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About AAC&U

Board Statements, Public Statements, and Letters

Board Statements (See List of Board Members)

Public Statements and Letters

Presidential Statements, Articles, and Presentations

Op-Eds and Letters to Editors
  • May 23, 2011 – Carol Geary Schneider, president of AAC&U, was quoted in the Washington Post article, “On Path to Riches, No Sign of Fluffy Majors.” The author notes, “President of Pomona College David Oxtoby noted that a person who majors in English might be less interested in making a lot of money and that the disparate salaries might reflect the preferences of an individual rather than the value of a major. