Cal State Adopts New Gen Ed Learning Outcomes Based on LEAP Framework
The California State University system has established new guidelines for general education requirements developed by the CSU Academic Senate and based on the LEAP Essential Learning Outcomes. Upon passage of the new guidelines, CSU Academic Senate Chair John Tarjan noted that “Incorporating the LEAP framework into our general education curriculum should help students to more clearly focus on the skills, ability, and attitudes necessary not only for success in the classroom, but also in their careers, as they engage in lifelong learning, and as they become community leaders.” See what LEAP National Leadership Council members say, the CSU press release, its new general education guidelines, andhow you can get involved with LEAP.
(Posted on 2008-07-02 10:47:48)

AACU Marks Passing of Beloved Liberal Educator Patrick Hill
In a letter to Evergreen State College President Les Purce, AACU President Carol Geary Schneider expressed her condolences to the entire Evergreen family noting that "the entire higher education community has lost one of our most gifted and passionate educational leaders and mentors."  In addition to serving as Provost and Academic Vice President of Evergreen State University, Hill served on the national panel that guided AACU’s American Commitments initiative and was a pioneer in the movement for learning communities -- an educational innovation that continues to spread and improve learning for thousands of college students across the country.  A memorial service will be held on July 2, 2008 at 6 p.m. at Evergreen State University and will be available via  streaming video online.

(Posted on 2008-07-01 15:06:28)

AACU Receives Grant To Improve State-wide General Education Outcomes in California, Oregon, and Wisconsin
AACU received a $560,000 grant from the Carnegie Corporation to develop a multi-state partnership designed to strengthen the quality of undergraduate student learning. Working with public higher education systems in California, Oregon, and Wisconsin, Give Students a Compass will support collaboration to re-map educational aims, practices, and assessment strategies for general education. The project is part of AACU's signature initiative, Liberal Education and America's Promise.
(Posted on 2008-06-30 16:05:46)

Report Recommends Tenure Policy Reforms for the Engaged University

A new report from Imagining America, Scholarship in Public Knowledge Creation and Tenure Policy in the Engaged University, proposes "concrete ways to remove obstacles to academic work carried out for and/or with the public by giving such work full standing as scholarship, research, or artistic creation."  Emerging from the work of the Tenure Team Initiative, among whose 19 members are AACU President Carol Geary Schneider and AACU Senior Scholar R. Eugene Rice, the report is a toolkit for those eager to change the culture surrounding promotion and tenure in the "new academy." 

(Posted on 2008-06-26 15:46:19)

On Campus With Women Addresses Women's Leadership
The latest issue of On Campus With Women explores the power of women’s leadership, action, and advocacy to transform the greater political field in which women operate.
(Posted on 2008-06-20 16:54:14)

AAC&U News Summer Issue Features Entreprenuerial Education at University of Rochester
The June/July issue of AAC&U News features entrepreneurial education at the University of Rochester; new findings on students' political views; a commentary on veterans and liberal education; and the latest news about AAC&U meetings, projects, podcasts, and publications.
(Posted on 2008-06-20 16:04:10)

Oshkosh Faculty Senate Approves New Learning Outcomes
The Faculty Senate at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh has passed a new set of student learning outcomes based on the Essential Learning Outcomes of LEAP. The specific UW-Oshkosh outcomes were developed by the University's Liberal Education Reform Team and Resource Group, comprised of faculty, staff, and students. Upon approval, UW-Oshkosh Chancellor Richard H. Wells noted that "we need to deliver a strong, intentional liberal education if our students are to succeed in this ever-changing global century." Learn more about LEAP and how to get involved.
(Posted on 2008-06-18 15:47:00)

College Board Report Challenges Ethnic Stereotypes about Academic Success
“Fact, Not Fiction,” published in collaboration with the National Commission on Asian American and Pacific Islander Research in Education, investigates the “model minority” stereotype often associated with AAPI students.  AAC&U Vice President for Education and Institutional Renewal Alma Clayton-Pedersen was a member of the commission, and she was quoted in the New York Times article about the report, saying, “The notion of lumping all people into a single category and assuming they have no needs is wrong… it’s almost like the reverse of what happened to African-Americans.”  You can read the press release and find the full report at the College Board’s Web site.
(Posted on 2008-06-18 15:45:00)

