Roanoke College’s legacy has been to provide its students with the kind of well-rounded, interdisciplinary education that is a hallmark of the liberal arts experience. But as today’s students prepare to enter a 21st century world burdened by audacious problems and complicated by rapidly changing technology, the college’s educational vision is expanding to ensure that it isn’t just another liberal arts college, but a destination for students who desire the capacity to question the status quo, lead innovation and spark change within their communities.
To that end, Roanoke will launch a new academic structure, effective in fall 2025, that will organize its 100+ areas of study in 16 separate departments into four schools that have been designed to foster interdisciplinary collaboration among our departments, promote greater educational breadth for our students, and facilitate increased cooperation with external partners.
The four new schools and the disciplines they will house are:
- School of Business, Economics, and Analytics
Actuarial Science, Business Administration, Economics, Economics/Finance, Finance, Marketing, MBA, Sport Management - School of Communication, Culture, and the Arts
Art, Art History, Communication Studies, Creative Writing, French, History, Literary Studies, Religious Studies, Screen Studies, Spanish, Theater - School of Education, Government, and Society
Criminal Justice, Education Licensure, Education Studies, Health/Physical Education, Human Services Studies, International Relations, M.Ed., Philosophy, Political Science, Public Policy, Sociology - School of Health, Science, and Sustainability
Biochemistry, Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Data Science, Disability Studies, Engineering Science, Environmental Studies, Health and Exercise Science, Mathematics, Neuroscience, Physics, Psychology, Public Health Studies
The college’s two new cannabis studies programs, Cannabis Science and Cannabis Social Justice and Policy, are open to traditional undergraduates but are administratively housed in RC-RV, Roanoke’s innovative new unit devoted to community connections and access for a wide variety of learners.
This new academic structure is the result of nearly two years of work that began with community-wide town halls, then progressed with a 12-person Restructuring Task Force that conducted extensive research and solicited ideas and feedback from faculty, students and staff. The new structure was endorsed by the faculty and the Roanoke College Board of Trustees in April 2023.
“Our exciting educational vision is deeply connected to what learners will need to thrive in the 21st century,” said President Frank Shushok Jr. “This isn’t just a new academic structure; it comes out of a conviction that learners of today and tomorrow must be exposed to multiple forms of knowledge, the skill to work with individuals from many different backgrounds, and the capacity to pivot and adapt as the world changes rapidly around them.”
The adoption of the schools structure will not change the day-to-day experience of students, but schools will offer them an additional community with which to identify and within which to flourish. Prospective students will still apply to Roanoke College as a whole and will be able to declare majors, minors or concentrations in multiple schools. If they choose, they will also be able to change easily from a program in one school to a program in a different school.
Essential features of our liberal arts experience, including Inquiry and Honors curricula, experiential learning opportunities and May Term courses, will be not only preserved, but infused into each school as Maroon Connections.
“I’m excited about our new academic structure and so grateful to the many campus constituents who worked hard to develop it,” said Dr. Kathy Wolfe, vice president of Academic Affairs and dean of the college. “This enhanced concept brings opportunities to encourage greater interdisciplinary learning, build industry partnerships and advisory boards around compelling and emerging areas of expertise, and elevate the college’s reputation by lifting up areas of focus that were buried in its overall structure.”
Although the schools structure will not go into effect until the 2025-2026 academic year, the college has announced the appointment of the inaugural deans who will lead the four schools.
These deanships are essential leadership positions responsible for articulating the mission and goals of each school in line with the college’s overarching strategic plan, “Imagine Roanoke.” The roles will include pursuing new program research and development efforts, coordinating faculty development and student success initiatives, fostering external partnerships, and overseeing financial resources within each school.
