Congratulations to our CLAE community on such a successful 2023-2024 academic year! We stand at the crossroads of change in the College as we leave the College of Liberal Arts & Education (CLAE) behind and embrace our new name, the College of Humanities, Arts & Social Sciences (CHASS). The legacy of CLAE and our College, established in 1877, is a venerable one that ensures our foundation in the liberal arts shaped by the Jesuit and Mercy traditions which define the University of Detroit Mercy.
Our commitment to the liberal arts – to free thought and inquiry – carries our College into the future as we push the boundaries of knowledge and pedagogy to offer transformative educational opportunities to our students. Hands-on learning from visits to the Detroit Institute of the Arts, student readings at Pages Bookstore, theater productions, mock law trials, Ethics Bowl, practicums, cybersecurity competitions, immersions in Cuba, Brazil, and India, and mock forensic scenes move ideas into practice. Students experience the world in new ways as they are called to action on issues such as climate change, systemic racism, reproductive rights, gun violence, the Israel-Hamas war and wars from Ukraine to Sudan. Our liberal arts education prepares them to be the change that they want to see in the world.
Democratic society, grounded in the values of freedom, justice, equality, equity, and inclusion, requires the capacity of its citizens to think freely, to engage in the fullest range of ideas, beliefs, and perspectives possible, and to do so critically. As we grapple with the implications of AI, prepare for an impending presidential election, and experience student protests being met with violent state responses, the liberal arts has never been more needed.
The College name may be changing, but our vision and mission that reflect our unwavering commitment to producing knowledge through intensive inquiry and expansive curiosity which empowers us to imagine possibilities remains stronger than ever.