School of Arts & Sciences Reorganization Proposal Weighed By Academic Senate

Image Courtesy of Patrick D. Lewis

By Patrick D. Lewis

Luis Zonenberg contributed to this article

The Catholic University Academic Senate, the faculty body that is responsible for overseeing the academic side of the university, is considering a proposal from Dean Thomas Smith of the School of Arts and Sciences (SAS) to undertake an internal reorganization of SAS. The proposal is currently being reviewed by a senate committee.

In a March 6, 2025 email to students enrolled in School of Arts and Sciences programs, Dr. Mary Graw Leary, a Columbus School of Law professor and chair of the Academic Senate’s ad hoc committee on the School of Arts and Sciences’ internal restructuring plan, invited A&S students to attend one of two town hall meetings the committee held on March 18 and to fill out a survey related to the proposal.

In the email, Leary and her colleagues on the committee reminded students of Dean Smith’s plan to restructure the School of Arts and Sciences from 17 standalone departments to 12 departments organized into four divisions and rename the school the College of Arts and Sciences. Leary included a link to a webpage displaying several files from A&S faculty meetings over the past several months that had meeting agendas and material relating to the restructuring as well as the formal proposal the school filed with the Academic Senate.

The proposal also mentions that the Asian Studies Program, European Studies Program, Latin American and Latino Studies Program, and Global Migration and Refugee Studies Program have all been “approved for closure” and will be rolled into the new Department of Global Studies. 

It goes on to explain the rationale for the change, citing need for better faculty collaboration, cost-cutting, studies showing the merits of the “college system,” and the low numbers of full-time faculty in some departments.

The email to students also said that the proposal came from the School of Arts and Sciences, not the office of Provost Aaron Dominguez, and was entirely separate from “additional ideas” that had been discussed by Dominguez. At an SGA town hall with university leadership on March 3, Dominguez told students that the Department of Physics, currently in Arts and Sciences and part of the Division of Integrated Sciences in the A&S proposal, would be moved out of A&S and into the proposed College of Engineering and Physical Science. 

In an email, Leary said her committee polled the Arts and Sciences faculty, affected administrators, and students in the school and has yet to make an official recommendation to the faculty senate.

Julian Coleman, an SGA senator for Arts and Sciences and chair of the senate’s task force on the reorganization of the university, said he believes the administration has done due diligence in responding to questions and concerns raised about the reorganization.

“People have a lot of questions. A lot of questions which have been answered, thankfully,” said Coleman. “A lot of the concerns have been answered.”

Coleman also said that he’s glad the “independent identity” of the Rome School is being preserved to an extent in the Provost’s plan for reorganization at the university level, which would see the school move into the new College of Arts and Sciences and retain its name.

The SGA task force includes senators from the schools affected by reorganization. The committee will be going over issues and questions and send their findings to Student Body President Jeff Lance to be forwarded to the university administration.

“Our voices will be heard,” said Coleman.

Gary Van Pelt, the other senator for Arts and Sciences, said he sees why some restructuring is necessary but is concerned about the potential for program eliminations.

“I have heard of several cases where eliminating certain programs are being considered. While I support restructuring some, I think CUA and SAS have some unique and niche programs where Catholic is truly one of the only places to pursue certain subjects and concentrations of your major,” Van Pelt said. “By eliminating some of these, there’s very few places to pursue these same studies otherwise. I hope that restructuring, not eliminating, can be the focus.”

Van Pelt added that he has discussed the changes with Arts and Sciences officials and that, “they have been very receptive and open to all thoughts.” He said any student with thoughts or concerns should feel free to bring them to SGA or to the SAS administration.

The senate committee will make a recommendation to the full senate once it has finished reviewing the proposal and the results of its faculty and student surveys. A final decision on all proposed changes will be made by the academic senate at a future meeting.