INFORMATION FOR
The College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences is the largest college at William Paterson University, and home to a diverse population of more than 3,000 students. Our programs provide insight into the past and explore solutions for the future, enabling our students to build their careers, pursue advanced academic studies, and empower positive change.
We offer a wide range of outstanding programs in the visual and performing arts, communication arts, and the humanities and social sciences. Students have the opportunity to work closely with a dedicated faculty of teacher-scholars including many Fulbright fellows and others of international prominence who bring real-world experience to the classroom. In our college there are extensive opportunities for artistic creation, performance, scholarship, study abroad, and hands-on learning as a part of your academic experience.
Our internship program is designed to provide career experience that helps you connect your current educational program to your future as a successful professional. Students also benefit from state-of-the-art resources ranging from HD television broadcast studios, animation and game design labs to recording studios and a social media lab, among others. They can also participate in college conferences, academic clubs, and honor societies.
We are home to a number of signature experiences that make us unique in New Jersey and to students around the nation and world, including our internationally renowned—jazz studies program and our award-winning campus radio station, 88.7 WPSC/Brave New Radio (named “College Radio Station of the Year” by the National Association of Broadcasters).
Dean, College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
EMAIL: davisw@wpunj.edu
PHONE: 973-720-2731
OFFICE: Atrium 260
Associate Dean, College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
EMAIL: razzorel@wpunj.edu
PHONE: 973-720-3282
Interim Associate Dean, College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
EMAIL: macdonaldp@wpunj.edu
PHONE: 973-720-3036
Bill Charlap, the acclaimed pianist and director of jazz studies at William Paterson University, teams up with bass giant Christian McBride and drum master Kenny Washington for a concert of sublime jazz trio music at the highest level on Sunday, October 11 as part of the fall 2026 Jazz Room series on campus.
The concert, which begins at at 3:00 p.m. in the Shea Center for Performing Arts on campus, is sponsored by Barbara Thoen in honor of her husband Wayne Thoen.
Other fall series performers include the Art Blakey Alumni Band: Carl Allen’s Messengers of Jazz on Sunday, November 1, and saxophonist Bob Mintzer with the WP Jazz Orchestra on Sunday, November 22. All concerts begin at 3:00 p.m.
Tickets for this concert are $36 for the general public, and $33 for WP faculty, staff, alumni, and senior citizens. WP students are admitted free with ID. The concert will be preceded by “Sittin’ In,” the Jazz Room’s accompanying “meet the artist” concert preview featuring interviews with jazz artists and guest speakers. This informal discussion, free to all Jazz Room ticketholders, begins at 2:00 p.m., one hour prior to the concert, in Shea Recital Hall 101. For tickets or additional information, visit wp-presents.org, or contact the Shea Center Box Office at 973.720.2371 or boxoffice@wpunj.edu.
Pianist Bill Charlap has performed with many of the leading artists of our time including Wynton Marsalis, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Ron Carter, Phil Woods, Gerry Mulligan and Tony Bennett. He won a 2016 Grammy for Best Traditional Pop vocal Album for Tony Bennett and Bill Charlap: The Silver Lining, The Songs of Jerome Kern, and has been nominated for four more Grammys, including his 2025 album with vocalist Dee Dee Bridgewater, Elemental. Charlap joined William Paterson University in 2015 as director of its internationally known Jazz Studies Program, now in its 53rd year. He tours all over the world, and his annual New York engagements include appearances at Jazz at Lincoln Center and the Village Vanguard. From 2004 through 2023, he was artistic director of New York City’s Jazz in July Festival at 92NY. He has produced concerts for Jazz at Lincoln Center, the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, the Chicago Symphony Center, and the Hollywood Bowl. Among the honorees at 92NY’s 2025 gala, he received Jazz at Lincoln Center’s 2024 Award for Artistic Excellence.
