Message from the Dean

Alain-Philippe Durand, Dorrance Dean

I would like to welcome you to the exciting College of Humanities at the University of Arizona. Through its various programs, the College aims to help students become both concerned citizens and employable graduates. Our first-rate College faculty educate students in the most important skills needed today in the global workforce:

  • Work Ethics and Professionalism
  • Communication
  • Collaboration
  • Leadership
  • Problem Solving

We offer specialized study in fields as diverse as foreign languages, literature, classics, studies of cultures from all over the world, applied linguistics, public and digital humanities, translation and interpretation, study abroad, hip-hop, video games, intercultural competency, and religious studies (please see “The College's Vision and Strategic Plan”).

Our scholarly research is central to the world’s grand challenges. There is a high and growing demand for the humanities’ expertise in literatures, cultures, religions, languages/multilingualism, and foreign analysis.

Humanists’ skills (such as critical thinking, adapting quickly to unfamiliar environments, intercultural competence, and the ability to communicate effectively with people from diverse backgrounds) are the perfect complement to any other discipline and are at the core to the eventual solving of some of today’s grand challenges. Why terrorism, racism and intolerance? Cultural & linguistic miscommunications? Illiteracy?

Our College shapes highly skilled communicators adept at the world’s most challenging conversations. Armed with these skills they fight terrorism, racism, and intolerance.

We leverage passion and skill to solve some of the world’s toughest human challenges. The humanities feed the world and combat poverty, global warming, and diseases.

We create leaders through intercultural competency. We promote and protect democracy, ethics, freedom of expression, and human rights.

We connect people and cultures across the world and down the street. We are the World Wide Web. We understand and embrace new technologies and innovations.

We regulate the stock market and the economy.

We catch asteroids and explore space. 

We create global problem-solvers.

We humanize the world.