Register Now for Undergraduate Research Conference

Is your campus developing undergraduate research programs? Research experiences and creative practice projects have the potential to be transformative, moving undergraduates to deeper understanding of the world around them. At AAC&U’s upcoming Network for Academic Renewal conference, “The Student as Scholar: Undergraduate Research and Creative Practice," participants will examine strategies for developing effective undergraduate research programs. The conference will present a variety of approaches to undergraduate education that prepare students not only to be active members in the campus community of scholars, but also to engage as citizens and successful professionals in an increasingly complex and diverse world. Featured speakers include David Hodge, president of Miami University, and Nancy Hensel, executive officer of the Council on Undergraduate Research. “The Student as Scholar” is scheduled for April 19–21 in Long Beach, California. Register online by March 28 for discounted rates.

AAC&U Invites Proposals for Conference on Civic Learning

AAC&U is now accepting proposals for “Civic Learning at the Intersections,” a Network for Academic Renewal conference to be held October 18–20, 2007, in Denver, Colorado. The conference will highlight current research and promising practices related to the integration of work on civic engagement, diversity, and global learning. It will include a particular focus on articulating the aims and learning outcomes of civic engagement programs. Visit the conference Web pages to learn more. The deadline for submission is April 12.

LEAP Report Prompts Debate across the U.S. and in Europe

Since AAC&U released the new LEAP report, its recommendations for remapping liberal education have been widely discussed in academic, policy, and employer gatherings, on campuses, in state systems, with regents and trustees, and even in the Council of Europe. More than 200,000 individuals have downloaded copies of the report. Members of the LEAP National Leadership Council and AAC&U staff have fanned out across the country to talk about the “essential learning outcomes” recommended in the report and to promote the LEAP finding that employers want colleges to provide more and better liberal education, not less. Groups engaged with the report’s recommendations include the American Council on Education, SunGard Higher Education, The Business–Higher Education Forum, and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. Visit AAC&U’s Web site to learn more about the LEAP campaign or to purchase or download (PDF) a copy of the new report.

Podcasts and Online Resources Available from 2007 Annual Meeting

The final program for AAC&U’s 2007 annual meeting, “The Real Test: Liberal Education and Democracy’s Big Questions,” is available online. The program includes more than a hundred links to session handouts and PowerPoint presentations, as well as links to additional information suggested by speakers. Podcasts of selected sessions are also available, including presentations by Sister Helen Prejean, Marvalene Hughes, Scott Cowen, Walter Isaacson, George Kuh, and others.

2007 Greater Expectations Institute Still Accepting Applications

Online applications are still being accepted for the 2007 Greater Expectations Institute: Campus Leadership for Student Engagement, Inclusion, and Achievement. The institute, now in its seventh year, will be held June 20–24 in Burlington, Vermont. Campus leadership teams come to the institute to advance a specific educational change project, and while there, work to align their project to their institution’s mission, clarify their desired outcomes, refine their planning and processes, and build a culture that fosters student and institutional learning. Participants will consider their work in the context of major AAC&U initiatives, including Making Excellence Inclusive and Liberal Education and America's Promise, and have the opportunity to consult with expert faculty who are national leaders in institutional transformation and student engagement, inclusion, and achievement. The deadline for application is Friday, March 16, and questions may be directed to Nakia Bell at bell@aacu.org.

Bringing Theory to Practice Project Requests Proposals

The Bringing Theory to Practice project is requesting proposals for programs that will enable colleges and universities to build capacity for institutionalizing engaged learning and to understand the relation of engaged learning to outcomes affecting the well-being and civic development of students. The application deadline is April 1 for demonstration site grants and April 15 for intensive site grants; the grants are for 2007–10. More information about submitting proposals is available online.

Bringing Theory to Practice to Hold Workshop on “Bridging Divides”

On March 30 and 31, the Bringing Theory to Practice project will hold a workshop, “Developing and Enhancing a Strategic Plan for Bridging Divides and Addressing the Wholeness of Student Learning and Experience,” at the Washington Hilton Hotel in Washington, DC. The workshop will help informal campus teams of faculty, student affairs staff, and health center personnel bridge the divides that separate students’ experiences and development. More information about the workshop is available on the Bringing Theory to Practice Web pages.

