The Academic Deans
A Message from the Academic Deans
We two faculty members serve jointly as Academic Deans for the 2007-08 academic year. We work together as a team with academic departments and programs, faculty committees, and other areas of the college to lead the college's academic program. We support faculty and programs as they carry out the mission of the college to educate students for lives of leadership and service.
A more complete description of our individual areas of responsibility can be found here.
Persons seeking to contact "the Dean" may initiate a contact with either of us at 507-933-7541. We look forward to working with you!
Academics at Gustavus Adolphus College
As you browse the web pages of our academic programs you will find a wide range of programs in the arts and sciences, interdisciplinary programs, and pre-professional programs with a liberal arts mission. In addition to this official curriculum, we are particularly proud of our extensive program of faculty/student research, our study abroad program in which 51 % of students participate during their four years, and our extensive community service and service learning program that links our students to the world beyond the campus. Our students are immersed in both academic and co-curricular activities and these experiences support and reinforce student learning in powerful ways.
Three annual conferences provide anchor points for campus wide conversations throughout the academic year. Early in the fall semester, the Nobel Conference brings cutting-edge science issues to us and allows nationally recognized scholars and the audience to engage in discussion of the moral and societal impact of these issues. Each March, a student initiated and led conference that promotes change through the awareness of diversity is hosted on our campus. Started in 1996, the Building Bridges conference features topics such as conflict resolution and building community and speakers such as Nobel Peace Prize winners Dr. Oscar Arias Sanchez and Jody Williams. The MayDay! Peace Conference, as indicated by its name, carries a dual significance: it is the international distress call for help as well as the day symbolizing the return of spring, bringing renewal and hope. Recent topics include immigration, landmines, the United Nations, and Vietnam.
Faculty Support
Faculty members are supported in their professional development and growth by the Kendall Center for Engaged Learning. At Gustavus, faculty development begins at the time of hiring and is shaped by the changing needs of faculty as they progress through the various stages of their academic careers. It includes both support for continued professional development in one's discipline and support for excellence in teaching. Additional faculty development opportunities are provided by the Center for Vocational Reflection and the Community Service and Service Learning Center. The Center for Vocational Reflection supports a comprehensive initiative to equip all members of the Gustavus community to think more intentionally about their lives in terms of "vocation" - an ongoing, active commitment to the welfare of the communities in which one lives, a lifelong calling to service and servant-leadership in a complex world. The Community Service and Service Learning Center has developed many opportunities to help faculty from various disciplines incorporate service learning into their teaching. The goal of all these efforts is to support faculty in leading meaningful careers as successful teacher/scholars.
Sincerely,
Eric Eliason and Mariangela Maguire
Academic Deans
