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Dean’s Welcome Parent & Family Session
Dean’s Welcome
Parent & Family Session
979-845-5143
liberalarts.tamu.edu
● Dr. Steven M. Oberhelman
Associate Dean for Undergraduate Programs
Professor of Classics
George Sumey, Jr., Endowed Professor of Liberal Arts
● Andrew Armstrong, Director of Advising
● Dr. Leroy G. Dorsey
Associate Dean for Academic Initiatives and Graduate
Instruction
Professor of Communication
● Bradley Matthews, Career Services Coordinator
● Christie Dunn, International Programs Manager
Undergraduate Programs Office
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• Aid in overall student
success
• Professional advisor training
• First semester programming
and retention
Academic Advising
Andrew Armstrong, Director of [email protected]
@TAMUliberalarts
#tamulibarts
Texas A&M Liberal Arts
@TAMUliberalarts
@TAMUliberalarts
#tamulibarts
• liberalarts.tamu.edu
• registrar.tamu.edu/Registrar/media/REGI_For
ms/Dependency_Certification.pdf
• student-rules.tamu.edu
• catalog.tamu.edu
• registrar.tamu.edu/general/calendar.aspx
• lasc.tamu.edu
• hireaggies.com
Important Links
979-845-5143
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Lifelong Learning
Bradley Matthews, Career Services [email protected]
Check out our website at careercenter.tamu.edu
• Come in early and often to work on résumés, take
mock interviews, check out internships and job lists,
and more!
• Career Fairs twice a year (September and
February)
• To be highly competitive in this job market, you
should:
• Seek internships (at least two), externships, or
part-time positions
• Volunteer in areas related to your career goals
• Choose a student organization that is
meaningful
• Use directed study or research projects for
experience
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Critical Thinking: Honors
Dr. Leroy G. Dorsey,Associate Dean forAcademic Initiatives
• LBAR 181H: Honors Critical Thinking
Seminar
• Small, seminar class size
• 1 hour honors credit (pass/fail)
• Taught by some of the very best
faculty in the College
• Develop analytical thinking and
writing skills
• Focus on Common Ground text
• Provide foundation for a successful
academic career
Cornerstone Honors
Dr. Leroy G. Dorsey,Associate Dean forAcademic Initiatives
The Liberal Arts Cornerstone Honors
Program provides a community of highly
motivated students the means to become
significant citizen-leaders of tomorrow.
Honors PERKS
● Priority registration
● Small classes
● Taught by most prestigious
College faculty
● Enhanced critical thinking skills
● Global awareness through study
abroad
● Honors distinction on transcript
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Undergraduate
Student
Opportunities
Dr. Leroy G. Dorsey,Associate Dean forAcademic Initiatives
Maximize your experience as a student in
the Liberal Arts, both inside and outside
the classroom.
High Impact Activities
● Selfless Service
● Student Research Week
● Aggie Agora
● Study Abroad
● Leadership in a Student
Organization
● Internships
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Study Abroad
Christie Dunn, International [email protected]
• Up to $3000 in study abroad scholarships per
student are available from the College of Liberal
Arts
• Students can go abroad and still graduate on time
• Safe: programs are led by TAMU faculty or are run
by foreign institutions that have been thoroughly
vetted
• Benefits include:
• Self confidence
• Creativity
• Adaptability
• Communication Skills
• Independence
• And so much more!!!
liberalarts.tamu.edu/study-abroad
studyabroad.tamu.edu
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liberalarts.tamu.edu
What Is Liberal Arts?
• The concept of Liberal Arts goes back 2,500 years. The
artes liberales were the intellectual skills that were
considered necessary for a citizen to possess in order to be
a contributing member of a society and to carry out her or his
job functions.
• The skills that a liberal arts degree today gives are the very
skills that employers today value highly.
• They are the kinds of skills that never grow obsolete.
Although the world is constantly changing, especially with
technology, the abilities, attributes, and skills gained in liberal
arts are always relevant.
• Knowledge is one this, application of knowledge is another.
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What Is Liberal Arts?
• Employers in survey after survey describe what sort of
college graduates they consider the best employees.
• Nearly all those surveyed (93 percent) replied that the
sorts of skills sets offered in Liberal Arts were more
important for them as employers than a specialized
area of study. The employers stated over and over that
they wanted the people whom they hired
• to have the ability to make ethical judgments;
• to possess intercultural skills; and,
• to have skills in critical thinking, complex problem-
solving, and written and oral communication.
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Goals of the College
• We have created a college core curriculum on top of the
University Core Curriculum. We ask students to take 12 hours
in literature, creative arts and social science beyond what the
University Core Curriculum requires.
• Our majors contain gateway courses, seminars and capstone
courses that emphasize critical thinking and creative thinking.
• We stress in all our classes oral and written communication
skills
• Our students, if they have not fulfilled this requirement through
high school or transfer coursework, take one to two years of a
foreign language and are encouraged to travel abroad (two
years of college language is required of all B.A. students.)
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Goals of the College
• We stress the importance of being a citizen of the United States
and yet also being a global citizen.
