The Center for Liberal Education and Civic Engagement Issues First Call for Proposals

The newly established Center for Liberal Education and Civic Engagement, a joint venture between AAC&U and Campus Compact, invites proposals to its first project, "Journey Towards Democracy: Voice, Power, and the Public Good." The Center will focus its grants and activities for 2003-2005 around a common theme: Journey Towards Democracy: Power, Voice, and the Public Good. The first Center project invites campuses to organize dialogues on how to put student learning about democracy and the public good at the center of academic inquiry. Check the Center's Web site for information about the project and the call for proposals.
Applications must be postmarked by June 10, 2003.

AAC&U Brings Together State Legislators and Academic Leaders on General Education

On May 21-22, AAC&U is sponsoring a meeting as part of the Greater Expectations for Student Transfer Project. The event is the latest of several meetings in a three-year AAC&U project working with state systems—primarily Georgia, Maryland and Utah—on defining the educational purposes of their statewide requirements, making those purposes clear to the faculty who teach courses that meet those requirements, and creating advising structures and assessments that help students understand those purposes. For more information about this Greater Expectations project, visit www.aacu.org/transfer/index.cfm.

111 Schools Participating in AAC&U 2003 Summer Institutes

AAC&U has selected 111 colleges and universities to participate in three separate institutes it sponsors each summer. Teams of faculty and administrators from 23 campuses will attend the 13th annual Asheville Institute on General Education co-sponsored and held at the University of North Carolina at Asheville from May 31-June 4; teams from 42 campuses will participate in this year's Greater Expectations Institute on Student Engagement, Inclusion, and Achievement in Denver, Colorado from June 25-29; and representatives from 48 campuses will participate in the third summer institute sponsored by AAC&U's initiative Science Education for New Civic Engagements and Responsibilities (SENCER), to be held at Santa Clara University from August 8-12. For more information on the summer institutes, visit www.aacu.org/meetings/index.cfm.

AAC&U and the BellSouth Foundation have partnered in a project called Closing the Gap for College-Going Minorities Initiative (CGM) designed to help higher education institutions in the Southeast strengthen academic support for minority undergraduate students. AAC&U staff Alma Clayton-Pedersen and Heather Wathington and BellSouth foundation staff conducted site visits in March, meeting with administrators, staff, and students at the five participating institutions. In addition to assisting the grantees to evaluate their projects and to understand their impact on achieving the institution's overall diversity goals, AAC&U will help coordinate meetings so the institutions can network and exchange ideas. The campuses will send two-person teams to the upcoming Greater Expectations Institute.

Bildner Foundation Continues New Jersey Campus Diversity Initiative

The Bildner Foundation has approved a second year of funding in a three-year grant for the New Jersey Campus Diversity Initiative. AAC&U and the Bildner Foundation have been working with eight New Jersey colleges in a statewide initiative to reduce prejudice and promote intergroup dialogue through projects that are likely to have broad institutional impact. A three-day June institute is planned at Rutgers University for the forty team representatives from the eight institutions. For more information on this initiative, visit www.aacu.org/bildner/index.cfm.

National Humanities Alliance Calls for Action on Proposed Changes to ERIC Clearinghouse

The U.S. Department of Education has issued a draft plan for a "New ERIC" (Educational Resources Information Clearinghouse) system. Unless the plan is modified, all 16 clearinghouses and their services will be eliminated and there will be dramatic change in the content of the ERIC database. The public has an opportunity to comment only until May 9, 2003. The National Humanities Alliance (NHA) is urging NHA members (including AAC&U) to comment to the department and Congress about the value of the present ERIC system and advantages to keeping it in place. To provide comment to the Department of Education, contact Jeff Halstead (fax: 202/708-9817; e-mail: Jeff.C.Halsted@ed.gov ). For information on NHA, see www.nhalliance.org.

AAC&U News Debuts New Member Postings Section

This month, AAC&U News will begin posting conference announcements, calls for proposals, and job opportunities at AAC&U member schools in a new section. Visit member postings to view new postings and for details on how to send an announcement to be posted by AAC&U.

The Living Arts: Comparative and Historical Reflections on Liberal Education
by Sheldon Rothblatt

Service-Learning and Learning Communities: Tools for Integration and Assessment
by Karen K. Oates and Lynn H. Leavitt

Asheville Institute for General Education will take place May 31-June 4, 2003, in Asheville, NC.

The Greater Expectations Institute on Campus Leadership for Student Engagement, Inclusion, and Achievement will be held on June 25-29, 2003, in Denver, Colorado.

The 2003 SENCER Summer Institute will be held at Santa Clara University, August 8-12.

Practicing Liberal Education:
Deepening Knowledge, Pursuing Justice, Taking Action, the ninetieth AAC&U annual meeting, will be held January 21-24, 2004, at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Washington, DC

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

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