School of Arts and Sciences
Dean Saeed Ghahramani
Associate Dean Ann Kizanis
Assistant Dean Alfred T. Ingham IV
Assistant Dean Karl Martini
Programs of Study
The School of Arts and Sciences has three primary objectives:
1. To provide academic major and minor programs within the School as career preparation and as concentrations in the various fields of the liberal arts.
2. To provide the courses that satisfy general College requirements in keeping with the founding purpose of the School and consistent with the ongoing role of Arts and Sciences and the academic expertise of the faculty.
3. To provide required courses for its own majors and minors, foundation courses for majors in the Business and Engineering Schools, and elective courses for the enrichment of students across the College.
In this way the School of Arts and Sciences fulfills its educational purpose in accordance with the mission statement of Western New England College. This Mission Statement calls for integrated professional and liberal education. Arts and Sciences contribute to that mission through providing major programs, general College courses, and service and elective offerings.
The School of Arts and Sciences offers courses and programs leading to a Bachelor of Arts, Masters or Doctoral degree with majors in economics, communication, English, philosophy, political science, history, international studies, liberal studies, psychology, or sociology; a Bachelor of Science degree with majors in biology, chemistry, computer science, criminal justice, law enforcement, mathematics or psychology; and a Bachelor of Social Work degree. Majors in elementary and secondary education are approved by the Massachusetts Board of Education and lead to teacher certifications. Also offered is an Associate’s Degree in Liberal Studies.
To graduate, students must complete at least 122 semester hours in academic courses. Students must complete the requirements of a major program, the general College requirements, and certain area requirements. The balance of the academic program is composed of electives, which are courses chosen entirely by the student, with guidance from an advisor.
Most students attempt to complete the General College requirements during their first two years in college. Such planning provides added flexibility during the junior and senior years, enabling students to concentrate on major programs or to participate in internships or off-campus programs such as the Washington Semester, or New England Center for Children Internship Program, or study abroad.
Minors
The course work for a degree may include one or more of the minors offered by the College. A minor may not be completed in the same discipline as the major. Descriptions of the requirements for the minors are listed on p. 170. Students wishing to take a minor must complete a form in the Office of the Dean, School of Arts and Sciences, no later than the beginning of the final semester.
Department Chairs and Faculty
Department of Communication
Associate Professor Douglas Battema, Chair
Professor Nancy Hoar
Associate Professors Mindy Chang, Jean-Marie Higiro
Professional Educator Brenda Garton
Department of Computer Science/Information Technology
Associate Professor Heidi Ellis, Chair
Professor Leh-Sheng Tang
Associate Professor Lisa Hansen
Assistant Professor Herman Lee Jackson II
Professional Educator John Willemain
Department of Criminal Justice and Sociology
Professor Larry Field, Chair
Professor Richard Luxton
Associate Professors John Claffey, Alfred Ingham, Michaela Simpson, Raymond Zucco
Assistant Professors Frank Gallo, Denise Kindschi Gosselin
Department of Economics
Professor Herbert Eskot, Chair
Associate Professor Arthur Schiller Casimir
Assistant Professors Anita Dancs, Ranganath Murthy, Karl J. Petrick
Department of Education
Associate Professor Deb Patterson, Chair
Professor Robert Klein
Assistant Professor Molly Munkatchy
Department of English
Associate Professor Chip Rhodes, Chair
Professor Janet Bowdan
Associate Professors Josie Brown-Rose, Brad Sullivan, Delmar Wilcox, Jeffrey Yu
Assistant Professors William Grohe, Edward Wesp
Professional Educators Lisa Drnec-Kerr, Linda J. Oleksak, Louise Pelletier, Stephanie Wardrop
Department of History and Political Science
Professor Marc Dawson, Chair
Professors John Anzalotti, William Mandel, Theodore South, Donald Williams, Vladimir Wozniuk
Associate Professors Meri Clark, John Seung-Ho Baick, Jonathan Beagle, Peter Fairman, Tim Vercelotti
Assistant Professor Catherine Plum
Department of Humanities
Professor Emmett Barcalow, Chair
Professors Glen Ebisch, Martha Garabedian, Burton Porter
Assistant Professor Hillary Bucs
Music Coordinator John Cavicchia
Department of Mathematics
Professor Dennis Luciano, Chair
Professors Saeed Ghahramani, Lorna Hanes, Ann Kizanis, Richard Pelosi
Associate Professors Jennifer Beineke, Lisa Hansen, Enam Hoq, Thomas Hull, David Mazur
Assistant Professor Caleb M. Shor
Professional Educators David Daniels, Pam Omer, John Willemain
Department of Physical and Biological Sciences
Professor Lorraine Sartori, Chair
Professors Robert Holdsworth, Anne Poirot, David Savickas
Associate Professors Daniel Hatten, William Macanka, Karl Martini, Alexander Wurm
Assistant Professors John Drawec, Dawn E. Holmes, Suzanna C. Milheiro
Professional Educator Karl Sternberg
Department of Psychology
Professor Dennis Kolodziejski, Chair
Professors Chris Hakala, Sheralee Tershner
Associate Professors Greg Hanley, Denine Northrup, Dongxiao Qin
Assistant Professors Jessica Carlson, Ava Kleinmann, Jason Seacat, Amanda Karsten
Department of Social Work
Professor Jeff Schrenzel, Chair
Professor Sara Weinberger
Professional Educator Paula Nieman
Requirements
Students in the School of Arts and Sciences are required to satisfy the General College Requirements, as indicated on p. 35. All students majoring within the School of Arts and Sciences must also fulfill the following requirements:
1. Complete at least 122 credit hours of courses in order to graduate. Note: No more than 15 credit hours of ROTC courses may be counted within this 122.
2. Complete the requirements for a major.
3. Complete at least one more perspectives course, for a total of at least eight courses, within the area of Perspectives of Understanding on p. 36.
4. Humanities Requirement. Complete at least six additional credit hours chosen from among art, cultures, languages, literature, music, and philosophy. Of these, at least three credit hours must be in upper level literature. Note: The following courses do not count in fulfilling this requirement: 100-level English courses, COMM 320 Professional Communication, COMM 340 Business Communication, and nonliterary Special Topics courses.
5. Behavioral/Social Science Requirements. Complete at least six additional credit hours chosen from among COMM (205, 326, 348,324) criminal justice, economics, education, geography, political science, history, international studies, psychology, social work, and sociology. From among these six credits and the three credits from the Behavioral Perspective, at least three credit hours must be in political science, economics, or International Studies 101, and three credit hours must be in psychology or sociology. Note: Introduction to Statistics for the Social Sciences does not count in fulfilling this requirement.
6. Complete at least 30 credit hours in advanced courses (numbered 300-400) that may include those in the major and other areas, or complete the requirements for a major and a minor. No ROTC courses may count as advanced courses.
Nonbusiness majors can apply no more than 25% of business coursework to their graduation requirement.