"The opportunity is
that CHSS can shape
our students'
understanding of the liberal arts as they move forward into whatever profession they decide to follow."

-Mary Papazian

By William Valladares

When Mary Papazian glimpses into her reflection, sometimes it's the dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHSS) looking back, and other times it's a scholar of English Renaissance literature. But she knows that these personas are enmeshed, and that her success as an academic administrator is grounded in her passion for scholarship and teaching, which is still very much a part of her.

Papazian, who has been at Montclair State since the summer, described her first semester as a whirlwind. While making 65 tenure and reappointment decisions in her first two months, she was also getting a feel for the students, faculty and staff. In addition, she is working on three books and fulfilling her duties as second vice president of the John Donne Society. Papazian recently discussed the future of CHSS and how she hopes to build on the College's rich traditions.

Q. What is your greatest challenge as dean?
A. Seeing the college through the challenges that come with rapid transition, change, and growth at the University. This is particularly important in the area of supporting faculty in striking a balance between excellence in teaching, excellence in scholarship, and service to the University and profession. The challenge is to provide the support, encouragement and guidance necessary for faculty members to engage in teaching and scholarship, in particular, in a way that is productive and complementary of the other. Such engagement on the part of our faculty will enhance our tradition of excellence in teaching by providing greater opportunities for students, and by engaging faculty actively in that process. I'm particularly interested in developing the area of undergraduate research in CHSS because it builds on research, teaching and mentoring in an important and profound way, while at the same time enables students to engage with faculty in projects of interest and importance.

Q. How will you preserve CHSS's rich traditions in an environment of rapid change?
A. First, it is important to understand those traditions and value them. But it is not enough simply to preserve the past. We must also build on and transform these traditions so that they grow and develop, and we grow and develop, too. My hope is that we can build on our commitment to new and interesting programs, which grows out of the faculty's interests and their engagement with students. Another tradition here is commitment to community. A state institution should not be separate from its community, so we have a responsibility to extend our expertise and knowledge into the community. CHSS has developed programs within many of our majors that involve outreach externships, co-ops, and service-learning, and I hope to build on these.

Q. What is CHSS's role in the University's mission?
A. CHSS must embrace the University's mission as we all work collectively to serve a diverse population. Our goal is to provide a beacon of education for all students at a level and quality of the best universities. In many ways CHSS is the heart of the University because as the largest college, we offer nearly 40 percent of the undergraduate degrees and much of the general education requirements. Any student who graduates from Montclair State will have significant input from CHSS, so we must represent the larger values and vision of the University. That presents a challenge, an opportunity and a responsibility to do the best job we can because we touch so many students. The opportunity is that CHSS can shape our students' understanding of the liberal arts as they move forward into whatever profession they decide to follow. There is no doubt that a solid foundation in liberal arts of the kind we provide in CHSS will enhance students' college experience and future success. The obligation is that we take what we do and link it to what others do on campus. We're not better than the other colleges and schools; we have a different responsibility. There are great opportunities in finding connections for our students between our colleges and schools, and I hope CHSS can show some leadership in that.

Q. What are your plans for curricular development?
A. That, I always say, is in the hands of the faculty. It's a question of where members of our faculty want to go and where they see the next logical place to best serve the students in their discipline. I encourage faculty to think about programs that are not always the most traditional, that might serve a niche that's a little bit different from what other research universities might do, that serve our students in a way that perhaps hasn't been done before. The University already has embraced several programs to move forward with on a doctoral level, and I'm strongly committed to CHSS having a part in that whether we have our own programs or whether we participate with other colleges and schools in joint programs. However constructed, CHSS must be a player in the development of doctoral education, as well as other graduate and undergraduate programs, as our faculty move to develop the types of programs that serve the needs of our students and the needs of our community.

Q. Tell us about your own scholarship.
A. At present, I'm editing two collections of essays that address my area of interest in the secular and sacred in the Renaissance. I'm also working on a third book on poet John Donne that I hope to complete this summer. In addition to that I'm writing a paper that I will present later this month at the John Donne Society's 20th anniversary conference, and I'm preparing for a conference of the Renaissance Society in Cambridge, England, in April. People have told me that when you move into an administrative position you have to give up scholarship and teaching, and I have fought that. I did an independent study with a student last semester, which was a pleasure, and I'm looking forward to teaching a class next year. Academic administrators are really faculty at heart, and in order to do our jobs well, we must be engaged as teachers and scholars, at least at some level, so we don't forget where we came from.