Message from the Deans

As someone who’s interested in learning more about the OU College of Liberal Studies, you may be labeled as someone who fits in the “non-traditional student” category. While there is no single way to define this group, there are several characteristics true for them all. They are goal setters and achievers. They are experienced, critical thinkers. They are expert multi-taskers who thrive in a world of new projects and new pressures.

We welcome these non-traditional, achievement-oriented learners to the College of Liberal Studies. This year, we celebrate 50 years of catering to the busy lives of our students. Throughout the last half century, CLS has evolved to meet their needs by being the only college on campus that offers degrees 100 percent online. We take pride in our “worldwide classroom,” serving students in all parts of the world, and our enrollment grows every semester.

Please take a look at our degree programs and course offerings, which are designed to meet your needs. I also invite you to read about our faculty and staff, who are here to help you achieve your academic goals. A CLS education, combined with your own unique life experiences you bring to the learning, will form a solid foundation for your future.

As associate dean for the College of Liberal Studies at the University of Oklahoma, it is my honor to welcome you. We are one of the university’s most rapidly-growing areas, and are pleased that you have chosen to visit us. We invite you to browse through the information about our programs, course offerings and student support services. We also invite you to get acquainted with our faculty and staff members, who are dedicated to helping you fulfill your educational aspirations.

We particularly invite you to join us in this year’s Golden Anniversary celebration, as we re-affirm our founding in 1960. For 50 years, liberal studies has been on the forefront of adult higher education, recognizing early on the unique needs of adult learners and innovatively serving this population of students. Our founders capture the continuing CLS spirit well in these words, paraphrased from the founding documents:

The story of CLS reveals programs designed by professors who love to learn for people who love to learn. It is professors committed to learning who have given CLS whatever character it may possess. For them, knowledge is a seamless fabric, and a life of learning carries the mind on an unbroken excursion through a universe of ideas. Specialization without generalization is simply an ever deeper plunge into ignorance… and effectiveness as laborer, artisan, technician, or professional, depends considerably on one’s effectiveness as a human being, on one’s liberal education. (Burkett & Ruggiers, 1960)

Regardless of the particular delivery format a student chooses to pursue with us – whether that be online, face-to-face or some combination – we have three goals for a CLS education. First, we seek to equip individuals with the tools necessary for understanding and solving the complex problems, both personal and corporate, inherent in contemporary life. Second, we seek to engage students in learning that integrates isolated bodies of factual information, facilitating a sense of unity that promotes wisdom in decision-making and problem-solving. As we accomplish the first two goals, we’re confident that the third will emerge – the goal of educating citizens who actively enhance the functioning of a free society. If these goals sound enticing, join us in the journey!