message from the dean
Along with the students, faculty and staff of the School of Liberal Arts, I am delighted to welcome you to Saint Mary's College of California. A liberal education is widely recognized as the ideal preparation for citizen leaders of the new millennium. As knowledge rapidly changes, the intellectual habits of integrative thinking, articulate expression, and ethical decision making will serve you well in dealing with the many complex personal and professional challenges ahead.
Because of its uncommon commitment to liberal education, Saint Mary's College offers an undergraduate education that will last you a lifetime—one that honors cooperative as well as individual achievement, promotes the application of learning to progressively complex problems, and fosters creativity, flexibility, and commitment. In the School of Liberal Arts, as throughout the College, you will matter as an individual. We take seriously our students' ultimate concerns: the need to understand who we are, where we come from, why we are here, and our connectedness to one another .
Perhaps the most attractive dimension of the School is its ideal learning environment. With an average class size of 20 students, faculty and students come to know each other as they work together in understanding theory and discovering solutions. Faculty members are student-centered. They promote high levels of student achievement by encouraging student-centered, task-oriented learning activities—mutual endeavors that invite students to become participants in the academic community. They set challenging academic standards and pursue scholarship that enriches their teaching. Students are consistently impressed by the faculty's commitment to the education of the whole person. Faculty value the relationship they establish with students as central to our mission.
Thank you for considering Saint Mary's College—I hope that you will become a member of our intellectual community. Please contact me with any questions, at woolpert@stmarys-ca.edu.
Sincerely,
Stephen Woolpert, Ph.D.
Dean for the School of Liberal Arts
