About Us

Dear Friend of the College,

The College of Arts and Sciences (COAS), along with the rest of IPFW, is reflecting on our past and looking forward to our future. For almost two decades, Chancellor Michael Wartell led our institution with energy, integrity, and enthusiasm. He continually challenged all of us—alumni, students, faculty, and staff—to strive to achieve excellence. Our College, our University, and our community have been significantly strengthened by the quality of his leadership and by his commitment to liberal education.

With the 2012–13 academic year, we welcome IPFW’s ninth chancellor, Vicky Carwein. As with any change, the leadership transitions at IPFW present challenges and opportunities. Moving forward, COAS will continue to be committed to providing outstanding learning experiences for our students, to the creation of new knowledge in the domains of science, social science, and the humanities, as well as to applying our intellectual capital to the needs of northeast Indiana through a strong commitment to community engagement. I look forward to working with Chancellor Carwein to achieve these goals.

Compounding the challenges of changing leadership, I anticipate IPFW will continue to experience significant budgetary constraints. Striving to find efficiencies in instructional delivery while remaining committed to improving student learning will demand a mix of belt tightening and innovative solutions long-standing problems.

Our students are faced with many challenges throughout their educational career; one of the most daunting is the cost of higher education. Declining levels of state support for public universities such as IPFW have resulted in rising tuition rates. The shifting of costs from the general public to the individual learner has resulting in mounting levels of student debt. While we are proud of IPFW’s affordability, it is increasingly clear that our students need help in achieving their educational goals without drowning in debt. For that reason, I have collaborated with IPFW’s Office of Development to establish a College of Arts and Sciences General Scholarship Endowment Fund. This fund will support students pursuing bachelor’s degrees in COAS departments and programs. Once the endowment reaches a sustainable level, it will provide scholarships to students based on need and merit. As the endowment grows, so will the number of scholarships offered. Our students are struggling to pay for their education and many will be paying for it for many years after they graduate. Your help would go a long way toward making college more affordable. Please consider making a contribution to the endowment fund at www.ipfw.edu/coas-scholarship by clicking on “Give Now,” then “College of Arts and Sciences,” and selecting “College of Arts and Sciences Endowed Scholarship Fund.”

I invite you to continue to participate in the life of the College. I hope to see you at an upcoming University Community Conversation (UC²) event or at any of the other numerous activities and programs sponsored by the College. Check the “News and Events” section of our website ipfw.edu/coas or “like” our Facebook page at facebook.com/ipfw.coas for the latest updates.

Our faculty and students are constantly looking for ways to build partnerships with the community and you, our alumni, provide an important bridge by which we can establish new and innovative collaborations. Please stay in touch and as always feel free to share with me your thoughts about the future of IPFW and our role in the future of northeast Indiana.

Carl N. Drummond
Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences

Overview

The College of Arts and Sciences offers programs and courses in the traditional liberal arts disciplines. In addition to providing students with opportunities to develop skills required for the workplace or for advanced study, it seeks to foster well-rounded development of the individual. The school recognizes the role of nontraditional students at IPFW and makes special efforts to meet their needs.

Graduates of the school's baccalaureate programs should have knowledge and awareness enabling them to be effective citizens and lifelong learners. They are expected to have a working understanding of the knowledge and methodology appropriate for their discipline and should be aware of the major issues in their field and able to communicate field content effectively.

The service and research missions of the school are those appropriate to a comprehensive regional university. The school is responsible for basic-skills courses in mathematics and oral and written communication, as well as the majority of the courses fulfilling school and IPFW general-education requirements. Faculty engage in research or creative endeavor linked to their teaching as well as IPFW's role as the regional center for higher education. Through research, faculty maintain their qualifications as teachers and, in their contribution to knowledge in their disciplines, enhance the reputation of the campus. Through research and service, the school seeks to make itself a vital resource for business, industry, public and private education, the arts, and government in northeastern Indiana.

Mission

The College of Arts and Sciences is committed to offering its students a rich and diverse liberal education. The largest academic unit of the university, the college provides students with a breadth of knowledge about the global environment and fosters an appreciation and respect for diversity. The College of Arts and Sciences equips students to think critically, communicate effectively, and develop creative solutions to future challenges. The college cultivates the intellectual growth of its faculty, who dedicate themselves through excellence in teaching, research and creative endeavor, and service to the university and to the larger communities of which they are a part.

Our Faculty

The following are IPFW College of Arts and Sciences departments and programs to which the faculty are affiliated. Information about COAS faculty can be found via the links below.

• Anthropology
• Biology
• Chemistry
• Communication
• Communication Sciences and Disorders
• English and Linguistics
• Geosciences
• Gerontology
• History
• International Language & Culture Studies
• Mathematical Sciences
• Peace and Conflict Studies
• Philosophy
• Physics
• Political Science
• Psychology
• Sociology
• Women’s Studies

Annual Reports

• 2011 Annual Report
• 2010 Annual Report
• 2009 Annual Report
• 2008 Annual Report
• 2007 Annual Report
• 2006 Dean's Remarks
• 2006 Annual Report
• 2005 Annual Report
• 2005 Grants