• We stress the value of independent thinking and yet the
importance of working together in groups to solve problems.
• The Liberal Arts has a flexibility and uniqueness that is not
found in other degree plans. Most of our students can take
minors, certificates or even a double major without delay to
degree.
• The B.A. in INTS — with various areas like commerce,
diplomacy, environmental studies, different languages and
different foreign experiences — is a perfect example. There are
156 options for this major when languages, geographical
location and curricular tracks are taken into account.
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Top 15 U.S. Colleges for Salaries for
Liberal Arts Graduates
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Liberal Arts GraduatesName Company Degree
Mitt Romney CEO, Bain Capital English
Peter Thiel founder of PayPal Philosophy
Carly Fiorina Ex-CEO, Hewlett-Packard Medieval History and Philosophy
Ken Chenault CEO, American Express History
Carl Icahn Investor Philosophy
Michael Eisner Ex-CEO, Disney English and Theatre
Hank Paulson Former Secretary of the Treasury English
Lloyd Blankfein CEO, Goldman Sachs Political Science
Sheila Bair FDIC Chair Philosophy
Clarence Thomas Supreme Court Justice English
Harold Varmus Noble Prize Winner in Medicine English
George Soros Hedge Fund Manager Philosophy
Ted Turner Founder, CNN Classics
Anne Mulcahy Ex-CEO, Xerox English
Richard Anderson CEO, Delta Political Science
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Liberal Arts GraduatesName Company Degree
Brian Moynihan CEO, Bank of America History
Larry Fink CEO, Blackrock Political Science
Sam Palmisano Ex-CEO, IBM History
Andrea Jung Ex-CEO, Avon English Literature
A.G. Lafley CEO, Proctor and Gamble French and History
Dam Hesse CEO, Sprint International Studies
Stephen Schwarzman CEO, Blackstone Group University Studies in Liberal Arts
Judy McGrath Ex-CEO, MTV English
Mario Cuomo Former Governor of New York English
Robert Gates Ex-Secretary of Defense History
Jerry Brown Governor of California Classics
Robert Iger CEO, Disney Communications
Christopher Connor CEO, Sherwin Williams Sociology
Herbert Allison, Jr. Ex-CEO, Fannie Mae Philosophy
The College
● The College of Liberal Arts is a young college; it was
formed in 1965 as a mega-college along with business
and education. In 1969 the three colleges went their
separate ways.
● Texas A&M University itself is young: in 1866 the State
legislature allocated $75,000 to create, build, and
sustain a new college.
● The people of Brazos County donated over 2,100 acres
of land in 1871, and with building completed over the
next 5 years, TAMU opened its doors in 1876.
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The College
• We are the second largest college, with nearly 8,200 majors. We
have a four-year graduation rate of 73%: 7 out of every 10 freshmen
will graduate in 4 years or less.
• We strive to be successful in retaining students. The college has put
into place retention programs to assist students who are struggling.
First-year students whose GPA falls under 2.2 are asked to come to
academic success events.
• Our college advisors have been recognized by the President of
Texas A&M University with individual and team Presidential Advising
Awards.
• Liberal Arts sends more students overseas than any other college on
campus. Over 1,000 of our current majors have had international
experiences. My office has given, since spring 2012, over
$1,350,000 in scholarships for study abroad.
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Classroom Experience
• Students enjoy small class sizes: the average size of a
course in major course work is 17 students, thanks to a large
number of faculty (450).
• Instructors are typically tenured professors; graduate
students and lecturers teach basic core curriculum classes.
• But upper-level courses, especially in the major field of
study, are taught by outstanding teachers and scholars in
the field:
• 13% of the tenured faculty hold an endowed position
• 12% have won teaching awards from the Association of
Former Students
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Tips for Academic Success
We stress to every student the vital and absolute critical
importance of:
• Attending all classes
• Spending two hours outside of class studying for every one
hour of class time. This will vary according to the course,
but it is a good rule of thumb.
• Meeting with departmental academic advisors at least once
every semester
• Meeting with the Career Center early and frequently,
beginning with the very first semester on campus
• Using Howdy to conduct a self-assessment of their degree
evaluation and the degree planner on a regular basis
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Tips for Academic Success
• Meeting with their professors during their office hours
if they are the least bit confused, feel as though they
are falling behind, need extra help, etc.
• Forming study groups with other students in their
class
• Taking advantage of the Academic Success Center
and their materials on note taking, test taking, time
management, organization, etc.
• Practicing good in-class habits (no mobile phones, no
improper use of computers, paying attention, taking
excellent notes)
• Our basic rule: We are a Tier 1 Research Institution,
with the academic standards that go along with it.
@TAMUliberalarts
#tamulibarts
Texas A&M Liberal Arts
@TAMUliberalarts
@TAMUliberalarts
#tamulibarts
• liberalarts.tamu.edu
• registrar.tamu.edu/Registrar/media/REGI_For
ms/Dependency_Certification.pdf
• student-rules.tamu.edu
• catalog.tamu.edu
• registrar.tamu.edu/general/calendar.aspx
• lasc.tamu.edu
• hireaggies.com
Important Links
