By Brooke King, Entertainment Editor
The School of Business received a major facelift in the form of a building, as did the School of Education and Social Services, there are also plans in the works for Crawford to be bulldozed and resurrected in the form of a new building. However, students who are not affiliated with the School of Arts and Sciences would not notice that they too received a minor facelift in the form of funding and outreach into the community.
While this is not as extravagant as a new building, the newly acquired funding allows for the expansion of the Arts and Sciences. For example, new labs and equipment were renovated in Lewis Hall for the Science majors and the database JSTOR was partially acquired for English majors.
Dr. Mary Spoto, Dean of Arts and Sciences, said, “We are happy, however, to finally receive funding for JSTOR. The Deans were given money in their budgets to fund JSTOR. However, the director of the library [Brent Short] thought it best, to begin with, a limited collection and so, we are looking forward to that expansion since our students have been telling us nonstop how much of a tremendous resource JSTOR has been to them.”
In addition to the English majors receiving new databases, the Fine Arts have received a renovation. The Art and Music minors were completely redone, adding a variety of new courses like Music Technology into the curriculum. The Music Department also received a new building adjacent to Plant Operations, in which to conduct classes and private music lessons. Dr. Spoto said, “We see the direction we are going in with the program, as well as growth, and cannot wait to see what will flourish in the coming years for both programs.”
In addition to new buildings, equipment, and resources, the School of Arts and Sciences has gained new ground in the acquiring of students through the admissions department. While the admissions process for any student is daunting, due to having to select a major, it is especially daunting for admissions counselors because they cannot possibly be experts in all of the areas on campus. So, in an effort to make the Arts and Sciences known to potential students of the School, a new position has been made through the admissions department to allow for more representation of the School of Arts and Sciences. The position is called the Affiliate Faculty Member for Arts and Sciences and is currently filled by Brook McGinnis.
“She works very closely with us in getting to know all of our programs in the hope to represent accurately all of the majors in Arts and Sciences, the potentials of each major, and the career possibilities,” said Dr. Spoto.
One of the challenges facing the Arts and Sciences, in terms of funding, is the lack of student enrollment within the school. This is due to common misconceptions about the majors and their career possibilities. “We always have the challenge of correcting that mistaken notion that liberal arts majors are not viable majors and so we work very hard to increase people’s awareness of just how good those majors really are in teaching you logic, analysis, interpretation, critical thinking, as well as the appreciation for global awareness that a study of the liberal arts gives you as a student,” said Dr. Spoto.
While the Arts and Sciences do not have fancy high-tech smart boards or a new dedicated building, the new improvements to the school have shown that the Arts and Sciences have not been forgotten nor underfunded. Showing that Saint Leo provides excellence in all of its areas of study. With new and exciting things on the horizon for Saint Leo, such as the Poet Laureate coming in early March, the L.E.D. series that is currently underway, and the University Speaker Series, Dr. Spoto invites every student to “come out and see what the School of Arts and Sciences has to offer.”
