CAS News
April 2026
April 30, 2026
AI Literacy at Xavier: Discernment for a Changing Technological LandscapeWhether we love it or hate it, AI has arrived in our classrooms and become a literacy issue we cannot ignore. Students use it, employers demand it, and educators are stuck in the middle wondering...
April 23, 2026
The "Reel" DIFT Capstone: What you might not know about the DIFT CapstoneSenior Seminar Advanced Digital Production I and II is a yearlong capstone experience. During this course, students create either individual or partner-based film projects in documentary or...
April 16, 2026
Wholly Unique CreationsI moved to Cincinnati in August, 2010. Around a month into my time in the city, I found myself with an open weekend and googled to see what entertainments I could find, especially live theatre. I...
April 09, 2026
Math Inducts Students to Pi Mu EpsilonMath Inducts Students to Pi Mu Epsilon The 64th Annual Pi Mu Epsilon Initiation Ceremony of the Ohio Theta Chapter at Xavier University was held on March 16, 2026 at the GSC Arrupe...
April 02, 2026
Being the Light in the DarknessBeing the Light in the Darkness As we approach Easter break and, after that, the celebration of our graduates, I feel like the message of Easter is coming at me like water from a fire...
March 2026
March 26, 2026
Third Annual Research Roundup3rd Annual Research Roundup On March 4th, the Center for Innovation hosted Xavier’s third annual Research Roundup, an undergraduate research presentation competition in which...
March 19, 2026
Our New CoreWhen we welcome the Class of 2030 to campus this August, we’ll also be officially rolling out the revised Core Curriculum that was approved in Spring 2025. While this revision was a...
March 05, 2026
Language at the Heart of the Human ConnectionLanguage at the Heart of the Human Connection
Abbreviated Remarks from the Roger A. Fortin Award for Outstanding Teaching and Scholarship in the Humanities, March 4, 2026 My field is Spanish...
February 2026
February 26, 2026
Committee Work MattersThe request for CAS committee nominations has hit your email, and the request for university committee nominations will be here soon. With everything else happening this time of year (ok,...
February 19, 2026
Successful Sunday Admissions EventSuccessful Sunday Admissions Event On Sunday, February 15, Xavier held its first spring 2026 Admissions event. Events were planned throughout the day for our admitted undergraduates and...
February 12, 2026
Collaborative Humanities CohortCollaborative Humanities Cohort Begins Fall 2026 Those of you who know me now might be surprised to learn that I was not a stellar high school student. I was a solid B student and not...
February 05, 2026
Medical and Health HumanitiesWhat is Medical and Health Humanities? Medical and Health Humanities emphasizes the social, cultural, and ethical dimensions of health and health care through the lenses of the arts and...
January 2026
January 29, 2026
Public Diplomacy: Imagining paths forward with our studentsPublic Diplomacy: Imagining paths forward with our students Public Diplomacy fosters communication outside of traditional diplomatic channels. At its best, it supports strong international...
January 22, 2026
Our New Instructional Design and Development ProgramsNew IDDT Degree and Certificate Launch The College of Arts and Sciences is pleased to announce the launch of two new graduate offerings that reflect the growing importance of learning, technology,...
January 15, 2026
Developing a Vision for CASOur new College visioning task force met for the first time in December. I offer a big thank you to Michelle Blevins, Kelly Crowe, Dan Dwyer, Niamh O’Leary, and Stephen Skiles for taking...
December 2025
December 11, 2025
Reflection, Students, and ADA ComplianceCongratulations; we have made it to the end of the semester! Almost. I hope you will be relaxing and celebrating soon. With my instructor’s hat on, I offer encouragement to...
December 04, 2025
Meeting Your HeroesThis year I was able to attend the 44th Annual Lilly Conference on college teaching. Each year it is held at Miami University with a variety of talks and workshops on pedagogical strategies and...
November 2025
November 20, 2025
Reflect and Reach Out in GratitudeThis year has been hard. I imagine that’s true for many of us. And honestly, hard started long before 2025. In the midst of all that is going on here and...
