Weber State’s Lindquist College outlines strategic plan, points to enrollment stability and community partnerships

Dean Deborah Heumann of the Lindquist College of Arts and Humanities updated the Weber State University Board of Trustees on the college’s strategic plan, recent enrollment trends and community-facing programs.

Heumann told trustees that performing and lecture events held in the Browning Center drew just under 10,000 patrons in fiscal 2024, nearly 1,000 more than the prior year, and she said the college has seen small increases in declared majors in the Department of English and in communication. Heumann said full‑time‑equivalent student participation in college courses has risen recently even as the university expects changes in the state general education footprint to reduce course loads in future years.

The Lindquist College strategic plan Heumann presented was developed over about two years to align with the university strategic plan and to emphasize transferable and professionalizing experiences for students. She said the plan centers on promoting the value of a liberal-education education—what she described as “durable skills” such as communication, critical thinking and the ability to translate classroom learning into work-based experiences. Heumann referenced a workforce-alignment study that found employers continue to seek those skills.

Heumann highlighted specific program and community partnerships: an Apex professional-excellence program, a series of career-focused seminars and “living labs” such as Studio 76 and the Metaphor literary magazine. She described K–12 partnerships including the Beverly Taylor Sorensen Arts Learning Collaborative, which operates in Weber, Davis and Morgan counties and recently brought Weber State students together with Greenwood Charter Academy students on an arts project for the Ogden Nature Center education center. She also noted the MACUS Browning Design Lab has established a physical location at Madison Elementary School to use design practices for community problem solving.

Heumann described new and proposed curriculum changes and hires: two new world-languages faculty were recently hired and a graduate baccalaureate certificate in Spanish translation was under consideration. She said departments are exploring integrative‑humanities offerings that pair humanities study with applied or professional training; the college has proposed an applied bachelor’s degree in sound production (program details and required credit hours were not specified in the presentation). Heumann said the college has also pursued a health‑humanities initiative aimed at students entering the health industry in non‑clinical roles, and described plans for an arts entrepreneurship program with the business college.

On student outcomes and recognition, Heumann cited a student film award and performing-arts productions that mixed students and faculty; she called the Browning Center activity an important touchpoint for community engagement and workforce development. Heumann closed by urging trustees to “champion the arts and humanities” and to use the data she offered to explain the college’s contributions to workforce preparation and civic life.