From the Dean

International Faculty Research: Faculty have been pursuing their research and creative activities at several international destinations: Turkey (Paul Kubicek, political science); Mexico (Emmett Lombard, political science); Ghana (Lily Mendoza, communication); Liberia (Beth Talbert, communication); Central America (Henri Gooren, anthropology); Ireland (Jo Reger, women's and gender studies); Chile (Scott Smith, social work); Mexico, South Korea, Spain, Ghana (performances by Mark Stone, world music); Xi'an and Beijing, China (Yin Zheng, piano, master classes and student recruitment); Conegliano, Italy (Fred Love, music theatre, voice teaching); Tasmania, Australia (Jackie Wiggins, music education); Toronto (Claude Baillargeon, art and art history); and Beijing (Shuishan Yu, art and art history). Here are some additional international destinations for faculty research and discovery: Nagoya, Japan (Ferman Chavez, chemistry); Bristol, UK (Joshua Yumibe, cinema studies); Pordenone, Italy (Yumibe); Laussane, Switzerland (Ken Elder, physics); Toulouse, France (George Martins, physics); Aachen, Germany (Martins); Buenos Aires, Argentina (Alberto Rojo, physics); Sofia, Bulgaria and Amsterdam, the Netherlands (Cynthia Sifonis, psychology); Norway, Russia, Germany, Italy (Andrei Slavin, physics); St. Thomas, VI (Gopalan Srinivasan, physics); Frankfurt, Germany (Eugene Surdutivich, physics); Kobe, Japan (Charles Lindemann, biological sciences); Montreal, Quebec (Craig Martin, history); Kosice, Slovakia (Helena Riha, linguistics); London (Jessica Payette, music); St. Catherines, Ontario (Eddie Cheng, mathematics and statistics); Waterloo, Ontario (David Garfinkle, physics); Toronto, Ontario (Kanako Taku, psychology); Romania (Dorin Drignei, mathematics and statistics); Sheffield, England (Fritz McDonald, philosophy); Oxford, England (Achmat Salie, Islamic studies and Brian Connery, English); and Simperopol, Ukraine (Andrei Slavin, physics).

Ronald A. Sudol

Our fall 2009 headcount in the College of Arts and Sciences is up an astonishing 8.5%, compared to a 4.1% increase for the university as a whole. Furthermore, we are up 13% among students who are first time in any college. New undergraduate degree programs have enrollments way above our original projections: Cinema Studies (15), Japanese (31), Social Work (66), Writing and Rhetoric (28). Incoming students seem to have an intuitive sense of the value of arts and sciences majors.

Our faculty researchers have been highly productive. Over the last year they produced 83 grant applications for external funding, and the indirect cost recovery from their grants is up 30%.

We are also encouraged by the global reach of our programs, students, and faculty. One is tempted to say that the sun never sets on our global activities. Here is a partial review:

We have a number of long-standing study abroad programs in Oxford, England; Nagoya, Japan; Orleans, France; Oldenberg, Germany; Beijing, China (China Foreign Affairs University), and general study tours in China.  
 
This year for the first time, we sent two groups of students to Israel. One group studied at our new partner university there, the Max Stern Academic College, and the other group consisted of archaeology students participating in the excavation of a 3,000-year-old site.

In February, eighteen students will attend the North American Model UN in Toronto.

Other organized study tours included Greece for classical theatre, and coming up in the winter semester a visit to Madrid, Toledo, Bilbao, and Barcelona, Spain for art students. Ukraine was the destination for several trips by theatre students and faculty for theater technology, performances, and visits to the home of Anton Chekhov.

In collaboration with the American Heritage Association, the Japan Center, and other universities, we have sent students to Morelia, Mexico; Rosario, Argentina; Accra, Ghana; Shiga, Japan; and India.

Students are doing internships abroad in Segovia, Spain (biochemistry, cultural dietary differences), Budapest, Hungary (international relations, environmental issues), and Prague, Czech Republic (political science, European politics).

Andrea Eis, chair of art and art history, together with other faculty members and art alumni, went to Shanghai, China, to install their art work for an international exhibition.

The Department of Mathematics and Statistics maintains study and research connections in Poland, Albania, and Canada.

A global experience is a core value of Oakland University and the College of Arts and Sciences provides a plethora of opportunities for students and faculty to pursue their interests abroad. In these tough economic times alumni and friends of the College have stepped up to allow even more study abroad opportunities; both student trips to Israel last summer were made possible by generous donor support.

As we look forward to the New Year we hope that Michigan’s economy will begin to improve. In any case, the College of Arts and Sciences will continue to offer every student the opportunity to immerse in international and cultural diversity.

Best wishes for a happy and peaceful holiday season.

Ronald A. Sudol

Dean