Dean's Message: Winter 2019

Reflections

As we look ahead to what the new year will bring, it is also a time of reflection.  Both an art and a skill, reflection enables us to discover, absorb, and learn from our experiences, as well as share those experiences and stories with others.  At Dyson College, sharing reflections and insight through writing, spoken word, video/film, photography, and the arts is an essential component of a liberal arts education.  As our students are pursuing their degrees, they are learning, researching, and refining how to reflect skillfully, and how to communicate those reflections in unique and creative ways.

In this issue, you will learn how, during a recent visit to Pace’s New York City campus, Actors Studio Drama School (ASDS) alumnus and actor/director Bradley Cooper shared his reflections with current ASDS students, offering valuable advice and keen insights on his journey to success.  The growing Media, Communications, and Visual Arts Department on the Pleasantville campus is providing students with the digital, communication and creative storytelling skills they need to craft compelling stories in video and other formats across the media landscape.  On the New York City campus, psychology majors are researching how texting and social media usage reflects who we are, helps us to understand ourselves, and affects our well-being and relationships. In addition, Dyson is at the leading edge of a burgeoning area of study, called the digital humanities.  You will read how, through novel approaches to this discipline, we are providing students new ways of learning through technology.  They are reflecting on historical publications and analyzing their importance in new, meaningful ways, as well as implementing new ways of storytelling and researching in combination with digital tools that democratize information in today’s digital landscape.

As you will see, Dyson students are learning not only the skill sets they need to succeed in the digital world we live in; they are also gaining an understanding of how to succeed in a culture that demands clarity and retrospection.

I hope you enjoy the information in this issue.  If you have a story you would like to share, please contact Angela Nally, ’99, ’06, assistant dean for communications, at agnally@pace.edu.

Nira Herrmann, PhD
Dean, Dyson College of Arts and Sciences