November 13, 2025
InterdisciplinarityIn the last year, as my course subjects became more specialized, they also became more connected. My courses in English literature involved the historical events that determined the mindsets of...
November 06, 2025
The Value of Humanities in a Challenging WorldAs our country and world confront a wide array of major challenges – extreme economic inequality, climate change, wars, threats to democracy, the scapegoating of marginalized groups,...
October 2025
October 30, 2025
Why COIL? You may have heard about Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) at Xavier. If not, COIL is a model for fostering cross-cultural student competencies through the development of a...
October 23, 2025
Why Faculty and Staff Should Support Xavier Theatre and Music EventsOn Sunday, the two of us brought our spouses to Xavier Theatre’s recent production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. The songs are stuck in our heads, the characters...
October 16, 2025
¡Hola a Todos! ¡Hola a Todos! We are the Hispanic Organization and Latinx Awareness on campus, and our mission is to promote and educate about Hispanic and Latinx communities and cultures here...
October 09, 2025
AI?After using and building with AI tools for the last three years, I still have more questions than answers. Am I a Futurist or a Luddite? What makes us unique as humans? If AI eliminates labor at...
September 2025
September 25, 2025
The Value of EachWhen I first arrived here at Xavier from Brigham Young University to join the Computer Science department, I'll admit I was skeptical. Throughout my interview process, I learned about the Jesuit...
September 18, 2025
All College Meeting Fall 2025With an audience of over 75 faculty and staff, our first All-College meeting of the year was well attended. Those who were unable to join missed a lively conversation as well as some...
September 11, 2025
The value of study abroad: a faculty reflectionThis past summer, I had the opportunity to lead a study abroad course that took Xavier students on a journey through southern Germany and Belgium, with stops in Eichstätt, Ingolstadt,...
September 04, 2025
For and with othersThe Mass of The Holy Spirit, also known as Veni Sancte (Come Holy Spirit in Latin), is a cherished tradition in Catholic schools. It is celebrated close to the start of a new academic year to...
August 2025
August 28, 2025
Picking up STEAMThis summer, Xavier hosted 26 students from around the world at STEAM@XU, a one-week research immersion day camp for high school students. Participants included local students, regional students,...
August 21, 2025
Energies of the new semesterAfter experiencing a relatively quiet summer in Alter Hall, I am delighted to watch the campus coming alive again.
Students are everywhere — chatting on the lawn, finding their...
August 14, 2025
Where are we and when are we going?As I begin my second year as your Dean, I am very much aware of the difference in the mood on campus between last summer and now. Last August, the university community had just started to...
May 2025
May 01, 2025
Cohort advising builds connectionsWhen I became chair in July 2021, the pandemic had worsened a problem with getting students to attend department events. Our standard “Pizza with Professors” event no longer...
April 2025
April 24, 2025
Mullins named McDonald Award recipientCongratulations to Dr. Richard Mullins, Professor of Chemistry, who was recently awarded the 2025 Joan G. McDonald Award for Outstanding Teaching in the Sciences. Dr. Mullins receives this award...
April 17, 2025
Senior Student Advisory Board members reflect on opportunity to serveOn Tuesday, the CAS Student Advisory Board thanked the seniors at its last meeting of the academic year. Before they left, we captured some of their reflections on the opportunity to participate on...
April 10, 2025
Undergraduate researcher has elevated impactAndrew Fan, a senior researcher in my lab, approached me about research collaboration last spring. He saw my research presentation during my interview at Xavier, and when I was hired he took the...
April 03, 2025
Defending against clipped wings“the sacrifice of wings hurts at first and you can sing about the pain. Then you come to love immobility and fear composes the song’s words.” In...
March 2025
March 27, 2025
The push and pull of holding on and letting goStepping foot into a completed gallery, one that I worked on through years and years with my time at Xavier University, is the most bittersweet feeling I have ever felt. Given the significance of a...
March 20, 2025
Catholic social teaching--now more than everToday's blog is the acceptance speech from this year's Fortin Award Recipient, John Sniegocki, Professor in the Theology Department (right in photo). John accepted the award from Roger Fortin (left...
