Register Now for April Network Meeting on Effective Educational Practices

The final Network for Academic Renewal meeting of the year, Discovering, Integrating and Applying Knowledge: Effective Educational Practices for Today’s Students and Tomorrow’s Innovation, is scheduled for April 10-12 in Austin, Texas. The conference will explore the emerging research on effective practices—such as learning communities, first year seminars, undergraduate research, infusing society’s big questions into the curriculum, and connecting knowledge with choices and actions—that raise student achievement. Participants will discuss new research results and their implications for current efforts to help more students reap the full benefits of college. For more information or to register, visit the conference Web page. Early registration discounts end March 19!

AAC&U Invites Proposals for Conference on Engaging Science, Advancing Learning

AAC&U is now accepting proposals for "Engaging Science, Advancing Learning: General Education, Majors, and the New Global Century," a Network for Academic Renewal conference to be held November 6-8, 2008, in Providence, Rhode Island. This conference will explore the place and practice of science in college learning for the twenty-first century. Participants will work on ways to accelerate hands-on learning in science, both in general education and in majors, especially reforms that put critical inquiry, undergraduate research, and social responsibility at the center of the educational experience. For detailed information about submitting a session proposal, visit the call for proposals Web page. Proposals are due April 16, 2008.

AAC&U Announces New Board Members; St. Lawrence President Daniel Sullivan Named Chair

AAC&U recently announced the names of seven new directors and a new slate of board officers. Daniel F. Sullivan, president of St. Lawrence University (NY), assumed the role of chair of the board, taking over from Christopher Dahl, president of the State University of New York at Geneseo. Eduardo Padrón, president of Miami Dade College, was appointed as vice chair of the board. The seven new directors are Andrew Delbanco, Columbia University; Mildred Garcia, California State University-Dominguez Hills; Lou Anna K. Simon, Michigan State University; Mary Spilde, Lane Community College; Jane Wellman, Delta Project on Postsecondary Costs; Richard Wells, University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh; and Ronald Williams, The College Board. For more information on new board members and officers, see the press release. Also, see AAC&U’s full board list.

Derek Bok’s Our Underachieving Colleges Wins 2008 Frederic W. Ness Book Award

AAC&U recently announced the winner of its Frederic W. Ness Book Award—Our Underachieving Colleges: A Candid Look at How Much Students Learn and Why They Should Be Learning More, by Derek Bok. The Ness award is given annually to the book that best illuminates the goals and practices of a contemporary liberal education. Our Underachieving Colleges discusses the components of a liberal education in the twenty-first century and reports on students’ lack of progress in obtaining liberal education outcomes. Derek Bok is president emeritus of Harvard University and has written five other books on higher education, including Beyond the Ivory Tower and Universities in the Marketplace.

AAC&U invites nominations for the 2009 Ness Book Award. For information, visit the Ness Award Web page.

VALUE Initiative Announces Names of Leadership Campuses

AAC&U’s VALUE initiative (Valid Assessment of Learning in Undergraduate Education) recently selected twelve leadership campuses, based on their work on e-portfolios and assessment. The campuses will assist the VALUE efforts by sharing examples of their student work with the project's review panels, and by contributing to the development of rubrics for the Essential Learning Outcomes. A list of the Leadership Campuses is available online, as is more information about VALUE and how your campus can get involved.

CCAS Endorses College Learning for the New Global Century

The Council of Colleges of Arts and Sciences’ board of directors recently announced that it had unanimously endorsed AAC&U’s LEAP report, College Learning for the New Global Century. In a letter to AAC&U President Carol Geary Schneider, CCAS president Matthew C. Moen noted that, “In so doing, we consciously and deliberately lend our voice to your determined attempt to advance liberal learning; as deans, we are obviously well-situated to promote the recommendations and the findings your report outlines.” CCAS, founded in 1965, is a national association of baccalaureate degree-granting colleges of arts and sciences whose purpose is to sustain the arts and sciences as a leading influence in American higher education. Schneider will give a presidential address at the CCAS annual meeting in the fall. For more information on CCAS’s endorsement, visit the organization’s Web site.

The Year of the Liberal Arts at Ohio University

LEAP Campus Action Network member Ohio University will celebrate the “Year of the Liberal Arts” in 2008. Benjamin Ogles, dean of arts and sciences, is working with a group of students to find ways to help undergraduates understand the power and the purposes of a liberal education. Throughout the year they will be leading efforts to encourage the university community to more fully appreciate the personal and professional capabilities developed by a broad, liberal education. Learn more about the Campus Action Network or how to get involved in LEAP.

Encourage Students to Submit Issue-Based Films to Film Your Issue Competition

Now in its fourth year, FYI -Film Your Issue has grown into a global Internet-based competition inviting more than 25 million high school and college students in the United States alone to engage in pressing contemporary issues by creating and uploading two-minute short films on issues that affect their generation.In addition to taking the pulse of young adults on issues, FYI - Film Your Issue encourages young people to add their voices to the public dialogue, and underscores how even an individual voice can influence public debate. Films can be uploaded on multiple participating platforms, including MTV, YouTube and AFI Screen Nation, Films are also promoted on MySpace and through the Associated Press. The submission deadline is April 14, 2008.

Now Available: Annual Meeting Audio Podcasts and AAC&U-TV Highlights

AAC&U is pleased to offer podcasts of selected sessions from our 2008 Annual Meeting “Intentional Learning, Unscripted Challenges,” held January 23-26, 2008, in Washington, DC. Podcasts include presentations by Martha Nussbaum, Natalie Angier, Melissa Harris-Lacewell, Alexander and Helen Astin, and others, as well as Derek Bok, Azar Nafisi, and George Kuh speaking on “Intentional Learning Requires Intentional Leadership: What Will It Take to Move to the Next Level?” In addition, AAC&U-TV includes interviews with Walter Fluker (on ethical leadership), Carol Geary Schneider (on liberal education for the 21st century), Marcia Grant (on creating liberal arts colleges in the Middle East), and others.

Liberal Education
The Future of Interdisciplinary Studies

Peer Review
Faculty Development: Finding Balance in Changing Roles

Diversity and Democracy
Religious Diversity

Network for Academic Renewal Conferences:

Discovering, Integrating and Applying Knowledge: Effective Educational Practices for Today's Students and Tomorrow's Innovation
April 10-12, 2008
Austin, Texas

For more information on meetings, visit www.aacu.org/meetings/index.cfm