Dear Friends,

I am delighted to welcome you to the College of Arts & Sciences. Education can liberate each of us in our intellectual, professional, and civic pursuits. Many of the most significant achievements that advance our lives, ranging from scientific breakthroughs that make the world healthier to well-crafted, illuminating forms of creative writing that deepen human understanding, are outgrowths of education. The ability to think creatively, gain greater awareness of cultural diversity, collaborate across identities and perspectives, and employ critical reasoning are hallmarks of the rigorous learning environment CAS seeks for its students.

These values are integral to our goal to make CAS an inclusive, diverse, equitable, and accessible learning environment for all students. This informs active strategies to attract and retain a culturally diverse student population. We view the insights and experiences you bring to the College as assets. As such, the College aspires to engage undergraduate and graduate students intellectually and foster a sense of belonging.

Similarly, we aspire to practice inclusive excellence in the intellectual orientation and social composition of the College’s faculty and the courses they teach. CAS staff also play vital roles in making the College a thriving environment for all in their diverse roles as advisors, coordinators, deans, directors, and managers.

As the largest College at Boston University, CAS offers a rich menu of interdisciplinary learning opportunities. Equipping students with the knowledge and skills to address national and global concerns on an ongoing basis is a shared goal core to the College’s vision of a comprehensive education.

Some of the more challenging aspects of 21^st century U.S. life have increased national and global awareness of how exclusion, prejudice, and discrimination, distort the human experience and limit human potential. They have also generated more expansive conversations and movements centered on ways to create and sustain genuinely diverse, equitable, and inclusive societies. Higher education is a unique locus of thought and action that can help us create the world we aspire to inhabit. I believe that each of us has a unique role in creating a better world, through different kinds of problem-solving and creative endeavors, and education is a key means for achieving this momentum.

Sincerely,

Vincent L. Stephens
CAS Associate Dean of Diversity and Inclusion

Vincent L. Stephens’s Biography

Dear CAS Community Members,

As Dean, I am deeply committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Creating an environment where everyone can thrive is one of the foundational commitments of my work. I have been impressed with the variety of ways that the CAS community – students, faculty, and staff – has come together, working to integrate antiracism into our actions and processes in the College. Important strides have been made. And we now face an opportune moment for more integrated work across the College. Student groups have come forward to urge us and help us in doing this work. Departments and programs are eager to make substantial and sustainable progress in their own work, so that together we can make CAS a more inclusive place for all. I am committed to continued efforts around faculty recruitment, rethinking curricula, the development of inclusive pedagogy, and the fostering of a welcoming community and climate for all.

Sincerely,

Stan Sclaroff
Dean of Arts & Sciences

Stan Sclaroff’s Biography