Office of the Dean

A Message from the Dean:

Arts & Sciences is the core of Washington University. Our school encompasses the study of established subject areas such as Classics and Philosophy as well as newly emerging fields of inquiry such as Environmental Studies, evolutionary biology and neuroscience. We support the enterprise of the university both through our foundational research activities and through our teaching mission, which reaches all Washington University undergraduates over the course of their educational career. Not only do we offer a full range of liberal arts subjects, we also contribute fundamental knowledge to applied studies in the schools of Art and Architecture, Business, Engineering, Law, Medicine and Social Work.

What we do, we do with excellence. We have distinguished faculty in every major discipline who embody the best in scholarship and academic teaching.  Our faculty are recognized as leaders in their field. They participate in strategic partnerships, both internal and external, in critical areas of research, the success of which is reflected in the fact that we were awarded a record number of fellowships and grants in the 2009-2010 year. We stand poised to reach beyond this as we continue to recruit exceptional faculty, postdoctoral fellows and doctoral students across Arts & Sciences.

How to begin to capture the nature and importance of Arts & Sciences? Arts & Sciences is old and new, breadth and balance, tradition and innovation. We hope that you will follow us in the media, on our website, and in our publications, as we strive to tell the full story of Arts & Sciences. Regardless of whether you are an alumnus, a neighbor, friend or first-time visitor, please know that you are always welcome to our campus. We can only benefit from your interest and participation in our pursuit of new knowledge and our educational mission.

Gary Wihl, Dean of the Faculty of Arts & Sciences
Hortense & Tobias Lewin Distinguished Professor in the Humanities in Arts & Sciences