Mission, Services, and Activities

The mission of CCAS is “to provide its member institutions through their appropriate representatives: 

(1) a forum for discussing common problems of higher education as these relate to the Arts and Sciences;
(2) an agency to encourage, initiate, and support programs and activities to improve the intellectual stature and the public understanding of the disciplines of the Arts and Sciences; and
(3) a medium for the dissemination of the results of Council deliberations and other information deemed essential to the continuing intellectual and educational strength of the Arts and Sciences.”

Major activities of CCAS include advocacy of the liberal arts and sciences and sponsorship of four to six annual seminars that may include current topics such as the Seminar for New Deans; Marketing, Media, and the Arts & Sciences; the Seminar for Department Chairs; Legal Issues; and Fiscal Issues.

In November each year the Council holds its 4-day Annual Meeting, which is open to deans of member institutions and their staff. Arts and sciences deans from non-member institutions also are invited to attend. Over 500 members attended the 2012 Annual Meeting, whose program featured the customary series of sessions dealing with timely academic issues. The 2013 Annual Meeting will be held in Jacksonville, Florida on November 6-9.

The CCAS Seminar for New Deans permits recently appointed deans to interact closely both with other fledgling deans and with experienced deans in discussions of the fundamentals of college administration.

The Seminars for Department Chairs was inaugurated in 1992. With successful department chairs presiding, this seminar provides a forum in which department chairs can explore the art of departmental administration with their peers.

CCAS initiated its Seminar on Fiscal Issues in 1998. Participants discuss academic perspectives on fiscal issues and models and systems for allocating and monitoring fiscal resources. 

The Marketing, Media, and the Arts & Sciences Seminar provides deans with the basic tools for developing and implementing a marketing program. Building on the previous Deans and Media Seminar, new material is presented on marketing while retaining the popular elements of dealing effectively with the media. 

Please click on EVENTS in the navigation bar to see information about dates, times, and locations for upcoming seminars, and to register for a meeting or seminar.

Members receive an annual CCAS Membership Directory and the CCAS Newsletter, a bimonthly publication that keeps members up to date on issues important to arts and sciences deans and informs them about new programs and projects at member institutions. CCAS also conducts an Annual Survey of new tenure-track hires which is available free to member institutions. Other services include a Mentoring Program for new deans and associate/assistant deans, on-campus Leadership-Development Workshops for chairs/heads, and an active ListServ.

CCAS maintains ListServs for discussion among members. To protect the integrity of these lists, additional information is contained under Members Only. Any questions about the ListServs can be addressed to ccas@wm.edu.