At The University of Tulsa, we are committed to helping our students feel accepted, engaged and empowered while on a path to self-discovery during their educational journey. As we look back at this past year and plan ahead for the future, it is useful to remind ourselves also of the commitment to take this institution to new heights of excellence. We are focused on evaluating our performance, building on our strengths and identifying challenges and opportunities to meet the needs of a changing higher education landscape.
Henry Kendall College of Arts and Sciences remains strong and committed to the outstanding liberal arts education that has always sustained our reputation. We are the second largest college at TU, and enrollment continues to be robust. With 25 majors and multiple minors in the arts, humanities and social sciences, as well as opportunities to pursue self-designed majors, undertake research, play in musical ensembles and study abroad, the college is dedicated to fostering critical thinking skills, creativity and innovation in every student. No matter which area of concentration they pursue, our students acquire the knowledge, attributes and skills that prepare them for life. Their well-rounded liberal arts education enables them to see the big picture while focusing on details. Our students understand the complexities of a diverse and rapidly changing world and to engage with it in thoughtful and reflective ways as informed, active and compassionate citizens.
We are deeply embedded in the community including Tulsa’s vibrant art scene. We maintain a presence downtown with the Henry Zarrow Center for Art and Education and the Sherman Smith Family Gallery that presents exhibitions curated and installed by TU faculty and students. The College of Arts and Sciences is proud to be the home of several ground-breaking research centers and institutes like The Institute of Trauma, Adversity and Injustice (TITAN), Third Floor Design agency, The Oklahoma Center for the Humanities (OCH) and the TU Institute for Bob Dylan Studies. OCH presents, in the words of its Director Sean Latham, “a space for collaboration, research synthesis, deep thinking and community engagement around the vital, distinctive kinds of knowledge, practices and questions the humanities offer.” The partnership with Gilcrease Museum and The Helmerich Center for American Research offers both faculty and students opportunities to utilize the rich archives in their scholarship and learning.
I close this message on a note of great optimism tinged with nostalgia. It has been the highest honor and privilege of my life to have served as the Dean of Henry Kendall College of Arts and Sciences. After 17 years in the Office of the Dean, first as Associate Dean and then Dean since 2013, I will return to the faculty at the end of the academic year. I want to thank all of you who have so generously given me your guidance, support and friendship and helped implement and further the mission of this beloved institution. I look forward to my last year as Dean with enormous enthusiasm for what we can accomplish together. With our outstanding faculty, students and staff, along with leaders and friends like you, we will actively work to preserve our foundations. We’ll fulfill our calling to provide a superb education that is responsive and adaptable to the needs of its time while keeping its commitment to the larger social and public cause.
Gratefully and affectionately,
Kalpana