March 06, 2025
New humanities major, minors, and concentrationsLast week's CAS Bulletin included an overview of the business addressed at the winter meeting on Feb. 24. The meeting also featured information about three new academic opportunities for our...
February 2025
February 27, 2025
Winter college meeting recapWith an audience of about 70 faculty and staff, our CAS All-College Winter meeting was well attended. I want to thank everyone who came, and particularly our presenters and those who contributed to...
February 20, 2025
Supporting first-year student success
Starting college is both exciting and overwhelming, and educators recognize how crucial this transition is for first-year students' success and persistence. Many first-year students face...
February 13, 2025
Preparing students to protect systems, data, and infrastructureThe Computer Science Department is excited to talk about our Bachelor of Science in Cybersecurity. Cybersecurity continuously changes, which keeps it interesting but also challenging in a...
February 06, 2025
A Day of Engagement: XU Preview DayClose to 500 prospective students had registered for the event on Groundhog Day, including almost 200 who expressed interest in CAS majors. This first Preview Day was reserved for early...
January 2025
January 30, 2025
Empowering our students to guide their peersMany students are approaching college-level work differently than their peers just a few years ago. Fewer students seem to want to read, and some are now asking for short videos instead...
January 23, 2025
Educating adults for over 150 yearsAPEX, also known as Adult and Professional Education at Xavier, has a long history. From the Evening College, which was established in 1841, the College of Continuing Education in 1972, the Weekend...
January 16, 2025
Cold and DarkIt’s cold and dark now, but only for a while. One of the real joys of the spring semester is watching the gradual transformation—from cold and darkness to warmth and light. With...
December 2024
December 12, 2024
Using time with your students effectivelyLooking back on my first semester at Xavier, I cannot emphasize enough my gratitude for the warm and welcoming reception that I received from faculty, staff, and students. Xavier has...
December 05, 2024
Where everybody knows your nameOne of the hardest things for introverts, at least this introvert, is meeting new people. So, when I was asked to fill in at the front desk of the dean’s office just a few short weeks...
November 2024
November 22, 2024
Cyber Team builds confidence for national competitionXavier University's Cyber Team recently competed in the finals of the Virtual Internship and Varied Innovative Demonstrations (VIVID) cybersecurity competition in Augusta, Georgia. The group was...
November 21, 2024
Embracing thankfulnessAs the year draws to a close, it is natural to reflect on the events, lessons, and moments that have shaped our lives. This year has undoubtedly brought its share of challenges, whether personal,...
November 14, 2024
Are you creative?Are you actually fostering creativity in the classroom? This seems like a bold question for a third-year, undergrad art major named Ian McIlvain to be asking the College of Arts and Science; but I...
November 07, 2024
Preparing students for meaningful, reflective livesBack in January, I got an email out of the blue from a former student. A couple years earlier, she had been a first-year History major. But she soon switched to another, non-humanities major and...
October 2024
October 31, 2024
The unfamiliar "other"It’s spooky season! For most parts of the city, we know what this means—Halloween night includes a parade of costumed kids and guilt-free candy consumption. As...
October 24, 2024
Mutual MentorshipDuring my first three-and-a-half months at Xavier, my main interaction with the Sustaining Excellence project has been through my support of our college’s numerous new majors, minors, and...
October 23, 2024
Students research podcasts and pedagogy
Think that undergraduate research is only for biology and physics? Think again! Learn about Xavier CAS students Cassandra Hoffman and Roz Thompson's summer undergraduate research in how...
October 17, 2024
Creating accessible college experiencesDuring the Spring 2024 semester, I represented CASDI (College of Arts and Sciences’s Diversity and Inclusion committee) as a participant in three webinars sponsored by the Greater...
October 10, 2024
Advising seasonIt’s almost advising season! Good quality advising is key to our students’ success both here at Xavier and beyond. It’s a way for us to connect with our students,...
September 2024
September 26, 2024
Improving adaptabilityToday’s blog is from junior Sarah Lemming about her study abroad program this past summer. While planning for study abroad often requires thinking about classes, passports, and logistics,...
