College of Business and College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences to combine
By Pulse Staff
The University of Findlay announced on Sept. 30 that the College of Business and the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences are merging into one college. The two colleges will officially combine on Jan. 1, 2026 and be in full operation the Fall of 2026.
In a joint meeting of the two colleges, Dr. Katherine Fell, University of Findlay president, said the combination brings together the very best of both colleges.
“I am committed to this. I think it’s going to give all of you an opportunity to expand your talent and reach more students,” Fell said. “I think we can market this offering. It’s a refreshing and effective way to meet the changing needs of our culture and the world around us, and ultimately have more students for you to teach and inspire.”
Dr. Kirby Overton, the current dean of COB, will become the dean for the combined colleges and Dr. Ron Tulley, the current dean of CAHSS, will step out of his role as a dean and assume the role of Senior Advisor for College Transition and Culture. All other roles such as department chairs will remain the same through the Spring 2026 semester.
“In June, I had a discussion with Darin (Fields, former Vice President of Academic Affairs) and Dr. Fell, and I told him at that time that I thought my time as dean had come, that I was ready to step down and go back into faculty,” Tulley said. “And out of that discussion came a larger discussion of what could we do with the existing resources we have in a reconfiguration and do something that’s really kind of in the tradition of entrepreneurship and innovation at UF.”
Currently the new college will be called the College of Business and Humanities, but that may change as the transition plans evolve over the coming months.
“We can recreate, we can do something better with what we already do, build on those foundations and honor the best of both,” Tulley said.
“If we’re able to come together and combine our resources, then we’ll be able to create different programming, extracurricular, and co-curricular opportunities for our students,” Overton said. “If you’re looking at today’s marketing positions, we typically train our students in digital marketing or market research and social media. But if you look at job descriptions for marketing positions today, they need to be able to do everything; like videography, photography, graphic design, all of the things.”
Fell told the faculty at the meeting that the combination is not a result of a plan to cut costs but rather to increase the potential for revenue by opening up different experiences for students.
Some of the potential collaboration includes subjects like digital content creation, entrepreneurial media and arts, psychology of leadership, monetizing podcasting, and influencer marketing.
CAHSS currently houses seven different departments:
- Media and Communication
- History, Law & Gender Studies
- Justice Sciences
- Language & Culture
- English, Religious Studies, & Philosophy
- Behavioral Sciences
- Visual & Performing Arts
COB Undergraduate students can earn a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with an emphasis in the following areas:
Faculty from both colleges will work over the coming months through committees and listening sessions to contribute to the strategic planning process.
Fell said this is the only college combination under consideration right now.
“There’s no secret plan,” Fell said. “I do not have a plan for combining any other colleges. This is the only combination that’s on the table, and I think it’s a good combination for all the reasons that you’ve heard: the people, the culture, what you do with our students, what your leaders do, and their work with the community and with you.”
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