Words fall short when trying to describe the liberal arts. So rather than try to bundle more than 30 diverse disciplines into a single narrative, the U’s College of Liberal Arts (CLA) called on photographer Xavier Tavera to tell the story. Tavera, ’17 M.F.A., a recipient of donor-funded fellowships during his time at the U, spent a year shooting 60 life-sized portraits of the people who are the liberal arts—students, scholars, faculty, graduates, donors—for the college’s  150th anniversary. “Every single character in this project contributes to an essential part of CLA,” he wrote. 

On Purpose: Portrait of the Liberal Arts is on display at the Katherine E. Nash Gallery through December 8.  The entire collection is available online.