Dear Alumni, Parents and Friends:

Last year was a milestone for the College of Arts and Sciences. We proudly welcomed our new Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs James Antony, PhD. We also began construction of the Donald and Darlene Shiley STEM Institute, a landmark collaboration with the Shiley-Marcos School of Engineering. It is exciting to build a STEM teaching space that will create unprecedented opportunities for interdisciplinary innovation and experiential learning.

As we begin a new academic year, we continue to emphasize the importance of independent thinking in an age of artificial intelligence. We must ensure our students develop the skills and freedom to think, write and discuss complex ideas. Guided by Pope Leo XIV's encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas (May 2026), we are reminded that effortful learning is essential for inspiring genuine human creativity and wisdom. As shepherds of USD's Core Curriculum, we remain focused on this challenge. Looking ahead, we are delighted to welcome 12 new tenure-track faculty members across our disciplines. Furthermore, we are proud that our college advising team has been invited to present our student success model to other universities at a national conference this November.

In this fourth edition of Arts & Sciences magazine, we continue to celebrate the disciplines helping our liberal arts mission shine. We explore our theology and religious studies department, showing how our commitment to the Catholic intellectual tradition fosters new ideas through vignettes about our newest faculty members. We also celebrate 10 years of our Humanities Center, USD's intellectual and interdisciplinary hub. We feature visual artists and professors Victoria Fu and Matt Rich, who will soon unveil their artistic designs for the Metro D Line Subway Extension Project in Los Angeles. Finally, we highlight our Master of Arts in International Relations (MAIR) program, illustrating our robust graduate education in the college.

As always, your belief in and support of our mission are deeply appreciated. Together, we are ensuring the values at the heart of the liberal arts remain relevant and everlasting.

Noelle Norton, PhD
Dean, College of Arts and Sciences