September 19, 2024
Personal transformation through leadershipOver the last year or so, we’ve heard a lot about the importance of transformation from an institutional perspective. What is less appreciated, I think, is how important it is for the...
September 12, 2024
Common goodI am very much enjoying the many opportunities to learn more about the College. I had great tours of the labs in biology, chemistry, and physics, as well as the spaces of arts and DIFT, I...
September 05, 2024
Skills the liberal arts provideAs fall recruiting season approaches, our student appointments in the Career Development Office often focus on a common theme: how can I stand out when speaking with recruiters at events like the...
August 2024
August 29, 2024
What sophomore slump?When I was extended the invitation to write a blog sharing my thoughts as a second-year faculty member at Xavier, I was excited. However, I slowly found it difficult to sit in reflection and write...
August 22, 2024
Helping students find each otherLike many of you, I have been busily running around campus for the past week. Between supporting Manresa programs, new faculty orientations, working groups, college meetings, a department...
August 15, 2024
Eureka!—Experiences that lead to learningThere are many suitable topics for your new Dean’s first blog post. But I decided to start with a confession: I have always felt that the term teaching offers a poor description...
May 2024
May 02, 2024
More than keeping the lights onWhen we first introduced the “dean team” to the college back in August, we shared that we hoped to do our “best to support you in carrying out the mission of...
April 2024
April 25, 2024
Cybersecurity capstone project bridges classroom and business worldsPenetration tests, or simulated cyber-attacks, can be used to expose a business’ security vulnerabilities. For their capstone project, senior computer science students Michael Benington...
April 25, 2024
Core ConversationsGet ready, everyone! We’re about to start talking about the Core.
Work will begin this summer in clarifying the process that the anticipated review of the Core Curriculum in 2024-2025...
April 18, 2024
McDonald Award recipients McDonald Award winners announced The College of Arts and Sciences is pleased to announce that the selection committee for the McDonald Award has completed its work. Chaired by last year's winner,...
April 11, 2024
Earlies or SeasonedSome of you might be thinking that it is much too early for a blog to address putting in an application for rank and tenure. On the contrary, now is precisely the time to start...
April 04, 2024
A genuine wonder of existence“What terror is this that overwhelms you?… The sun is obliterated out of the sky… a lethal mist spreads all across the earth!” – Homer’s...
March 2024
March 28, 2024
Meaningful impact and contributionsServing on the College of Arts and Sciences' Student Advisory Board has been among the most fulfilling experiences of my time at Xavier University. Each meeting has been a testament to the impact...
March 21, 2024
Why study the humanities?Today's blog is the acceptance speech from this year's Fortin Award Recipient, Randy Browne, Associate Professor in the History Department (right in photo). Randy accepted the award from Roger...
March 14, 2024
Connecting with piToday is March 14, Pi Day, an excuse to reflect on that irrational number we use to represent how many times the distance across a circle can wrap around the outside of that same circle. It turns...
February 2024
February 29, 2024
The comedic spirit of springThis semester, I'm teaching one of my favorite classes—an upper-level course titled "Novel Writing," where students compose an entire novel from scratch. At the outset of the...
February 22, 2024
Helping our students discern and respond to political disagreementMy current research explores tolerance for political disagreement on social media with friends and family. This topic resonates with our students. They experience tension when viewing incongruent...
February 15, 2024
Roses, chocolates, and...ashes?Roses, chocolates, and … ashes? Perhaps I wasn’t the only person experiencing cognitive dissonance yesterday, as the calendar threw together Valentine’s Day and Ash...
February 08, 2024
Academic mentoring for internshipsFor many Xavier faculty members, fostering the professional development of students extends beyond the classroom, encompassing guidance in securing meaningful internships. Reflecting on my own...
February 01, 2024
Meaningful and intentional celebrationsAs we move into Black History Month, it is worth being reminded of some key factors that helped establish Black lives as worthy of both celebration and academic study. In 1915 Carter G....
January 2024
January 25, 2024
Alive with the sound of musicAs we begin 2024, music is flowing through the Xavier campus! New clubs, new courses, and new musical ensembles reflect an invigorated spirit in the university’s music community. The past...
