Northwestern State University’s College of Arts and Sciences (COAS) has developed a faculty collaboration incubator called CREATE – the Center for Research, Education, and Artistic Teamwork Exploration. CREATE is a place for faculty/staff/students to share ideas for collaboration and to establish and nurture professional working relationships that are necessary to produce outstanding, interdisciplinary activity.

Faculty within the COAS strive to provide all Northwestern State students with an undergraduate experience rich in transformational, high-impact, experiential learning practices, research, and service with the goal of equipping students with the skills needed to reason and analyze as well as express their creativity and thoughts in preparation for post-baccalaureate life. The ability of our faculty to provide these meaningful experiences to our students is intimately related to their ability to sustain their drive to maintain their own creative and educational practices. This means that for the COAS to thrive, we must support the mentoring and professional development of our faculty and assist them in acquiring the resources needed to assist those conscious-minded faculty remain inspired and energized by their work for and with each other and our students. CREATE seeks to provide that support!

Each academic year, CREATE sponsors several collaborative projects spearheaded by faculty within the COAS. Some of those collaborative projects are highlighted here.