Commonwealth University (CU) has appointed Angela Boswell as Lock Haven’s Associate Dean for the College of Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities during its integration of Bloomsburg, Lock Haven, and Mansfield universities.
Boswell’s educational background starts in Texas, where she attended the private Southwestern University. At first, Boswell worked toward a career as an English high school teacher, but eventually added history as a second major as well as several minor degrees.
After working various jobs like computer programming and directing a state-wide political organization, Boswell shifted her focus back toward earning a Ph.D. in History at Rice University.
Boswell taught at Henderson State University (HSU) for about 20 years before becoming the associate dean. Quickly thereafter, she would take the title of Dean of College of Arts and Sciences. In June 2022, Boswell left the university, saying the school was “taking a direction I just did not believe in.”
Despite retiring from her job at HSU, Commonwealth University offered Boswell the Associate Dean position at the Lock Haven campus in August 2022. Even though the title is different, Boswell acts very similar to a normal dean position, only difference being she works under another dean that monitors the entirety of CU.
A goal Boswell has as Associate Dean is to emphasize the importance of degrees that may be deemed “useless” to society. “I think we need to prepare our students for that first job, but we also need to prepare them for the next and the next,” she said, “and you can only do that with this broad liberal arts education that helps students think.”
Integration between the three schools have created concerns among students and faculty alike. One such issue is if students will be required to transition into the updated curriculums. Boswell said, “Everyone who is already here will have the opportunity to finish the requirements that were in place when they came as first year students.” However, if students wish to switch to the new curriculum, they are allowed to do so.
Another issue is how the university will allocate resources between campuses. Since each campus holds different equipment and facilities, some majors at certain campuses will have a slight advantage over the others. “I don’t think we’re ever going to be able to guarantee exact equipment at each [university],” Boswell said.
One example of this is the ceramic labs at Lock Haven and Mansfield universities. Bloomsburg does not have a ceramic studio, but there is hope to let students located at their campus to take a summer program at the other campuses to take ceramics.
As far as online classes, Boswell believes they will only expand a student’s education. “You came to Lock Haven because you wanted to be on the Lock Haven campus. We are still emphasizing in-person opportunities as much as possible,” she said.
For any questions, comments or concerns, students can contact Boswell through email at aboswell@commonwealth.edu or her office in Sloan room 105.
Alex Ross
Alex Rossis a third-year Communication student at Lock Haven with a focus in Journalism. This is his second year as an active member of the Eagle Eye and has been the Arts and Entertainment editor, News editor, and an active writer. He focuses on writing reviews for the A&E section, but has written stories for news, sports, and opinions. Outside of the newsroom, Alex enjoys record shopping, reading classic literature, and analyzing films. Alex hopes to work for a film or music news site as a writer or editor after graduation.
