The Cal Poly College of Liberal Arts (CLA), in conjunction with CLA Ambassadors and CLA Student Council, will host Liberal Arts Week from Feb. 15 to 17.
Liberal Arts Week is an annual event held to showcase the CLA, and promote the unique skills CLA students bring to the Cal Poly campus.
“Really, Liberal Arts Week is a chance to develop an awareness of all (the CLA) has to offer to the university,” said Penny Bennett, special assistant to the dean for student success in the CLA.
Liberal Arts Week was a staple at the university for many years, but it took a small hiatus when Susan Currier, former CLA associate dean, died in 2006. Currier had been the adviser to Liberal Arts Week, and after her passing there was a “transition period” for the college, Bennett said.
“Liberal Arts Week was a big deal for a long time, but after Susan passed away it lost direction for a bit,” Bennett said. “Since I began in my current position three years ago, I have seen a steady rise in the quality of the event.”
Part of what enabled Liberal Arts Week to gain momentum has been student involvement, Bennett said. A major student contributor to this year’s event is political science junior Lauren Duffy, who is vice president of the CLA Ambassadors and co-chair of Liberal Arts Week.
“I participated in last year’s Liberal Arts Week and I knew it wasn’t meeting its full potential,” Duffy said. “I saw that improvement needed to be made, and I knew that I wanted to be a part of that.”
This year CLA has made an effort to include all majors in the week’s events. Liberal Arts Week is a way for the college to show non-CLA majors that they can be involved with the college too, whether through clubs or taking on a minor, Duffy said.
“Our lecture line-up is fairly diverse,” Duffy said. “We really wanted to draw in majors that might not typically see it in their best interest to attend CLA-related activities.”
On Tuesday, Feb. 15, the festivities will kick off with performances by a capella groups “That’s the Key” and “Take it SLO” at 11 a.m. in front of Campus Market. At 8 p.m. in UU 219 there will be a lecture presented by Lewis Call from the history department entitled “Why I Love the History of Science Fiction.”
Wednesday will feature a senior project showcase and free barbecue on Dexter Lawn from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. From 8 to 9 p.m., there will be a lecture given by assistant professor of women’s and gender studies and ethnic studies Jane Lehr, biological sciences alumna Michelle Beam and professor of biological sciences Elena Keeling called “The Big C: an Interdisciplinary Conversation on Cancer in the 21st Century.” The presentation will take place in UU 205 (Chumash wing).
Thursday will involve a CLA club and minor showcase in the UU from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. Political science professor Anika Leithner will give a lecture that evening from 8p.m. to 9 p.m. in UU 219, “America: a World Bully.”
The list of events for Liberal Arts Week 2011 has grown over the past three years, Bennett said.
“Lauren and her team included the senior project showcase and the performances in this year’s event, and I think they are going to be very popular,” Bennett said. “The club and minor showcase always draws a big crowd.”
The Cal Poly chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) is one of the clubs participating in the showcase. Club president Kelsey Magnusen said it’s an “awesome” way for the club to promote itself.
“It’s so important for PRSSA to establish a presence in the CLA,” she said. “PRSSA is open to all students, CLA-major or not, and we’re a great resource to have on campus. We want CLA students to know we’re here to help them with all things concerning professional development.”
Duffy said she hopes students from all over campus will attend all of the events during the week, too.
“At the end of the day, we really just want CLA and non-CLA students to understand the diversity of our college,” Duffy said. “We have fun; we’re creative. We want people to appreciate all of the hard work we do every day.”