January 18, 2024
Hot views during a cold caucusThis past weekend, a group of 30 students from the PPP (Philosophy, Politics, and the Public Honors Program), Smith Scholars (Williams College of Business honors cohort), and Political Science...
January 11, 2024
Pura vidaReflections on 15 years of the Costa Rica Study Abroad course The Xavier winter program that takes students to Costa Rica for an experiential biology course has operated for 15 trips. We had a...
December 2023
December 14, 2023
That works for meAs retirement looms, I’ve been mulling over the last 35 years. In August 1989, I joined a mathematics department that was mostly male, mostly white and with many members having...
December 07, 2023
Award-winning poetry collection published as audiobookDr. Yalie Saweda Kamara’s book BESAYDOO will be published January 9, 2024. Selected by Amaud Jamaul Johnson for the 2023 Jake Adam York Prize, this collection of poems is an elegantly...
December 07, 2023
Light in the darknessTonight, the Jewish holiday of Chanukah starts, and we mark its beginning by lighting a menorah (a nine-branched candelabrum) at nightfall. This custom is to commemorate the rededication of the...
November 2023
November 30, 2023
An organized observation of the natural worldWhile I would like to think that I am always actively thinking about how my courses fit into what students learn at Xavier, when the CAS Associate Deans asked me to write a blog entry...
November 21, 2023
Hyland's work inspired by Rome study abroad programJunior Caitlyn Hyland, a fine art major with concentrations in printmaking and graphic design and a minor in arts administration, talks about her Xavier Arts Gallery exhibit with work from her Rome...
November 16, 2023
The Place of GratitudeWith the holiday arriving soon, many of us will likely turn our thoughts in the coming days to the things we have to be thankful for. Considered historically, we owe this time of thanks to the...
November 09, 2023
Speed deaningTwo weeks ago, we three Associate Deans of Arts and Sciences – Tim Brownlee, Steve Yandell, and I – set out for the University of San Francisco to attend the annual Association...
November 02, 2023
Getting the shiversI get the shivers when I see how hostile to the humanities many politicians, members of the public, and even some college presidents have become. Poor ROI, they declare.
How fortunate we are at...
October 2023
October 27, 2023
Nichols awarded Peace Builder AwardEthan Nichols, a PPP and English double major with a political science minor, recently received the Bob Maxwell Peace Builder Award from Ignite Peace. Ethan is a Xavier Community Engaged Fellow as...
October 26, 2023
Goh explores career possibilities with TQL internshipsCollege of Arts and Sciences’ senior Jaid Goh leveraged five semesters of internships at Total Quality Logistics (TQL) to help understand and refine how she wants to launch her career. As...
October 26, 2023
More than button pushingWhen asked to write about what it is that people may not know about DIFT over the last 50 years, I would like to express that there is much more to the major than simply pushing...
October 19, 2023
Taking on campaign internshipsGuest blog by CAS students Noelle Delumpa and Victoria Strawbridge This semester, as part of our coursework in the Philosophy, Politics, and the Public program, we...
October 17, 2023
DC internship clarifies career pathToluwa Aduloju, a political science major with minors in French and gender and diversity studies, spent the summer in Washington D.C. as an intern through The Washington Center (TWC). TWC provides...
October 12, 2023
Pack your PascalWhy is fall a good time for students to think about Xavier’s Study Abroad programs? This is a question CAS posed to me in asking me to offer a blog post for the...
September 2023
September 28, 2023
What your students want you to knowAdvising and scheduling can be overwhelming, especially for first year students. With four semesters of advising meetings and scheduling under our belts, we have reflected on our advising...
September 22, 2023
Schaub's summer in Michigan research programMeet senior Bella Schaub, biophysics major/Italian studies minor, and learn more about her research experience at the University of Michigan this summer.
September 21, 2023
Welcoming and mentoring new facultySome of you have heard me tell this story. The setting: Fall 2000, the Hinkle Hall second floor conference room, my first Xavier English Department faculty meeting. The characters: well,...