Impact Magazine 2022

Message from the Dean:

Despite having to navigate the ongoing global pandemic, this past year, Cal Poly and the College of Liberal Arts returned to in-person operations and face-to-face classes, so important to our Learn by Doing experience. The return of our students last fall brought back a new energy and dynamism to campus that had been missing for over a year. For me personally, it was a year of “firsts,” as I was able to experience my first in-person Open House and Student Awards Ceremony since starting as dean in fall 2019.

Throughout the pandemic the college has continued to make progress in realizing its vision of a liberal arts education sin fronteras: without borders, boundaries, or barriers. Our Spring 2022 Global Program in Cusco, Peru was the first Cal Poly Study Abroad program to send students abroad since the start of the pandemic. CLA faculty are developing a number of new study-abroad programs as we expand international educational opportunities for our students. This past summer, we were able to grow our Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP) to support 15 CLA students’ participation in faculty-led scholarship. And we successfully recruited ten new faculty members with teaching and scholarly expertise in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) as part of the college’s third DEI-focused cluster hire.

Every day I’m impressed by the extraordinary achievements of our faculty, staff and students, and the generous support of our alumni and friends. Our collective passion and commitment to our students will ensure our continued success this coming year and beyond.

Best regards,
Philip Williams
Dean, College of Liberal Arts