculty and more students.

Dr. Jonathan Millen, the dean of the College, which is also referred to as CLAS, recently took the time to discuss how he is managing the growth of the College, and where he sees it heading next.

What's new in CLAS this year?

It seems like everything is new! We have 10 new full-time faculty members who joined the College in September, we have newly renovated classroom and lab facilities in support of our programs in the sciences, and we have new academic programs that are attracting great numbers of new students. And this kind of growth is quickly becoming the new normal as we will be hiring another sizable cohort of faculty next year and we continue to bring new majors on board.

Why so many new hires?

We are seeing greater and greater numbers of students flocking to some of our newest majors including computer science, criminal justice and the health sciences. We are working to ensure that we have the right faculty on hand to meet student demand. Hiring new faculty at this time is a critical part of our plan for strategic growth.

And is all of the growth in the STEM disciplines?

Much of it is, but not all. We have some innovative programs in the liberal arts that are proving to be quite successful. For example, we have a partnership with American University in Washington, D.C., through which Rider political science students can spend a semester studying in the nation’s capital. We also have a new program allowing communication and journalism students the opportunity to study in Los Angeles for the spring term. In both cases, our students are gaining invaluable practical experiences to complement their classroom learning.

Is it difficult to attract students to the more traditional majors in the humanities and social sciences?

I am a strong proponent of a traditional liberal education that equips students with essential transferable skills. These include writing, critical thinking, problem-solving, teamwork and evidence-based analysis. Each of our majors provides these learning outcomes and these are the very skill sets that employers are looking for today in college graduates. So, my message to students — both current and prospective Rider students — is to choose a major that interests them, that offers courses in which they will do well and that provides them with opportunities to be engaged outside of the classroom. While there may not be many jobs requiring degrees in history or English, there are countless jobs out there for students with the skill sets that these degrees afford. Students typically are very relieved hear this message and our enrollments in these areas are steady as a result.

You sound optimistic about the future of the College.

Indeed I am. The CLAS faculty are working hard at developing new courses and revising existing ones to meet the needs of today’s students. There is real commitment to ensuring that our students are both broadly educated while they are here and prepared for lucrative career opportunities upon graduation. What else could a dean ask for?