School of Arts & Humanities
Dean's Welcome
As I start my second year as Dean of the new School of Arts and Humanities, I look forward
to building on a positive beginning. Every university has its own culture and so does every
school within the university. Having lived in several countries and cultures for multiple
years (including England, Wales, Romania, and Bulgaria), I’ve found ways to minimize culture
shock but not to eliminate it. The first year living in any culture, I’ve found, is about
finding its rhythm more than anything else. Even after several years you can’t hope to pluck
out the heart of a culture’s mystery; you just learn to embrace it.
Together the faculty, students and staff are energizing the culture of Arts and Humanities at CSUB. We are now more visible on the campus, but more importantly we are more visible in the Bakersfield community.
Everyone is invited to our series of Coffee Talks on current cultural topics at the Runner Bookstore, to the lectures and readings sponsored by Sigma Tau Delta and the California Writer’s Series, and to the eminent speakers sponsored by the History Forum and of course the Kegley Institute of Ethics which is now 25 years old. Music and Theatre continue to offer stellar performances from local and national talent. Following the great success of Chicago in the spring will be this fall’s offering of the Benjamin Britten opera Albert Herring. Take a look at the current exhibition at the Bakersfield Museum of Art, “Convergences,” which brings together the work of the Art faculty from both CSUB and Bakersfield College. The School of Arts and Humanities is happy to be a sponsor of this important exhibition, as well as of the upcoming Via Arte extravaganza in the Marketplace. The School will co-host the Kern Adult Literacy Council’s “Read to Succeed Brunch” on campus in October 2012.
We are also more visible on the Internet with a Facebook page devoted to how CSUB Arts and Humanities Matter (you can “friend” us under that name). Thanks to Rebecca St. Croix Martinez for maintaining this effort.
We are excited to have begun work with the newly formed Executive Advisory Council for the School of Arts and Humanities, which includes such community leaders as attorney Tom DeNatale, journalist Camille Gavin, businessman David Coffey, IT consultant David A. Milazzo, ophthalmologist Dr. Joseph Chang, realtor Robin Ablin, journalist Olivia Garcia, sculptor Betty Younger and BMoA curator Vikki Cruz.
Even as we struggle with budget challenges, we continue to use our creativity and adaptability (vaunted skills nurtured in the arts and humanities curriculum) to meet the challenges with faith in the future and confidence in ourselves and our disciplines.
Keep tuned to AHA! for the latest creative aspirations and accomplishments as we continue to energize the culture of Bakersfield and CSUB.Sincerely,
Richard Collins
Dean, School of Arts and Humanities
California State University, Bakersfield