AAC&U News | May 02 | On The Road

May, 2002

AAC&U officers and staff regularly travel throughout the country, and occasionally the world, to speak and consult at AAC&U member schools through seminars, institutes, and workshops as well as in more informal gatherings. AAC&U staff also regularly speak on the value of liberal education at various media and public affairs events. These meetings are an opportunity for the membership to influence the direction of AAC&U's initiatives. We look forward to seeing you the next time we are on your campus.

AAC&U President Carol Geary Schneider will be a guest speaker at Temple University's spring 2002 College of Liberal Arts Curriculum Conference, "Strengthening Learning Across Majors: Writing, Sequencing, and Capstone Innovations" on May 16th.

Debra Humphreys, vice president for Communications and Public Affairs, participated in the first of three dialogues organized as part of the Kellogg Forum on Higher Education and the Public Good. The Forum is designed to increase awareness, understanding, commitment, and action relative to the public service role of higher education in the United States. This first dialogue, held at the Wye Woods Conference Center in Queenstown, MD, focused on the question: What are the roles that public understanding, public support, and public policy play in reflecting and shaping the covenant between higher education and society?

AAC&U is also collaborating with the Kellogg Forum on a meeting with state legislators co-sponsored with the Center for Policy Alternatives scheduled for September in Washington, DC to discuss this topic with that important constituency. For information about the Kellogg Forum on Higher Education for the Public Good, see www.kelloggforum.org.

Daniel Teraguchi, program and research associate for AAC&U's office of Diversity, Equity, and Global Initiatives presented his paper, "Investing in Asian American Studies: Ensuring Its Future," at the Association of Asian American Studies annual conference in Salt Lake City from April 24 - 28, 2002. The presentation suggests incorporating more leadership theory and frameworks into Asian American studies curricula to increase students' capacity to lead and administer ethnic studies programs. A variety of diversity-related initiatives in higher education and/or in the community were also included. For more information on the Association of Asian American studies, visit www.aaastudies.org/opening_fs.html.

Caryn McTighe Musil, vice president for Diversity, Equity, and Global Initiative, participated in the American Council on Education's Office of Women in Higher Education Commission meeting in Washington, DC on April 19, 2002. AAC&U is collaborating with the American Council on Education (ACE) on the National Initiative for Women in Higher Education (see News & Events in this issue for more information on this initiative.)

Alma Clayton-Pedersen, AAC&U's vice president of the Office of Education and Institutional Renewal and Caryn McTighe Musil attended Mildred Garcìa's inauguration as President of Berkeley College in New York, NY on April 24. President Garcìa, first in her family to graduate from college, chose as the theme for her series of inaugural activities, "Access to Success," which is a deeply held commitment of AAC&U. President Garcìa has a long association with AAC&U through her leadership on campus diversity initiatives. She has served as a consultant for AAC&U's Asheville Institute on General Education and co-authored a number of AAC&U's publications with Dr. Musil including Diversity in Higher Education: A Work in Progress; To Form a More Perfect Union: Campus Diversity Initiatives; and A Diversity Research Agenda; and Assessing Campus Diversity Initiatives.

AAC&U Senior Fellow Edgar Beckham and Dr. Musil consulted with the Advisory Board of the Bildner Foundation in Newark, New Jersey, during the selection process for a new statewide Campus Diversity Initiative. Higher education institutions throughout New Jersey were invited to submit proposals and eight institutions were ultimately selected for the project. Under the aegis of the Bildner Foundation, the Office of Diversity, Equity and Global Initiatives will organize a four-day summer institute at Princeton in June for the Bildner institutional teams, assist the eight schools over the three-year life of the project, and work with Allen and Joan Bildner to create momentum for comprehensive change in the New Jersey colleges to create graduates who are better informed about diversity, more committed to eliminating prejudice and bigotry, and more skilled at building strong communities in our diverse democracy.

Esther Merves, AAC&U director for Membership, visited Wilson College's "Center for Sustainable Living" April 12. The center, located in Chambersburg, PA, is an environmental studies program complete with a 100-acre farm. Dr. Merves also learned about a unique model program called "Women with Children Program," an initiative that allows single mothers the opportunity to experience a residential college setting. Single mothers with their children live on campus in college housing and experience a liberal arts education.

On April 20, Noreen O'Connor, AAC&U's Web editor, moderated a panel entitled "Historical Cleansing: Parents, the Government, the Press" at the fifth annual Composition and Cultural Studies Conference for Student Writers held at George Washington University. The conference gives first-year composition students the chance to present their work to and engage in question and answer sessions with faculty, fellow students, and the community. The full program, with abstracts and links to student papers is available at http://www.gwu.edu/~english/ccsc.