The College of Arts and Letters, abbreviated as CAL, is receiving a brand-new name as part of Stevens’s recent rebranding efforts. As detailed in an announcement from President Farvardin, the name CAL is representative of an older era. To better represent Stevens’ new initiative, Inspired by Humanity, Powered by Technology™, the College of Arts and Letters will be officially renamed on July 1, 2023, as the Stevens School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (HASS).
When Stevens was founded in 1870, Martha Bayard Stevens deemed the arts and humanities equally as crucial as the mechanical engineering curriculum. Studying science and engineering right alongside literature, art, and music made for balanced and successful alumni, who in turn led Stevens to grow into the prestigious institution that it is today. The culmination of this legacy of the humanities here on Castle Point was in 2007 with the creation of the College of Arts and Letters. Although a small portion of the university at the time, it has grown exponentially in the years since. Under the leadership of Dean Kelland Thomas, the attendance of CAL has grown more than 120% over the past years into a hub of culture while producing successful graduates who go on to lead in industries like music, cinema, law, government, and academia.
The new name, which will go into effect over the summer on July 1, was voted on by the Stevens Board of Trustees on March 23 following nearly a year of research and intake from the Stevens population following its initiation with the school-wide rebranding at the end of the 2021-2022 academic year. The new name, Stevens School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (HASS) will help the humanities continue to grow here at Stevens as one of the four facets of the university (the other three being the School of Engineering and Sciences, the School of Business, and the School of Systems and Enterprises).
President Farvardin and Provost Qu announced the renaming of the school via a mass email to the entire Stevens community in early April. The renaming was completed this year through a thorough process of examining the school’s identity, future goals, and the needs and desires of the name. A wide selection of faculty members, staff, students, alumni, and administrative leaders was involved in the process to allow for an inclusive and representative name to be selected.
The Stute reached out to some current CAL students who will become HASS students by the start of the fall semester. One Music and Technology student said the renaming seems to indicate “a more welcoming environment for music [and other humanities] at the school.” Furthermore, a history student minoring in pre-law said, “the university has a deep history of the humanities, so it feels good to finally have a school with a name more representative of the department.” President Farvardin explains that “the contributions of this school [CAL/HASS] significantly enhance the university and the world” and encourages Stevens to “embrace this new name and begin an exciting chapter for the humanities, arts, and social sciences at Stevens.”
