What is the St. Lawrence educational experience? As it is stated on the school website it is indicated as follows, “St. Lawrence is a vibrant, collaborative community of learners who value thought and action. Students tap into their full potential as they embrace the natural environment, engage with global challenges, and experience the relevance and adventure of a liberal arts education in a complex and changing world.” St. Lawrence offers its 2,400 undergraduate students with thirty-six majors, thirty-eight minors, ninety diverse student organizations, and nineteen different varsity sports teams.
From the very first day that students step onto the St. Lawrence University campus, they are immersed into a unique culture that cannot be found anywhere else in the world. It is a place some students can only dream of attending. Some students don’t realize how special the school is until they meet the people living and working in this tightly knit community. The combination of the FYP program, small classes, numerous clubs and sports teams, strength of the alumni network, and supportive faculty here creates a positive environment for students to succeed.
To ensure that students are receiving the best education that St. Lawrence can offer, members of each department sit down at the end of the year to critique their curriculum. They see what they are doing well, and what needs to be improved. Adjustments are always being made. In the past six years, faculty members have been making additions to their majors to give students more opportunities and to be on the “cutting edge” of education.
Recently, St. Lawrence has seen the addition of a combined Economics and Modern Languages Major titled “International Economics & Modern Languages and Literature” and the addition of the “Business in the Liberal Arts Major.” The English, History, and Modern Languages Department Chairs are also in the works of adding two more majors to the university curriculum. A great deal of time and effort has been put into developing curriculum for these new majors.
The International Economics & Modern Languages and Literature major builds upon pre-existing majors here at SLU, Economics and Modern Languages and Literature. There are four tracks to this major Economics-French, Economics- German, Economics-Spanish, and Economics-Multilanguage. The Economics requirements for the four tracks are all the same. All students planning on majoring in International Economics & Modern Languages and Literature Major must take ECON 100, ECON 200, ECON 251, ECON 252 and three electives in Economics two of which must be at the 300/400 level and must include ECON 236, ECON 322, and ECON 336. The requirements for the French, German, and Spanish tracks are specific to each language but all classes must be taken at the 103 levels or higher.
The Economics-Multi Language Major is a little different from the Economics-French, Economics- German, and Economics-Spanish majors in that to fulfill the Modern Languages requirement of the Economics-Multilanguage major students must take a total of six units of multi language courses. Three of these courses must be taken in one of the following languages, Arabic, Chinese, Italian, or Swahili, and depending on your preference of language the three remaining credits must be taken in German (at or above the 103 level), and in French or Spanish (at or above the 200 level). The goal of the International Economics & Modern Languages and Literature Major is to help students develop interests and skills that go beyond the US economy.
The Business in the Liberal Arts major was one of the most recent majors introduced to St. Lawrence in 2013. Due to external pressures, the school decided to add this major to its curriculum. Today, families are increasingly focused on financial prospects and are pushing their kids to major in a subject that will help them find a job following college. Business is the most popular undergraduate major in colleges and universities across the United States, and within only three years under its belt, is one of St. Lawrence’s most popular majors in recent years.
St. Lawrence believes that successful business leaders are not “trained in the ways of business,” but rather leadership in business. They believe that good business men/ women are creative and have the ability to bring different ways of thinking to questions, circumstances and challenges. The school believes that “preparation for business leadership does not depend on a specific course of study, but is instead the product of the individual’s ability to think critically, present evidence effectively, and have a depth of knowledge in at least one area of the liberal arts.”
Therefore, students wishing to major in Business in the Liberal Arts must double major. Additionally, Business in the Liberal Arts majors must complete seven core courses (ECON 100, ECON 251, ECON 252, ACC 203, ACC 204, MATH 113 OR ECON 200, and PHIL 202), an experiential learning component, and three electives identified under social responsibility, social context, analytical think- ing, and global citizenship.
Two additional majors are in the making, and are soon hopefully going to be available to students soon. These majors are the English and Modern Languages Major and the His- tory and Modern Languages Major.
The idea of the English and Modern Languages Major came in August of 2014 by Professor Roy Caldwell, department chair of Modern Languages. He believed that since the English and Modern Languages department worked with writing and text, the combination of the majors was a natural fit. Professor Caldwell contacted Dr. Sarah Gates, chair of the English department, and the two professors began the conversation and the construction of the new major. Both professors went to their colleagues to discuss Professor Caldwell’s idea, and came back with a list of ideas and course requirements students would have to potentially fulfill to obtain a major in English and Modern Languages.
Dr. Gates and Professor Caldwell decided there would be four tracks to the English and Modern Languages major. A proposal was written and was sent to the University. The University approved the proposal, and sent it to the state of New York to be approved. The University is waiting for approval from the state to get this new major going.
Once the proposal has been approved by the state, students will have the opportunity to choose between four tracks in this new major. They will be able to combine one of the English courses literary studies or creative writing with one of the modern languages, either Spanish or French.
Dr. Gates believes that this new major will appeal to students who want to major in both English and Modern Languages. She believes that it will provide English majors with a “worldlier view,” and that it will give them a unique opportunity to translate their work into another language. The Modern Languages department is excited about this new major as they see it as an opportunity for their students to gain a deeper understand- ing on how to study literature by taking the methods course – a requirement for this new major. Both departments are very excited about this new major and cannot wait to get started.
The Modern Languages and History departments are do- ing a similar major combination. Both departments believe that this will benefit them, and hopefully attract more students as they have been seeing a decline in students majoring in their departments within the last couple of years.
The Modern Languages department has most recently received a $100,000 grant from Gladys Brooks, a private foundation out of New York. This grant is going to aid in the renovation of two language learning labs adding video conferencing equipment in Carnegie. The renovations are going to replace the outdated small cubicle desks and individualized listening pods.
The department said that the grant is hopefully going to enhance the second-language learning opportunities at St. Lawrence, and connect the school to the global community.
It is thanks to our supportive parents, guardians, alumni, donors, and faculty, that the students of St. Lawrence are able to live in a vibrant, collaborative community full of learners who value thought and action.
It is because of them that we are able to tap into our full potential and embrace our natural environments, engage with global challenges, and experience the relevance and adventure of a liberal arts education in changing world.