Message from the President

Dear Student:

Congratulations and welcome to Chapman University! You are joining the company of an esteemed group - those who have chosen Chapman to prepare them for success in their careers and on their life paths. Whether you are a first-year or transfer student, or are returning to your studies at Chapman, in this catalog you will find a great deal of information to guide your educational journey. Study it carefully and to work closely with your advisor in developing your academic plan.

As you choose your courses for each semester, we invite you to be open to learning about new and different things. Do not resist a particular class that you are encouraged or required to take because it strikes you as irrelevant to your major. You may not immediately see its relevance. It often requires the distillation of time to fully understand the interconnectedness of various disciplines and appreciate the way a liberal education will open your mind and lead you to ask the right questions, to think a problem through and to reach informed and meaningful conclusions. Our goal at Chapman is not only to prepare you for a job and livelihood, but also to prepare you for your career and your life.

Toward that end, a Chapman education is about more than academics. We educate the whole person through a focus on what we call the “Four Pillars”: the intellectual, physical, social and spiritual dimensions of life.

You will see representations of these four pillars around the campus - at the front of Memorial Hall, for example, and at the main entrance to our Leatherby Libraries. The most visual symbolization of the four pillars is the Marion Halfacre Fountain, the dramatic focal point of our Fahmy Attallah Piazza.

Each pillar of the Marion Halfacre Fountain is inscribed with the words of Fahmy Attallah - poet, psychologist and friend of Chapman - from his book Beauty of Being. I hope you will make a point of reading his verses during your time at Chapman.

On behalf of the entire Chapman University faculty, please accept our best wishes. I look forward to meeting you on campus and sharing in your continued growth and professional development.

Daniele C. Struppa
President