Bassist Christian McBride is one of the most preeminent musicians of his time. Over the last three decades, the 11-time Grammy winner is known as a dynamic musician and recording artist, a prolific composer-arranger-producer, a distinguished curator of culture, and a dedicated educator and mentor. A prolific bandleader, McBride’s ensembles are each distinctive extensions of his tremendous creative inspiration, which span and synthesize straight-ahead, experimental, free-leaning jazz, funk, soul, Latin, hip hop, and rhythm and blues. His celebrated groups — Inside Straight, The Christian McBride Big Band, Ursa Major, Christian McBride’s New Jawn, The Christian McBride Trio, and A Christian McBride Situation — have not only enjoyed consistent critical acclaim, but they have also emphasized his role as an early presenter of rising stars, like saxophonist Nicole Glover, pianist Christian Sands, vibraphonist Warren Wolf, and drummer Ulysses Owens Jr. McBride also hosts NPR’s public radio program Jazz Night in America as well as The Lowdown: Conversations with Christian on SiriusXM. He is artistic director of the National Jazz Museum in Harlem, the TD James Moody Jazz Festival, the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, and Jazz House Kids.
Drummer Kenny Washington is renowned as one of the most enlightened and proficient performers and teachers of the art of jazz drumming. Arriving on the scene in 1977, Washington has been in constant demand and has performed and recorded with many legendary artists including Lee Konitz, Betty Carter, Johnny Griffin, Dizzy Gillespie, Clark Terry, George Cables, Benny Goodman, Lionel Hampton, Sonny Stitt, James Spaulding, Phil Woods, Bill Charlap, Ahmad Jamal, Lena Horne, Tony Bennett, Milt Jackson, Bobby Watson, Curtis Lundy, and, Tommy Flanagan, to name a few. Washington has taught at Juilliard, SUNY Purchase, and New York University, and continues to share his knowledge with hundreds of students each year.
William Paterson University has been a flagship of jazz education for more than 50 years and is recognized nationally and internationally for its Jazz Studies Program and nationally acclaimed Jazz Room series of concerts each fall and spring.
The Jazz Room series is the longest-running program of its kind in the United States. Launched in 1978, the Jazz Room has welcomed more than 500 jazz legends to the stage, including Sonny Rollins, Wynton Marsalis, Wayne Shorter, Joe Williams, Marian McPartland, Slide Hampton, Kenny Burrell, Joe Lovano, Kenny Garrett, Clark Terry, Michael and Randy Brecker, the Vanguard Orchestra, and more. Concerts have encompassed the entire spectrum of jazz, from early jazz and swing to avant garde, and from intimate solo performances to big bands.
The performance series provides support for the University’s internationally renowned Jazz Studies Program, founded in 1973. The program draws students from across the United States and abroad under the current direction of Grammy Award-winning pianist Bill Charlap.
The Jazz Room at William Paterson University has been made possible, in part, by funds from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts. WBGO 88.3 FM serves as media sponsor for the series.
The Center for Chinese Art at William Paterson University is dedicated to preserving and sharing the artistic heritage of China and integrating its rich tradition into the University's curriculum. Students will not only have the opportunity to view Chinese art, but draw upon its philosophy and incorporate its techniques in order to participate effectively in the increasingly global world of visual arts.
Combining coursework dedicated to the rigorous investigation of art with a broad spectrum of the most current tools and technology yields artworks that push the limits of the imagination. The activities and technology at the Center for New Art support and supplement the Art Department curriculum while also extending to other departments within the University.
"At William Paterson, I had the opportunity to get research experiences during my undergraduate studies, and that's kind of rare. I also have amazing professors who push you because they want you to be successful. They really want to help--they're not just leaving you out there alone. I really like that and feel supported here."
Sidal Yurt Earned her BA in psychology at WP in 2023 and continuing for her MA and PsyD in clinical psychology International Student from Turkey
"William Paterson was such a great force and inspiration to finding what I want to do in life. It's opened so many doors for me and allowed me to see my potential. Now that I see it, I'm going to run with it."
Justyn Chapman Double Major in Popular Music Studies and Public Relations | Class of 2023
"The resources here are top notch. William Paterson has hidden gems throughout the campus and the classrooms—resources that can really help a person grow and develop, not just in academics but also in their professional life."
Hosanna Nitro Communication/ Public Relations Major | Class of 2023
"The professors here have pushed me to grow as an individual. They encouraged me to take part in class discussions and debates, helping me go from shy and reserved to someone who speaks up and is willing to challenge herself. As a result, I was able to take part in a prestigious internship for a U.S. Congresswoman, where I recruited volunteers, participated in voter turnout events, and learned a great deal about re-election campaigns. I cannot thank my professors enough."
Dhruvisha Patel Political science, litigation paralegal at DiFrancesco, Bateman, Kunzman, Davis, Lehrer & Flaum, PC | Class of 2023
