UpDate - Vol. 14, No. 20, Page 2
February 16, 1995
Dean serves as president of national organization

     Federal policies affecting higher education, revising academic
majors, promotion and tenure standards and the role of teaching at
research universities-these are some of the timely issues being
examined by the Council of Colleges of Arts and Sciences (CCAS), of
which Mary Richards, dean of the College of Arts and Science,
currently serves as president.
     Richards said the organization- which represents 437 private and
public liberal arts institutions across the United States and
Canada-offers arts and science deans opportunities to discuss mutual
concerns and timely issues.
     The CCAS is currently involved in a long-range planning process,
she said, and the council is determining what its role should be on
the national level, particularly in light of possible cutbacks in
funding by the federal government.
     Organizations, such as the National Endowment for the Arts, are
needed to support research, public education initiatives and the
creative activity of the faculty, Richards said.
     "Without such funding, it will be difficult to maintain research
activities so critical to the development of new knowledge and
cultural activities that enrich the spirit of our nation," she added.
     Richards became CCAS president at last year's annual meeting.  As
president, her duties include appointing all committees, chairing the
board meetings and representing the organization at various functions.
     The Delaware dean said her new role gives the University of
Delaware national recognition, as well as having a positive effect on
her role as dean of the College of Arts and Science.
     "I am involved with activities that make me a better leader of
the college," Richards said.  "One of the many concerns we have in
higher education is to convey to the public the importance of the work
that we do."
     Founded in 1965, the council was created with the intention of
sustaining the arts and sciences as a leading influence in American
higher education.
                                                    -Christine Galasso