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 travel to Paris, France, for the third annual Interdependence Day weekend, September 10-12, 2005. Schneider will participate in an NGO Roundtable on "The Role of Civic, Cultural, Educational, and Religious Organizations in Strengthening Democracy and the Culture of Interdependence."

Esther Merves, AAC&U’s former director of membership, attended the annual American Sociological Association (ASA) meeting August 13-16 in Philadelphia to share information with ASA's new Task Force on Sociology and General Education. The task force will focus on six challenges in general education where sociology does, can, or should play a role: multicultural education/diversity, quantitative literacy, writing-intensive experiences, freshmen survey courses, interdisciplinary seminars, and international/global issues.

AAC&U Vice President of Education and Quality Initiatives Andrea Leskes traveled to Ogden, Utah on August 22 to consult with Weber State University on assessing general education. From September 21-22 she will travel to the University of Connecticut to assist with their General Education Month and give a presentation entitled, "Shifting the Paradigm from Teaching to Learning."