The School of Business, Economics, and Analytics will be led by Dr. Alice Kassens, the John S. Shannon Professor of Economics. Kassens, who has been a faculty member for 19 years, is also director of the college’s Center for Economic Freedom, a senior analyst with the college’s Institute for Policy and Opinion Research, a fellow with the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis’ Institute for Economic Equality, and a former member of the Governor’s Joint Advisory Board of Economists. She is the author of the book, “Intemperate Spirits: Economic Adaptation During Prohibition,” an associate editor for the Journal of Economics Teaching, and the author of numerous published journal articles and book chapters.
“I am thrilled and honored to be the first dean of the School of Business, Economics, and Analytics,” Kassens said. “The future of innovation lies at the intersection of business, economics, and data-driven analytics. We hope to empower the next generation of leaders with the tools and knowledge they need to not only navigate, but to shape the global economy. Under this new umbrella, we will efficiently harness the power of insight and strategy to build sustainable growth and create lasting impact.”
Dr. Wendy Larson-Harris, who is currently chairperson of the Department of English and Communication Studies, has been named dean of the School of Communication, Culture, and the Arts. Larson-Harris has been a professor at Roanoke for 22 years. Her teaching interests include medieval literature, film, interdisciplinary humanities and gender studies, and she has conducted research on medieval spirituality and comparative work on Western and Byzantine saints, especially St. Margaret and Marina of Antioch.
“The purpose of a liberal arts education is to deepen students’ understanding of the world they are encountering, while giving them the inspiration and tools to make a difference in it,” she said. “My goal is for the new School of Communication, Culture, and the Arts to be a hub of innovative programs that build connections between students’ scholarly and creative endeavors, including the technical skills needed to bring them to life and shared in the wider world. Anyone with a smart phone can produce content, but media without art – innovation, creativity and technique within a given medium – is just noise.”
The School of Education, Government, and Society will be helmed by Dr. Marit Berntson, a professor and chairperson of the Department of Sociology and Public Health. Berntson, a 22-year member of the faculty at Roanoke, researches the sociology of sport, political extremism, social movements and countermovements, and intimate relationships and hook-up culture, among other issues. She has had a number of articles published in scholarly journals.
“I am honored to be chosen to head the School of Education, Government, and Society,” Berntson said, “and I’m excited to realize the goals of the college’s new strategic plan. The interdisciplinary nature of the schools complements trends among students to cross disciplinary boundaries in unique combinations of majors, minors and concentrations. I look forward to developing new programs, exploring online and evening classes, forging new partnerships in the Roanoke Valley, and welcoming veterans, transfer students and other learners.”
Dr. Karin Saoub will be dean of the School of Health, Science, and Sustainability. Saoub, who has taught at Roanoke for 15 years, is the M. Paul Capp & Constance Whitehead Professor of Mathematics and chairperson of the Department of Math, Computer Science and Physics. She is the author of two books about graph theory, and her work has been published in multiple scholarly journals. In 2022, Saoub was selected for the highly competitive Science & Technology Policy Fellowship from the American Association for the Advancement of Science, during which she served as advisor to the director of the Office of Science at the Department of Energy and as a policy fellow with the U.S. President’s Council of Advisors for Science and Technology.
“Our programs within the School of Health, Science, and Sustainability have a long history of collaboration, and the new school structure will allow us to build upon that solid foundation as we seek to innovate and enhance the STEM fields at Roanoke,” Saoub said. “We are committed to providing exceptional educational and experiential opportunities that will position our graduates for successful careers and lives of purpose.”
As Roanoke College pursues its goals of student success, academic innovation, access and equity, and an overall culture of excellence, the schools structure is a conscious shift from disciplinary specialization to interdisciplinary collaboration and modernization.
“We live in a world full of complex issues and wicked problems that can’t be solved from the perspective of just one specialty or another,” Wolfe said. “So much fascinating work happens at the intersection of disciplines, so we want our graduates to be able to connect the dots among specialties and perspectives. This reorganization will allow growth and collaboration to germinate in wonderful and unexpected ways.”
-The Salem Times-Register