AAC&U Cosponsors Wye Faculty Seminar and Presidents' Seminar with the Aspen Institute

This year’s Wye Faculty Seminar will be held July 21–27, 2007, in eastern Maryland. The seminar, cosponsored by the Aspen Institute and AAC&U, gathers a diverse group of faculty in intellectually rigorous roundtable discussions. Seminar participants read classical and contemporary texts on citizenship, the American polity, and global values, discussing ideas and challenges that nurture and invigorate their teaching.

AAC&U and the Aspen Institute are also sponsoring a Wye Presidents' Seminar. The seminar—held July 20–23 at the Aspen Wye campus in Maryland—will assist presidents and administrators in relating leadership challenges to global economic and political questions. Applications to the Presidents' Seminar and nominations for the Wye Faculty Seminar are due on March 15. More information about the seminars is available online.

ACAD and Phi Beta Kappa Society Invite Proposals for Joint Conference

The American Conference of Academic Deans (ACAD) and the Phi Beta Kappa Society will hold their third biannual joint conference, “Promoting the Liberal Sciences: Science as Liberal Education,” at the Madison Hotel in Washington, DC, October 25–27, 2007. Academic deans, faculty, and administrators are invited to submit abstracts for plenary and concurrent sessions at the conference. Nominations for speakers are also welcomed. The deadline for consideration is March 30. For full submission guidelines and additional information, visit ACAD online.

New Web Report on Integrative Learning Unveiled

The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and AAC&U released a culminating Web-based report from the Integrative Learning Project (ILP) at the 2007 AAC&U annual meeting in New Orleans. Ten campuses from all sectors of higher education were selected from among nearly 150 applicants to develop programs and assessments in integrative learning for the three-year project. The new Web report includes descriptions of the individual campus projects and focuses on “lessons learned” to assist others in developing their own programs in integrative learning. The report also includes links to publications, several short essays, and video clips of presentations at ILP meetings. 

Humanities Advocacy Day Scheduled for March 26–27

The National Humanities Alliance will sponsor the annual Humanities Advocacy Day in conjunction with its annual membership meeting this year. Scheduled for March 26–27 in Washington, DC, this event provides supporters of the humanities an opportunity to meet with their elected representatives in the new Congress and work together to communicate the public value of the humanities to policy makers. Conference activities will be capped by a reception on Capitol Hill featuring exhibits of federally supported humanities projects from around the country. AAC&U is a founding member of the alliance and a cosponsor of the event.

Tenure Team Initiative Invites Participation in Online Survey

The Imagining America Tenure Team Initiative (TTI) invites faculty members and administrators to complete a brief online survey about how tenure and promotion policies reward publicly committed academic work. The survey provides participants the opportunity to share their opinions with other publicly engaged scholars in the arts, humanities, and design. The TTI seeks to develop a clear definition of the diverse forms of public scholarship in the cultural disciplines, an analysis of the key concepts in public scholarship, and tenure and promotion policies suitable to the changing realities of publicly engaged scholarly and creative enterprise. AAC&U’s president, Carol Geary Schneider, serves on the initiative’s advisory board. To learn more, visit the TTI Web site.

AAC&U Continues Partnership with Film Your Issue

This year AAC&U again is partnering with Film Your Issue (FYI), an ambitious project designed to engage young Americans in the public dialogue about pressing issues of importance to them. AAC&U joins FYI in inviting young people to demonstrate the power of democracy by expressing themselves in one-minute videos about issues ranging from sexism to environmental action to the AIDS epidemic.

College Learning for the New Global Century
A Report from the National Leadership Council for Liberal Education and America's Promise

Network for Academic Renewal Conferences:

The Student as Scholar: Undergraduate Research and Creative Practice
April 19–21, 2007
Long Beach, California

Civic Learning at the Intersections: U.S. Diversity, Global Education, and Democracy’s Unfinished Work
October 18–20, 2007
Denver, Colorado

Summer Institutes:

Institute on General Education
May 18–23, 2007
Newport, Rhode Island

Greater Expectations Institute
June 20–24, 2007
Burlington, Vermont

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