Dean's Note
Welcome to another edition of Confluence, the annual publication of UMD’s College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences (CAHSS). This issue celebrates the incredible students, faculty, and alumni who are impacting their world. Looking back on the past year, we reflect on how deeply our CAHSS community continues to embody UMD’s core values. Across all of our academic and creative spaces — from classrooms and labs to stages and galleries — we actively co-create an environment that shapes the next generation of skilled professionals, thoughtful creators, and engaged citizens.
Our mission remains anchored in providing a broad education that prepares students to navigate an ever-changing workforce with lifelong adaptability. This past year, CAHSS students applied their classroom knowledge directly to community settings, learning to communicate clearly while tackling complex, collaborative challenges. By fostering intercultural skills and a deep capacity for continuous learning, we give students the framework they need to understand our world and share those insights with others. Thank you all for helping us enrich lives and cultivate culturally rich futures.
Jennifer Brady
Interim Dean, CAHSS
Confluence Articles
One way UMD students cultivate compassion and community is by volunteering together.
To hundreds of thousands on the internet, he’s JAMESG, the dry wit who raps about pressing topics like birds or baldness and pulls off impressive tricks on his Heelys, sometimes while wearing his favorite University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD) gear.
Take a look into the making of One Night in Tarrytown, a groundbreaking VR journey that blends art, technology, and storytelling to bring a virtual world to life at the Tweed Museum of Art, October 28, 2025–February 27, 2026.
On a chilly fall morning, Environment, Sustainability & Geography students gathered at Duluth’s Hartley Nature Center to try pulling off a deception on some troublesome yet beloved residents of the Wet Meadow Pond: the local beavers.
This summer, College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences (CAHSS) student Hilary Pohl received national recognition for a short story written as part of a class assignment.
Held over several weeks in Northeastern Minnesota, the program provides hands-on training in archaeological field methods, blending outdoor exploration with classroom learning and lab analysis.