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As part of the University’s effort to reorganize academic programs in lab-based sciences and liberal arts, College of Arts and Sciences has been split into the College of Arts and Social Sciences (CASS) and the College of Science and Mathematics (CSM) with Prof. Marcos Monderin and Dr. Jonald Pimentel as the new deans, respectively.
The split comes after the USM Board of Regents approved Resolution No. 33, Series of 2020. Within the current College of Arts and Sciences, there are 10 departments and 150 personnel.
The newly formed College of Arts and Social Sciences is going to consist of five departments: English Language and Literature, Filipino, Psychology, Criminology, and Social Sciences and Philosophy.
Meanwhile, the remaining five departments: Biological Sciences, Chemistry, Physics, Development Communication, and Mathematics and Statistics will fall under the new College of Science and Mathematics.
USM President Dr. Francisco Gil N. Garcia said that this administrative decision is in preparation for the future. With the new courses offered by the university, to wit: AB Philosophy, AB Political Science, and BS Applied Mathematics, there is a need for USM to accommodate to the changes and demands of time.
The official installation of new deans was held on May 6, 2020 at the CAS lobby. Faculty and staff of the two colleges witnessed what many consider as ‘historic’ event in CAS and USM.
Dr. Jonald Pimentel who served as the dean of College of Arts and Sciences since 2016 has been named the dean of the College of Science and Mathematics.
With the rise of the national need for development of students in the sciences, technology, engineering, and mathematics, CSM aims to consolidate its efforts to prepare students in the sciences and research-based disciplines.
Prof. Marcos Monderin, faculty of the Department of Social Sciences and Philosophy, will now oversee the College of Arts and Social Sciences as the new college dean.
With the humanities and social sciences as the core, the new CASS sets the goal in honing more students with critical thinking skills and strong liberal arts education.
This college split, however, will be gradual. For the onset, the new deans clarified that the two colleges will still share the same building, but all administerial functions are already set in place.
