President's Welcome
On the 175th anniversary of the chartering of Marietta College, we celebrate both the timeless values that have made this College great and the adaptability that has given it such longevity. Marietta offers a wide variety of undergraduate programs and masters degrees in three areas—International Corporate Media, Physician Assistant Studies, and Psychology.
Study of the liberal arts—the natural sciences and mathematics, the humanities and arts, and the social sciences —has long been recognized as the best foundation for any career. Through the liberal arts we learn how the universe and the world work, what it means to be human, how individuals and societies interact, and how we express our knowledge, values and feelings. We learn to produce knowledge in a variety of ways, including experimentation and observation, statistical analysis, close reading of texts, and artistic expression. We learn to value different cultures, perspectives, and ways of knowing, to ask probing questions, to evaluate ideas and information, and to speak and write clearly and persuasively.
Every student at Marietta College receives a liberal arts foundation. Many choose a major in one of the liberal arts disciplines while others elect to build on that foundation a major in a professional field such as accounting, sports medicine, education, journalism or petroleum engineering. Whatever their majors may be, we encourage students to deepen and broaden their educations and prepare themselves for graduate school and careers by adding to their classroom study such experiences as internships, and directed research projects with faculty members. The body of knowledge in all disciplines is expanding rapidly and the education that students receive in the classroom and through experiential learning prepares them to be lifelong learners.
Marietta College has four areas of special strength: a strong connection to China, including more than 100 Chinese undergraduate and graduate students, Chinese language and history courses, and opportunities for study abroad; programs in petroleum engineering and environmental science; majors in the basic sciences and mathematics, sports medicine and health science, premedical advising, and a physician assistant masters degree; and the McDonough Center for Leadership and Business, which provides both a liberal arts based study of leadership and leadership development. We encourage all students to take advantage of the presence of these programs to inform themselves about four pressing problems of the early twenty-first century: the development of energy sources and protection of the environment; ordering international and personal relationships in an increasingly global society; healthcare and wellness; and the need for leadership in all aspects of human endeavor. As students do this, they prepare themselves to be leaders in the changing society of the twenty-first century. That is the true purpose of a liberal arts education.
At Marietta College, students are expected to be engaged in their own educations, not to be passive learners. They learn in a variety of interesting ways, via technology, through service learning and internships, in learning communities where groups of students and faculty connect two or more courses around common themes, through study abroad, and of course, through interaction with dedicated faculty and other bright students. They study with faculty members who are experts in their fields and committed teachers. They have opportunities to pursue their personal interests and to develop their leadership skills through athletics, music, theater, student government, publications, and a host of other student activities. They grow and develop as they explore new academic fields, develop intellectual and social self-confidence, and establish their own places in this community.
I invite you to spend time on the Marietta College campus, to meet students and faculty, and to see firsthand what the dynamic experience of a Marietta College education has to offer you.