College of Arts & Sciences

College of Arts and Sciences
Battelle Thompkins Hall
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Announcements

Faculty Senate

Faculty interested in an open position on a CAS or Senate committee, please use the online submission form (which lists current openings) by 5:00 p.m. on March 27, 2024.
 

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News & Events

Nana Boakye Yiadom and the first cohort of students at Stand Together Ghana

AU Econ PhD Student Creates Foundation to Support Ghanaian Students

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To the Point: Cherry Blossoms

To the Point: Have DC’s Iconic Cherry Blossoms Arrived Earlier

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Kermit Moyer

In Memoriam: Former Professor Kermit Moyer 1943-2024

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Vintage photo of man on tractor, Photo courtesy of the FSC/LAF Black farmer archives

AU & Federation of Southern Cooperatives Create Racial Justice Toolkit

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Tim Doud with his Art at Amtrak mural “A Great Public Work”

College Faculty Receive 80 Awards Totaling Over $11 Million in 2023

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CAS students graduating

Achievements

CAS faculty and students are making their mark on the world. See their latest achievements, awards, and honors.

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Spotlight: Meet Our Student Changemakers

Meet more CAS Alumni and Students.

Lindsay Mueller

Lindsay MuellerMFA Studio Art ‘24

“I’m here to push my artistic practice so I have the energy, self-critique, and discipline to keep growing beyond graduation.”

As a child, Lindsay Mueller’s school art classes were supplemented by weekly classes taught by a neighbor, a local artist. “By high school I realized I could take it more seriously,” Mueller says. “I applied to some art schools in addition to non-art schools. I wasn’t sure how viable it was as a career—it wasn’t the most practical choice to make where I grew up.”  

Mueller attended Boston University for a dual degree program in psychology and art. “I realized I could do both, but I spent most of my time in the school of visual arts and was involved in the community there.” After graduation, Mueller moved to Northern Virginia and became an arts coordinator at a retirement community, teaching classes and curating exhibitions. “It was helpful to have a community arts perspective, not just academic art.”  

Since enrolling in the MFA program at AU, Mueller has focused on pushing her artistic practice. Her paintings have expanded to become more sculptural with three-dimensional surfaces. “I feel freer to use vibrant colors and to be more inventive in the work,” she says. Working alongside a close-knit cohort of students and professors has also helped Mueller grow as an artist. “They’re people I can really talk to after graduation. They care about my practice and are interested in what I’m doing—they’ve been generous.”  

Mueller’s work is drawing attention. Last year, she won the Young Artist Award in the Bethesda Painting Awards, an annual juried art competition honoring accomplished painters in the area. Her work, Slow Collision, was featured in a group exhibition at Gallery B. While focusing on her painting, Mueller has continued to teach as an instructor at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Arlington, and as a TA at AU. “I love teaching—I get to exchange ideas with others,” she says.  

Alexis Threatt

 

Alexis ThreattMS, Data Science

"At AU, I met great, enthusiastic, and encouraging professors who genuinely cared about my well-being—and students who became some of my closest friends. AU fosters an environment in which I felt comfortable being myself. It challenged me and prepared me for the world."

Alexis Threatt grew up in an urban area surrounded by a series of parks filled with trees. It was her first inspiration for the work she now does on the Global Climate Change Team at the US Forest Service International Programs. 

Alexis first got her foot in the door at the Forest Service while earning her MS in data science at AU. For her capstone, she landed a position as a program manager on the US Forest Service’s Africa and Middle East Team, managing its Mozambique and Angola Programs. “Both countries endure massive fires across the country, and I decided to pursue a comparison analysis of wildfires in two high-priority conserva tion areas called the Niassa Special Reserve in Mozambique and Mavinga National Park in Angola,” she explains.  

Alexis is thrilled with her current job. And with her environmental science background and MS in data science, she has lots of choices for her future. She is looking ahead at the possibility of earning a PhD, continuing with her forestry and climate change work, and implementing her data science degree—and perhaps even pursuing a career as a foreign service officer or working at the United Nations in an environmental position. 

Why the College of Arts & Sciences?

Students and alumni discuss distinctive features of the College, why they chose their particular degrees, and program opportunities they pursued.