College of Arts, Sciences, and Allied Services

College of Arts, Sciences and Allied Services

Dr. Heather Parker, Dean

The College of Arts, Sciences and Allied Services plays a central role in the academic structure and philosophy of the University by offering to all students a broad education, one that lays a durable foundation for critical and independent thinking. The essential spirit of the liberal arts, namely, the liberation of the mind and the acquisition of those habits and values that lead one to truth, animates all curricula and programs in the College.

Through its many disciplines of the liberal arts and sciences, the College of Arts, Sciences and Allied Services provides coherence and unity to the entire University curriculum, ensures depth and diversity in its own areas of study, and supports the institution's Catholic Identity through The Center for Catholic Jewish Studies, described below.

Arts and Sciences' motto, "Transformative Learning, Transferable Skills," captures the school's commitment to providing learning that lasts for its graduates and the skills that will serve them well in their professional and personal lives.

THE CENTER FOR CATHOLIC-JEWISH STUDIES

Founded in 1998 by Saint Leo University President Emeritus Arthur Kirk, and Senior Interreligious Advisor to the American Jewish Committee, Rabbi James Rudin, the Center for Catholic-Jewish Studies (CCJS) at Saint Leo University is the only academic center dedicated to the study of Catholic-Jewish relations in the Southeastern United States. The CCJS carries out the vision of the Second Vatican Council declaration, Nostra Aetate, by producing research in Catholic-Jewish relations, and providing opportunities for interfaith education and dialogue among Jews, Catholics, and all people of good will. Saint Leo students participate in the CCJS by attending numerous scholarly lectures each academic year, attending Scriptural Reasoning meetings in the CCJS, or by applying for several noncredit Undergraduate Research Fellowships. These fellowships expose undergraduate students to the study of interreligious dialogue, shaping the next generation of scholars of Catholic-Jewish relations.

For questions, see the director of the CCJS, and Assistant Professor of Theology, Dr. Matthew A. Tapie at Matthew.tapie@saintleo.edu or (352)-599-7298 or by visiting the CCJS website, http://www.saintleo.edu/academics/schools/school-of-arts-sciences/center-for-catholic-jewish-studies.aspx