In the fall of 2021, two colleges at West Liberty University (WLU) merged to create the College of Liberal and Creative Arts (CoLCA.) The two colleges that combined were the College of Liberal Arts and the College of Arts and Communication.

Dr. Cecilia Konchar Farr, the dean of CoLCA, arrived at WLU right after the colleges merged. “When the unification of the two colleges was announced last year, there was a lot going on and many of us felt that it [CoLCA] didn’t get the spotlight it deserved.”

To honor the new college and the merging of students and faculty between majors and minors, a week dedicated to CoLCA, “CoLCA Celebration Week”, will take place from April 18-24, 2022. “This is our chance to let our alumni and friends as well as students, staff and faculty know that CoLCA is here and ready to innovate, explore, research and create as one cohesive body under the banner of the arts.” Dr. Konchar Farr invites the entire university community to join in celebrating the unification. “All of our CoLCA week events are open to everyone.”

CoLCA Celebration week will consist of events each day to spotlight majors and the hard work executed throughout the college. “We will be launching the new student literary and art journal, Threshold, hosting scholar Dr. Jeremy McCool for a lecture on “The Silencing of Socially Conscious Music in America” –the annual Hughes Lecture, staging several vocal and instrumental performances, opening the senior exhibition in the Nutting Gallery, among other events.” Dr. Konchar Farr noted that they are anticipating a bomb-sniffing dog to visit campus for a program with the Criminal Justice Society, a program within CoLCA. “On the Friday (April 22) of CoLCA Celebration Week, we will have a party on the quad from 2- 4 p.m. with cake.” As of now, the dates of the events in place are tentative but will be set soon.

“The faculty and students in CoLCA are very active most of the time with performances, lectures and art exhibitions. What we did was channel a lot of these events into one week as a way of showcasing all of the various disciplines and contributions to the university,” said Dr. Konchar Farr. She emphasized that CoLCA is a large and diverse college that covers most of the courses in the general education curriculum, as well as majors and minors in everything from criminal justice to theater. Unlike any other college home to WLU, every student comes through CoLCA at some point in their college career at WLU in order to graduate.

Dr. Konchar Farr explained that CoLCA week creates the opportunity to let the larger community know about WLU’s longstanding commitment to the traditional liberal and creative arts disciplines. “CoLCA represents legacy programs–music and oil painting were taught in WLU’s very first school year, literary societies and theatrical performances started over 100 years ago and essay contests and student publications have been around at least since 1889. But we aren’t just legacy programs. We have been the site of innovation too with our graphic design and broadcasting majors.”

“CoLCA cultivates curiosity and creativity,” said Dr. Konchar Farr. “We may be a small school on a hill but we shine brighter than places twice our size with outstanding professors advising and mentoring students in the arts, social sciences and humanities.”

The mission of CoLCA is to “provide liberal arts courses and curricula of the highest possible quality, with the ultimate goal of preparing all WLU students to become rational, well-informed and engaged global citizens, prepared for success in advanced academic studies of their careers.”

For more information on the set dates for CoLCA Celebration week, visit https://westliberty.edu/liberal-arts/events/, or contact Dr. Konchar Farr at [email protected].