Stevens Announces the School of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences
The renaming of the College of Arts and Letters is a strategic step for Stevens' tech-powered programs in the arts, humanities and social sciences and will take effect on July 1
To more accurately capture the breadth of research and learning available through Stevens Institute of Technology’s programs in music, visual arts, social sciences and the humanities, Stevens announced today that its College of Arts and Letters (CAL) will be renamed the Stevens School of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (HASS, pronounced “hoss”), effective July 1, 2023.
“This name was selected after a comprehensive effort to reimagine the school’s identity and branding,” said Stevens President Nariman Farvardin and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost Jianmin Qu in a joint statement to the university community. “It is an outgrowth of the process that yielded successful changes to the university’s brand identity last year, including the guiding principle Inspired by Humanity, Powered by Technology™.”
Approved by the Board of Trustees in late March, many faculty, staff, students, alumni and administrative leaders participated in the process of re-examining the school’s identity and selecting a name, which helped ensure an inclusive selection process and a broad foundation of support.
“This is a very exciting change that positions our unit as integral in Stevens’ academic ecosystem; I’m proud to say we’re one of the four schools at Stevens,” said CAL Dean Kelland Thomas. “While the name may change, much about our unit will remain the same. Our faculty continue to engage in forward thinking research and thought leadership, and through their mentorship, our students will be enabled to explore the intellectual areas across and between traditional disciplines. Our curricula will continue to be powered by technology giving our students and alumni a critical edge in today's rapidly changing world."
The humanities have been a vital element of a Stevens education since the university’s founding in 1870. Over the decades, arts, humanities and social sciences programs at Stevens grew and evolved, culminating in the establishment of CAL in 2007. CAL has flourished in recent years under Thomas’ leadership; in eight years, enrollment has risen 120 percent, and the school has become a cultural hub for the Stevens community.
“The contributions of this school significantly enhance the university and the world,” said Farvardin and Qu. “We look forward to continued growth and success from HASS as we embrace this new name and begin an exciting chapter for the humanities, arts and social sciences at Stevens.”