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The Department of Fine and Applied Arts came into existence in 1972, and was was preceded by the Department of Fine Arts in the years prior. The Department of Fine and Applied Arts was chaired by David J. Peterkin for the years 1972-1978. Courses included within the department included Theatre and the Performing Arts, Drawing, Sculpting, Music, Music Theory, and Graphic Design. Beginning in 1982, the Department of Fine and Applied Arts was moved under the jurisdiction of the Department of Humanities.

It should be noted that there is limited information in the Douglas College Archives regarding the department titles from the years 1979-1981.

The Department of English and Communications was created at the outset of Douglas College’s history in 1970, and was responsible for the administration, program design, and instruction of courses on English language speaking, writing, and reading skills, as well the performing arts (until 1972).

The department was chaired by several individuals during the years 1970-1996, including Robert W. Lowe (1971-1978), Howard Leslie Eaton (1982-1984), John Niel Fairlie (1984-1986), Maurice J. Hodgson (1988-1991), and Lorna McCallum (1991-1996). In 1986, it was renamed to Department of English and Basic Communications. In the following year (1987), the department reverted to its original title of Department of English and Communications, a title which it kept until 1997. In 1997, a restructuring of the college’s departments created the Faculty of Language, Literature, and Performing Arts, which included the Department of English and Communications.

For the academic years 1986-1987, the Department of English and Communications was renamed to the Department of English and Basic Communications. It maintained the areas of study it was responsible for, including English speaking and reading skills, and Communications courses. The following academic year (1988), its name was reverted back to the Department of English and Communications, which it maintained until a restructuring of the College faculties in 1997.

The Department of Arts and Humanities, formed in 1983, was previously known as the Department of Humanities for the academic year 1982-1983. Its title was changed to reflect the inclusion of both the Performing and Fine Arts courses, which included Theatre, Performance and Movement, Painting, Sculpting, and Drawing. The Department of Arts and Humanities retained its title from 1983 until a reorganization at the College created a new Faculty structure in 1997.

The Performing and Fine Arts courses were shifted to the Faculty of Language, Literature, and Performing Arts, while the courses in the Humanities and Social Sciences (Philosophy, History, Psychology) were moved to the new Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences.

Debbie Schachter served as the Director of Learning Resources at Douglas College from 2011 to 2017. Prior to joining the College, Schachter held administrative positions at the Vancouver Public Library and the B.C. Courthouse Library Society. She received a Master of Library Science (MLS) from the University of British Columbia in 1990 and a Management of Technology MBA from Simon Fraser University in 2002.