NEWBERRY — The goal of the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences at Newberry College is to prepare students for critical thinking and purposeful vocation in the global economy.
Dr. Vinneta Witt, chair of the department, said Newberry College students are encouraged by the department to not only do their own research, but to present it at the Carolina Undergraduate Social Science Symposium.
The South Carolina Sociology Association says the Symposium provides undergraduate students with the opportunity to present their research at a professional meeting.
Political Science also falls under the Social and Behavioral Science program. The major offers a mock trial program. Although Political Science majors are encouraged to be a part of the Mock Trial team, the tryouts are open to all students across campus.
The Mindbenders, a student organization in the Social and Behavioral Sciences Department, represents the department through community service, such as volunteering for Newberry County Memorial Hospital and the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life.
The Mindbenders have invited speakers from Westview Behavioral Center, the Department of Social Services and the Department of Juvenile Justice.
Witt said several faculty members are working toward getting a grant for social and behavioral sciences and the department is looking at starting a social research center at Newberry College.
They are also doing an assessment with leaders in the criminal justice field as well as educators at other colleges and universities to explore adding a Criminal Justice major to the department. Newberry College currently has a Criminal Justice minor.
The difference between Newberry College’s Social and Behavioral Sciences Department and those at other schools is the smaller class size and a student-focused environment. Witt said all students are encouraged to participate and present their own research, while at larger schools students may not have that opportunity.
Dr. Steven Schweizer, a professor of political science, described the department as student-centered and research oriented.
“All the faculty in the Social and Behavioral Sciences Department are very much interested in taking the students that we get here and providing them with the education that is going to get them where they want to go,” Schweizer said.
The department’s website lists possible careers as psychologist, judge and law enforcement, among others. The website also lists companies and agencies that have graduates of Newberry College working for them, including former President George H.W. Bush, S.C. Secretary of State’s office, and the U.S. Department of Labor among others.
Schweizer said that about 40 percent of Newberry College’s political science graduates continue on to law school, while the other 60 percent head into the world of business.