A Word from Dean Richard Goodstein – December 2017

December 5, 2017

Dear Friends,

The holiday season is upon us and I am excited to share some great news from across the College of Architecture, Arts and Humanities.

Over the course of the semester, I had the opportunity to visit several classes across the various disciplines in the college. It was fun to sit as a student in subjects ranging from advanced creative writing to European history to early Impressionist art to audio technology. I was encouraged by the extraordinary quality of teaching our students are receiving.  In several classes, I witnessed the power of a “flipped” classroom, where faculty assign primary subject material as homework and use class time for students to discover the impact, importance and relevance of the assigned material. It is a transformational method of teaching that, by all appearances, is being embraced by our students. Bravo to our faculty who have incorporated this relatively new style of teaching into their classes.

Last week we learned that Todd Anderson — assistant professor of art, a current AAH Creativity Professor and co-author of “The Last Glacier” — has had his art book placed on display New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. This is world-class recognition of Todd’s work, as “The Met” is extraordinarily selective in the works of art displayed in its galleries. Congratulations to Todd and his co-authors for this remarkable achievement.

We also learned recently that three of the college’s degree programs – English, visual arts and history – have placed at the top of the 2017 rankings for academic programs in South Carolina. Zippia, a career counseling website, says Clemson’s undergraduate English, visual arts and history degrees offer the best opportunity for students in these majors among all institutions of higher learning in the state, public and private. These were the only three academic disciplines within AAH that Zippia examined. For history, Clemson topped a list that included The Citadel, Presbyterian, USC-Columbia and Furman. In English, the list of the top five also included Presbyterian, USC-Columbia, Furman and Coastal Carolina. In fine arts, Clemson’s visual arts major came in at No. 1 above USC-Columbia, Furman, Coastal Carolina and USC-Aiken. It’s nice to have validation that we are state champions, both on and off the football field!

We also learned last week that Erin Goss, associate professor of English, has been named in the inaugural cohort of Pacesetters within Clemson’s TIGERS ADVANCE initiative. Erin will participate in activities designed to advance and advocate for gender equity in higher education. Best wishes to Erin on this new opportunity.

Finally, our Ethics Bowl team, led by Department of Philosophy and Religion faculty members Adam Gies, Steve Satris and Kelly Smith, won third place in the mid-Atlantic Regional Ethics Bowl, earning a trip to the national competition in Chicago this March. Good luck to our students as they prepare to represent Clemson in the national competition and congratulations to our students and our faculty coaches.

We have much to be thankful for during this holiday season. It’s been an exceptional semester of accomplishments for our students, faculty and staff. As we approach the end of the fall semester, I wish all of you Happy Holidays. Go Tigers!

Rick