815 North Broadway
Saratoga Springs,
New York, 12866
SKIDMORE PHONE
518-580-5000
Welcome
From the Dean
Welcome to Skidmore. I am pleased that
you are joining a community in which the enduring value of
education provides a powerful, overarching bond. Students,
faculty, staff, and administration—all of us are united
in our mission to prepare you for an array of intriguing and
sometimes complex issues you will encounter during the rest
of your lives. We want you to learn, to reflect, to question,
to search, and to continually expand your horizons. The faculty
is equally determined to engage in this very vital and never-ending
process of inquiry. We are learners too, and we hope our excitement
will be contagious. We all want to grow together, to move
forward, and to contribute to our shared and exciting journey
of discovery. We are teachers and scholars, committed to working
with our students, and absolutely passionate about what we
do. It is the joy of this discovery, of contemplating issues
in new ways that energizes our community. During your four
years here, you will be engaged in a variety of explorations.
We will ask you to consider ideas carefully, to confront them
head-on, to mount reasoned arguments, to be tolerant of opposing
views, to be compassionate, to formulate your thoughts clearly
and persuasively, and then to act with the deep conviction
of your beliefs.
Your education will consist of a broadly
based exposure to several core courses drawn from a diverse
menu of subject areas, including the arts, humanities, social
sciences, and natural sciences. We will guide your efforts
as you formulate and absorb fundamental learning capacities
that will underlie whatever disciplines you choose to pursue.
We believe profoundly in the benefits of interdisciplinary
studies as well. Ours is not an insular world, and we shall
ask you to cross the boundaries of disciplines with the firm
expectation that all of us will learn from one another and
also, consequently, revisit and rethink our own areas of interest.
Moreover, as intense as your academic work will be, we believe
that the myriad activities of cocurricular life are also
essential to your education at Skidmore. Student government,
theater, music, athletics, a variety of clubs, service-based
organizations, and so much more—all of these opportunities
are there for the asking, and will contribute to your growth
and enrich your Skidmore experience as you learn to balance
the various interests you will develop.
Indeed, balance is the cornerstone of a
liberal arts education, and you will constantly engage in
a rigorous process that compels you to make thoughtful decisions
and to act accordingly in striking just the right balance
for yourself. The learning process is both exciting and richly
challenging, and we are here to assist you as you begin this
marvelous voyage. It is a voyage that will demand your active
participation, for it is you, ultimately, who will transform
yourself. You will find that this is a community that is eager
to help, but also a community that believes in your ability
to help yourself. In that context, you will need to ask a
great deal of yourself: commitment, engagement, flexibility,
perseverance, focus—a whole repertoire of skills needed
to build a powerful education that will serve you well in
the years ahead.
I encourage you to take full advantage
of the wonderful challenges that await you. Don’t waste
a minute of this precious time in your life. Skidmore is a
very special place, and we welcome you with great enthusiasm
and the highest of hopes. We are a community that sticks together
as we pursue our goals, and I am so very happy that you are
with us. Onward!
Charles M. Joseph
Vice President for Academic Affairs
and Dean of the Faculty
