By Lara Cooper
Voice Staff Writer
Dr. Leroy Laverman isn’t teaching any ordinary chemistry class. As he scrawls out formulas and equations, most of his students are taking copious notes — several even indugling in a late breakfast — but all are attentive.
The classroom has several bookcases, filled with heady titles like “Theory of Fourier Integrals” and “Meromorphic Functions.” The books sit next to a few board games and an M.C. Escher print faces a mathematics award plaque on the opposite wall. It’s the quirky juxtapositions like this that make you realize you’re not in any ordinary classroom.
The College of Creative Studies, which is marking its 40th anniversary this year, is a haven for some of UCSB’s brainiest, and brightest, undergraduate students. Heralding itself as a “graduate school for undergraduates,” the college admits motivated students who will focus on research study and extensive projects while taking core classes in their respective fields.
The program began in 1967 when then-Chancellor Vernon Cheadle and asked Marvin Mudrick, an English professor, to oversee it.
“At that juncture, UCSB was looking to distinguish itself,” said Bruce Tiffney, CCS dean.
Today the program has more than 300 students, and still seeks to distinguish itself from other colleges. The building itself — painted a bright yellow — stands out from the rest of the campus.
“Sometimes I listen to tour groups go by and they say, 'There’s the college for geniuses,’” he said. But the college distinguishes itself in different ways, not just academics.
“The operative phrase here is a passion,” Tiffney said, pointing out that the students attending CCS are highly self-motivated.
“They could come in with real passion for sharks they don’t know about and want to research ... or something as broad as astrophysics.” he said. “We give them the coursework and the background as quickly as we can so they can start contributing.”
Tiffney said the program encourages students to “rigorously explore or even modify a field of knowledge.”
It’s not easy to get in, nor is it for everyone.
SAT scores and transcripts are not the only thing that CCS faculty look at when they meet as a committee to decide who to admit to the college. Samples of work, letters of recommendation and a letter of intent are also required. The students are accepted into UCSB first, and then can apply for CCS and are admitted only if they have a specific area of study in mind. Tiffney said it’s not for the student who is interested in everything; those accepted must enter the program with a focus. He called it a “portal” between traditional degrees.
The program has eight disciplines: Art, Biology, Chemistry & Biochemistry, Computer Science, Literature, Mathematics, Music Composition and Physics, which are usually guided by professors from cognate departments. They usually divide their time equally between CCS and their respective departments, even if it can add up to double duty.
“The faculty gravitate to this because they are working with students that are motivated,” Tiffney said.
“It’s about giving students opportunities to reach their potential; to become creators of knowledge rather than simply consumers,” Laverman said.
He said the close faculty mentorship and advising is key to the success of CCS.
“Every student is assigned a faculty advisor in their area of study. ... In practice I see many of my advisees weekly or in some cases almost daily.”
The early start in research is a highpoint and many students take on significant projects as early as their freshman year. It’s not unusual for undergraduate students to have their research published in scientific journals, Laverman said.
“One of our current juniors has three publications to her name and I suspect more are on the way. A graduating senior helped develop a useful reagent for organic chemistry that is currently being sold commercially by the Aldrich chemical company,” he said.
So where do CCS students end up going to graduate school?
“The short answer is wherever they wanted,” said Laverman. “Most of our students get admitted to multiple top graduate programs and must make a difficult decision as to which school to choose. This year we have two students going to MIT and another going to UC Berkeley.”
Tiffney described a student who came into the program really interested in how new species arose, and trained in plant biology. She’s now studying at the Imperial College in London, working towards her doctorate.
Laverman said CCS differs from other programs because of the freedom to research.
“Students in other colleges also take on undergraduate research but often not to the extent that our students achieve,” he said. The program coursework is accelerated and specifically blocks out spaces of time for students to devote to research.
Scott Strutner, a freshman in mehcnical engineering, said that the CCS coursework has challenged him. He said that CCS is more student oriented than his other larger classes, and said he valued lots of interaction, and pacing with the students.
“The ability to customize a degree is very appealing,” he said. “I would like to learn chemistry, and know already what I want to focus in. CCS would allow me to specialize my degree as an undergrad.” The rigorous requirements for CCS allow those in it to be known as solid scholars and driven students,” he said.
The faculty take pride and pleasure in the program, too.
“It was a delight to have students that were really interested in what I was doing,” Tiffney said about his experience with CCS students in the classroom. “I come in and do it and because these are really fine students and I love it,” he said.