Chapman University enters a new, critical phase with the establishment of the Schmid College of Science and with the hiring of a group of prominent scientists. The group forms an interdisciplinary team, with strong emphasis in computational science but also excellent reputation in theory and observations. The field of computational science is the third side of the triangle of modern science, the other two being theory and experiments/observations. Chapman had already had a dedicated group of faculty in these areas, with both teaching and research accomplishments, and had begun to move in earnest in the direction of computational science. The hiring of the computational science team gives us an opportunity to launch forward and help establish the national and international credentials of Chapman. We aim in excellence in everything we do: A prime example in point, we are proud that the world wide news organization, Thomson Reuters has named our renown faculty Yakir Aharonov as one of the “Citation Laureates”, researchers who are most likely to receive a Nobel Prize in the coming years.

Modern science by its nature cuts across different fields and is global in nature. A vision for the future requires bold steps to give our students the opportunities they need to not just obtain a good education but also to have the training to compete in an ever more competitive, global world; while at the same time preserving and enhancing the excellence of Chapman that is based on focused, individualized study. The vision for the Schmid College of Science cannot by definition cover all science. No top science university in the country or the world does everything. But it has to assure that what we do, even if limited, is the best. For us to become established as a serious player in modern science, it requires interdisciplinary approaches and excellence at every level of our collective educational enterprise, undergraduate as well as graduate. Spires of excellence focusing in the team's strengths and complementing the best of science at Chapman will have to be focused on, specifically: hazards and the environment, from regional to global change; applications of quantum theory; integrated biology that spans computational applications, biomedical and health issues. The already existing strengths in physical therapy, psychology, computer science, biology and biochemistry and environmental science, as well as a focused food science program that addresses global issues, will provide interesting, unique and interdisciplinary approaches for which Chapman will be internationally known. How we communicate the science we do, from the global environment to the health programs; building the right bridges to other excellence at Chapman, such as the ESI group, the Argyros School of Business and Economics, the Dodge College of Film & Media Arts, the Wilkinson College of Humanities & Social Sciences, the College of Educational Studies, for increasing our common strengths and new opportunities, to just mention a few prospects, will also have to be seriously explored. Strengthening and expanding our undergraduate offerings, new graduate programs that bridge our strengths in undergraduate education to the Masters level, as well as a new "flagship" doctoral program in computational science, will be the educational means to move forward. Research labs and centers will have to complement the research side to give our students and faculty new opportunities. Last but not least, we will have to find the private and public funding and resources to build and expand our programs and move to the building of the science complex on the West Campus. These are ambitious plans and we may not accomplish everything we set to do. But we at least will have to try. This is our mission and approach.

With the international and interdisciplinary focus and efforts, we will also have to look carefully at what works and what hampers our efforts. Traditional "stove piping" and boundaries between disciplines that prevent faculty from crossing into other fields, preventing students from acquiring a truly global perspective, and preventing faculty and students from working closely together, cannot be encouraged. We will have to look at honest possibilities to allow us to work closely with each other and to maximize our resources. Last but not least, procedures and rules that slow down the efforts of faculty, researchers and students, that prevent or limit our international focus, and have no compelling "raison d'être" by themselves, will also have to be looked at seriously. It will take some doing and the road will not be without bumps, but with the shared vision, support from the top administration, and the enthusiasm that characterizes the New Chapman, we will succeed. The Schmid College of Science is the most recent and clearly a very important Chapman experiment to the future.