About the College
Meet the Dean
Welcome to the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS) at Grand Valley State University. It is an honor to lead a diverse and dynamic learning community where faculty and staff are deeply committed to supporting students. We are distinctive in both range and depth. CLAS students can choose from more than 50 bachelor’s degrees and several advanced degrees in the natural and mathematical sciences, humanities, the fine and performing arts, and the social sciences. We are proud to provide every Grand Valley student with the opportunity to experience the transformative power of a liberal arts and sciences education.
At the center of our mission is the CLAS Voyage, our signature initiative designed to provide every single CLAS student with equitable access to a career-connected liberal arts and sciences education. First-year students embark on their voyage through interactive learning communities, peer mentoring, and co-curricular activities that welcome them into a vibrant community and set their foundation for success. Our faculty have embedded experiential learning opportunities into the curriculum of every CLAS major, ensuring that students are able to integrate and apply their classroom learning to real-world contexts throughout their college experience.
CLAS students and faculty explore profound artistic, scientific, cultural, and social questions that illuminate the human experience, deepen our understanding of how we relate to each other, and explain and interpret the world we live in. Our students study the birth of stars and tsunamis, conduct research that contributes to the health of our magnificent lakes and rivers, make a film with professional actors and directors, tackle difficult ethical questions, earn a certificate in Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and engage with a variety of communities through meaningful service and outreach.
I invite you to discover more about the fascinating and impactful work that is taking place across the college. In CLAS, curiosity leads to discovery, learning translates into action, and every experience contributes to shaping thoughtful, engaged citizens prepared to navigate an ever-changing world.
Christopher Jones, Ph.D., Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Vision and Commitments
Our Vision
Through our commitment to liberal education, CLAS strives to be an inclusive and equitable community of inquiry where students, staff and faculty collaborate to pursue and create knowledge, to enact global citizenship, and to engage and support our many communities. (updated January 2022)
Our Commitments
Commitment 1: Centering Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Access
We value and work to foster a community in which inclusion, equity, access, and respect for difference sustain, and are sustained by, a liberal education that is accessible to and beneficial for all.
Commitment 2: Supporting Student Success
We value the uniqueness and the diversity of human experiences and standpoints and support a student-ready approach to the continuous improvement of CLAS structures and processes.
Commitment 3: Creating a Workplace Where Faculty and Staff Can Thrive
We value structures and processes that provide faculty and staff opportunities to develop as professionals and leaders, that support a reasonable balance of time and energy across all areas of our lives, and that provide opportunities to connect and build relationships. We value the life of the mind, in all its forms, and recognize that the creation of knowledge and the dissemination of knowledge are closely connected activities for teacher-scholars.
Commitment 4: Teaching and Learning Through Engagement
We value a curriculum with an emphasis on pathways, experiences, collaborations, and connections that occur within and across courses, disciplines, co-curricular and extra-curricular activities, and career plans. We believe that student engagement should be a top priority in all disciplines and at all levels, so that students understand the value of education as a lifelong process instead of viewing each course or degree solely as a means to an end.
Commitment 5: Engaging Our Alumni and Communities
We value reciprocal relationships with alumni and other community partners. Alumni are valuable allies as we strive to create experiential learning opportunities for our students and to enhance student understanding of the career-related skills and competencies gained through their university curriculum. We seek dialogue with current and potential community partners, and we will develop partnerships around their needs and goals.