“Art is community, it’s interactive, it’s cross-disciplinary. It’s not meant to be siloed”. This is a quote from Richard Lubben, the Dean of Arts and Letters here at COS. It’s a short quote and taken simply from conversation, yet it serves as a succinct and important message, recommendation, and encouragement for anyone with an artistic inclination. While there’s nothing wrong with exploring art in and of itself or by yourself, expression thrives through social outreach. As with writing and communication, our interpretations are built, spliced, and supplanted by new information and analysis provided by our friends, families, professors, and even deans. It can certainly feel intimidating to share your work with others, but the community-first focus of COS means a much more personal and supportive system when you do.
Born in Corning, CA, and raised from age five through 18 in Quincy CA, Lubben began his college career at Sacramento State, though in a somewhat different field. Having initially pursued sports, he made the Sacramento State Basketball team and moved between Sacramento and Cabrillo College in Santa Cruz before moving to Mexico for his graduate studies. Eventually, Lubben would move to Visalia and begin his career at COS in 2018.
After working in education for about three decades, Lubben is no stranger to the experiences of students and professors. Even so, he’s responsive to the vast changes that are happening within colleges and universities. When asked about working as a professor, he notes: “I first started at the university level. I remember my first class, I showed up and they gave me a piece of chalk. No book, no directions, no syllabus. . . I think here, there’s a lot more support. Usually, when we have a new hire, we give them resources, syllabi, we talk about equity initiatives, try to find them a faculty friend to kind of mentor and help them.”
A similar story can be told about how student support has changed. “Back in the late ’80s, there was very little support. Tutoring centers weren’t really available, at least none that I was ever told about. Here we have the writing center, we have the tutorial center. . . and I’ve heard great feedback”, he says.
Lubben has been the recipient of many educational and professional accolades, including having worked as a Fulbright visiting research chair in Human Rights and Social Justice. He’s also worked with the University of Ottawa, Canada, in the curation and collaboration of art exhibits.
When he isn’t at COS, Lubben spends his time with family, gardening, traveling, and painting. If you’d like to see his artwork, be sure to visit http://www.richardlubben.com/
To sign off, he leaves a message to students: “Education is a process. It’s continual, much like writing and creating art. It’s a process like revision, and with revision, there are mistakes and challenges that go along, that’s just the process. You shouldn’t feel discouraged if something doesn’t work out like you plan, because it’s a continual exercise of adjusting and making changes.”
If you feel like you’re facing some challenges, visit the Tutorial Center for more information on services like tutoring, math labs, writing centers, and more: https://catalog.cos.edu/student-services/tutorial-services/
