Message from the Dean

The Faculty of Arts at the University of Waterloo will be a destination of choice for those seeking the richest opportunities to advance knowledge, develop their creativity, and discover solutions that address pressing questions of the past, present, and future. Our researchers and students have the skills and perspectives needed to confront a rapidly changing and increasingly globalized world, where knowledge is produced, transformed, and applied at an unprecedented rate.

Many societal challenges we read about daily in the news media or in the tidal wave of social media fall squarely within the domain of Arts scholarship. Our faculty and students respond to challenges such as regional and cultural conflicts which threaten security, management and use of big data, social and policy implications of aging, giving voice to marginalized communities, and improving intercultural communications across sectors. These are but a few of the issues Arts scholarship tackles; we also have long excelled in open inquiry and we regard the pursuit of basic research as a vital part of our mission.  

Building upon our strengths in research, scholarship, and teaching, our Strategic Plan will guide us over the next five years to prepare engaged and productive citizens who possess both agility and a sense of enterprise cultivated through the experiential traditions of the University of Waterloo.

We do Arts differently at Waterloo. We are proud of that heritage and excited by the future.

Douglas M. Peers

Dean, Faculty of Arts
April 2014