From extracurriculars to degree programs, the arts and sciences are under-resourced.
Around six years ago, The University of Tulsa’s administration launched True Commitment — a massive program attempting to turn the university into a STEM school, uprooting the university’s core as being a liberal arts college. Since this attempt failed and the president was ousted, the university has made some attempts to rebuild its liberal arts core, although it still falls short in many ways.
For example, as the Collegian’s Variety Editor Katelyn Wiehe described in an article posted in February, the administration undermined the Collegian’s editorial rights when it forced the organization to remove a satire article it did not like under the claim that it was libelous. This was done in spite of the fact that, in the spirit of free speech, satire is protected. It was further done despite the university priding itself on its protection of and insistence on free speech, although apparently what it considers free is dependent on whether or not the speech hurts the feelings of members of the administration.
There have been attempts to cut student pay for what the administration determines to be unneeded student jobs. This likely includes positions within the Collegian and TUTV, the university’s broadcasting lab — both of which fall under the umbrella of the College of Arts and Sciences as they are products of media studies.
Additionally, any student within the College of Arts and Sciences can likely attest to the fact that the diversity of classes within any given department is severely limited. In the History Department, for instance, students for the most part can take a class in either American or European history — in other words, the history of predominantly white cultures and societies.
This is in no way the fault of the professors. In fact, the professors have been using their historical training to offer students as much variety as they can within their limited scope of power. Professors regularly insert Black and indigenous history whenever possible when constructing their courses. They also create classes that include global history whenever they can and should be commended for doing all that is within their ability to give their students a well-rounded historical education. The root of the issue is that the administration does not provide for the department any professor of American Indigenous, African, South Asian and, perhaps most crucially, Southwest Asian and North African Studies.
While it is, of course, important to have a deep knowledge of American history, it is also crucial to understand the history of societies around the world in order for students to become proper global citizens. The university should want that and act accordingly.
Not only is the diversity of classes an issue, the number of classes offered is a problem. The absolute drought of classes is most true for the Sociology major and Art History specialization. In the Fall of 2025, only three sociology classes will be offered, one of which must be offered regularly as it is the intro-level requirement all Sociology majors must take.
While it is true that Sociology majors can enroll in courses listed as Anthropology and Sociology for their major requirements, which would slightly expand their options, they would then be forced to focus on a field of study outside of their major of choice and take a professor that is not trained in what they are majoring in. Furthermore, although sociology and anthropology share many similarities, the conjoining of these two majors makes it seem as though they are one and the same when they are, in fact, separate fields of study with different focuses and specialties that require specific training.
For Art History, four classes are slated to be offered in the Fall of 2025, one of which is a required intro course and another being a capstone course that gives students of Art History the opportunity to work on their senior projects. As of now, only two courses are listed for Spring of 2026, although this number may increase as professors finalize their offerings. The question still remains, though: how are students of Art History supposed to complete eleven courses pertaining to their major in eight semesters when only a handful of courses are taught each semester, some of which are repeated courses, particularly when taking into account all of the other requirements they must fulfill to obtain a degree?
The answer seems that they are not expected to. Liberal arts as a whole is so scorned and looked down upon and it seems that the university holds this perspective. And, bit by bit, it is still trying to push students away from the field. It is disappointing, infuriating and, yet, not at all a surprise that the humanities and social sciences — the study of what sets the human race apart and explores the range of the human experience — continues to be demeaned and disregarded.