44 Colleges and Universities Send Faculty to Civic Seminar Co-Sponsored by AAC&U and the Aspen Institute
Forty-eight faculty members will attend the Wye Faculty Seminar on Citizenship and the American Polity July 19-25, 2008, on the Aspen Wye campus in Queenstown, Maryland.  Selected by the presidents of their institutions because of their distinctive contributions to the quality of liberal education, these faculty members will study together the broad issues of civic engagement, individual rights and responsibilities both nationally and globally, and the public purposes of education in a democracy.  AAC&U and the Aspen Institute have been cosponsoring the seminar since 1991. Learn more about the seminar on the Aspen Institute’s Web site or fread the AAC&U press release.
(Posted on 2008-06-18 15:19:00)

AAC&U Appoints Public Health Expert Marian Osterweis as New Senior Fellow
Marian Osterweis will be working with AAC&U's Office of Diversity, Equity, and Global Initiatives on its Educated Citizen and Public Health Initiative. This project, which recently received a grant from the Macy Foundation, provides resources to assist faculty in developing high quality public health curricula to deliver essential liberal education learning to undergraduates. Previously, Osterweis was the Executive Vice President of the Association of Academic Health Centers (AHC) from 1989 to 2006. Read the press release at aacu.org/press_room/press_releases/2008/osterweis.cfm, and learn more about the Educated Citizen and Public Health Initiative at aacu.org/public_health.
(Posted on 2008-06-04 11:43:11)

Spring Issue of AAC&U's Liberal Education Examines Undergraduate Science Education
In the new issue of AAC&U's flagship journal, Liberal Education, James Trefil addresses the curricular and pedagogical issues related to teaching non-majors, Jean Narum explores developments in the undergraduate STEM learning environment, and Eduardo J. Padron looks at accountability and assessments. Read these articles and more at aacu.org/liberaleducation.
(Posted on 2008-05-28 16:18:00)

Fred Winter Appointed Senior Director of Advancement and Leadership Development
On May 28th, AAC&U announced the appointment of Frederick A. Winter as senior director of advancement and leadership development. Winter will oversee advancement efforts in support of AAC&U's LEAP initiative and its other strategic priorities. In addition, Winter will serve as a member of the LEAP leadership team and will work with the president and other senior staff to develop national leadership to ensure an expanding pool of champions for liberal education--including influential leaders from the business and philanthropic communities. Read the press release on his appointment at aacu.org/press_room/press_releases/2008/winter.cfm, learn more about The Leadership Fund for Liberal Education at aacu.org/advocacy/leap/fund.cfm, and learn about other ways to get involved with LEAP at aacu.org/advocacy/leap/how_to_get_involved.cfm.
(Posted on 2008-05-28 16:00:00)

LEAP Leadership Council Member Applauds Liberal Education for Community College Graduates
Wisconsin Lieutenant Governor and LEAP National Leadership Council member Barbara Lawton gave the commencement address at University of Wisconsin-Baraboo/Sauk County on Sunday, May 18, telling students that "creativity is one of the last legal ways to gain an unfair advantage over your opponents." For more information on Lawton's ongoing commitment to extending the advantages of a liberal education to all students, read a transcript of her 2005 speech to the Wisconsin Board of Regents at aacu.org/advocacy/documents/lawtonspeech.cfm, listen to the podcast of Lawton's plenary address at AAC&U's 2006 Annual Meeting at aacu.org/Podcast/am06_podcasts.cfm, and read the article she wrote for AAC&U's Liberal Education at aacu.org/liberaleducation/le-su06/le-su06_LEAP.cfm.
(Posted on 2008-05-20 12:44:00)

Honorary Degree from College of Wooster for AAC&U President
Carol Geary Schneider received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from AAC&U founding member, The College of Wooster on Monday. Speaking at Wooster's commencement ceremony, Schneider praised Wooster for taking "the high road rather than the easy road." She noted that their celebrated independent study requirement "is the best signal to employers that [students] can take a single project and work through those dark nights to get it done." The College of Wooster has been active in many AAC&U initiatives, including Liberal Education and America's Promise; Wooster's new president, Grant Cornwell, is also the co-author of AAC&U's publication, Globalizing Knowledge: Connecting International and Intercultural Studies. Learn more and order the book at secure.aacu.org.
(Posted on 2008-05-14 17:37:00)

The New Issue of Peer Review Focuses on Academic Advising
The latest issue of Peer Review addresses the role of academic advising in undergraduate education with a special focus on general education goals and the documentation of the achievement of student learning outcomes. Read the issue online at aacu.org/peer_review.
(Posted on 2008-05-01 17:36:00)