Dear Fellow Artists and Humanists,
We are creators and thinkers; crafters of language, clay, canvas and metal. We invent new perspectives, and reimagine our world for the common good. Our artistry and humanistic thinking are the basis for all of human communication, productivity and creativity.
As the foundational cornerstone of the University, the Arts and Humanities are at the heart and soul of a journey of learning and discovery that culminates with today’s ceremony.
As graduates of our College, you join an over 900-year tradition of students seeking to gain knowledge and skills for the betterment of themselves and their local communities. And in today’s modern world, the ancient meaning of “university” is more relevant than ever: in Latin universitas means a community of people “turned into one.”
Art and humanistic thought espouse cross-cultural and transhistorical understanding, in that our dynamic way of approaching the world and its complexity allows us to simultaneously perceive multiple aspects of a given situation.
There is a fundamental lesson we have taught you, and it’s a lesson that we artists and humanists hold close to our hearts: Your life and your potential is not limited by a static identity, by a form that must be followed, nor by a history that must be repeated, but rather by your ability to act, to move, to create, and to reinvent yourself into a being who reads the world and reimagines it in a better way.
All of the professors and staff in the College of Arts and Humanities wish you the best: Bright futures sparked by the pursuit of your passions, balanced with friends and family, and always seeking beautiful and thoughtful ways to enhance our community and world.
You are now the ambassadors of the value that comes with a great education. May your next steps reflect the thoughtful and creative engagement that will reinvent society in order to better our world.
Please stay in touch!
Sincerely,
Dean Saúl Jiménez-Sandoval, Ph.D., and Associate Dean Honora Chapman, Ph.D.
The College of Arts and Humanities at Fresno State 