CAS Spotlight

Can you find the "camouflage looper" munching these blazing star flower heads? "Evolution for Science Teachers" offered winter term; Gidwitz winners announced Bizarre caterpillars, like the one in the photo above, are just a small sample of the interests of Paul Gross, Associate Professor in the Natural Science Department, College of Arts and Sciences. Paul's research into the ecological relationships of insects and plants takes him, and sometimes his students, deep into Illinois prairies unknown to most Chicagoans as well as to exotic tropical sites. He enthusiastically shares his discoveries and his “close-up” nature photographs with students and colleagues. His classroom activities are just as interesting. At the moment, Paul is most enthusiastic about the Microevolution course for high school teachers that he will be co-teaching this winter. Paul Gross and Harry Ross, chair of Secondary Education in the National College of education, have developed a series of graduate biology courses uniquely geared to the needs of high school science teachers. Their winter term offering, Evolution for Science Teachers I: Microevolution, addresses a topic that is centrally important to science teachers and also presents distinct challenges in the classroom. More information Gidwitz Winners Announced December 1, 2006 The Gidwitz Center is pleased to announce that four Mini-Grants encouraging the development of research projects related to the Gidwitz Center mission were awarded to the following investigators and projects: Virginia Jagla (NCE), Empowerment and Understanding through Service-Learning; Judith Kent (CAS), Empowering Parents Through English Language Instruction; Seema Imam (NCE), The Muslim Community Initiative; Elizabeth Peterson and Michael Quaintance (CAS), If the World Were A Village: Building Diversity at Baker Demonstration School. These individuals will be expected to present their findings at the CAS Spring Research Symposium.

The College of Arts and Sciences provides access and opportunity to both traditional and nontraditional learners. Many of our students are adults who enter or return to the postsecondary system with a wealth of experience and practical knowledge. We also embrace non-native speakers seeking to develop and strengthen their communication skills as well as traditional students who are beginning a process of lifelong learning or preparing for professional practice. CAS welcomes this multinational, intergenerational range of learners into a learning community where academic support and development enable all students to identify their needs, strengthen their skills and apply their experiences to entering or advancing in service professions.

The curriculum and pedagogy that permeate the College are grounded in the principles of adult education and life-long learning. Learners are regularly encouraged to connect the experiences of their work, personal, cultural and relational lives to the theory and information of their chosen fields of study. Our faculty shares the responsibility for learning with students and provides regular opportunities for active engagement in the process through student cohorts and collaborative learning strategies.

This linkage of student experience to course-related theoretical constructs contributes to a unique feature of the College and that is our purposeful application of theory to practice or basic knowledge and research to the learning experiences of our students. Most colleges of arts and sciences dedicate themselves simply to expanding and transmitting fundamental concepts. The application of basic concepts is then left to specialized colleges. The structure of NLU's College of Arts and Sciences is more complex and is predicated on two basic principles:

• CAS stresses the application of fundamental principles to solving real problems in our society, and
  
  
• It strongly believes that the teaching and research of fundamental concepts should be closely connected.
  
  

Departments that teach in fundamental areas are closely linked to departments that specialize in application of the knowledge. In some cases, basic and applied courses exist together within the same department; this close packaging results in a continuous flow of information between fundamental and applied concepts resulting in a stronger education for our students.

NLU Wheeling Campus

The College provides the necessary foundation for professional studies through its general education competencies organized across the curriculum into three fields of knowledge: communications, humanities, and fine arts; quantitative reasoning and physical/life sciences; and social/behavioral sciences. The traditional arts and sciences disciplines, around which these competencies are built, English, Fine Arts, Math, Natural Sciences, Psychology, Political Science, History, Anthropology, Sociology and Economics are also offered as areas of concentration for students. The College of Arts and Sciences provides learning experiences through a variety of delivery models to ensure that all students have the opportunity to integrate these fields of knowledge into their chosen areas of study. Learners are able to demonstrate these competencies through multiple formats including portfolios, examinations and transfer credits in addition to CAS coursework.

The College's tradition of meeting the needs of our students has historically included reaching out into the community and workplace. Specially designed programs of instruction are frequently developed for community-based organizations and work sites. This historic commitment has also led to an increasing use of technology across coursework and delivery models. Various courses as well as entire programs are delivered online. In addition, many courses are web-enhanced, and many use interactive technology to increase accessibility to a geographically diverse student population.

Providing services within the community has helped to define the historical mission of this College. As we have traditionally provided access to those populations who are often underserved, we have simultaneously strengthened the urban communities from which many of these students come. Just as we provide the foundation for those who desire to contribute to the community through teaching and business development, we also train those who want to pursue a path toward or further develop their expertise in service related professions such as Human Services, Psychology and Health Studies. Preparing our students to enter and/or advance in these professions ensures a direct renewal of leadership in the community.



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