Creating a better future for humanity: our new strategic plan

By Sheila Ager, Dean of Arts

The Faculty of Arts will contribute to a better world though positive social impact. Our research, teaching, and learning will emphasize a conviction that all peoples are worthy of respect, empathy, and socio-economic wellbeing. We will apply our resources and talents to reduce harms inflicted by people on each other, on themselves, and on the environment, while seeking to advance human ingenuity to benefit all.

The hate-motivated attack of June 28, in a classroom where instructor and students together were exploring issues of identity and belonging, diversity and acceptance, shows how desperately our world needs human understanding. If knowledge is power, then greater knowledge of ourselves should give us the strength and capacity to combat the forces of hatred, bigotry, and violence, whether in society or in ourselves.

A Future for Humanity: Faculty of Arts Strategic Plan, 2023-2030 identifies three priority areas for change, each of which  articulates tangible goals and objectives that intersect research, teaching, and learning for all.

The first priority, Building Connection through Interdisciplinarity, details our plans to build on our solid base of interdisciplinary strength by expanding even further collaboration in the areas of scholarship, teaching, and community engagement. It speaks as well to the leadership role Arts can play in pan-University interdisciplinary initiatives; a role also made explicit in the University’s vision of Waterloo at 100.

Such a leadership role is directly connected to our second priority area, Effecting Social Impact. The profound knowledge and understanding of humanity – its successes and its failures – brought to the table by Arts disciplines is crucial. Our work addresses problems of global importance in the areas of equity, mental health, climate change, governance, conflict, refugees, racism, poverty, finance, cybersecurity, and reconciliation, to name but a few, and increasingly interdisciplinary teams feature a breadth of proficiencies, from physics to philosophy, computers to communication, engineering to English.

Our commitment to preparing our students for active engagement in a civil and just society finds expression in the third priority, Fostering Student Agency. Our students are encouraged to pursue learning that sets them on a path to both wisdom and humility as they acquire knowledge and insight not only about the world, but about themselves. A key mission for our Faculty is to empower our students to realize their full potential and continue to improve their capacity to become socially-minded leaders.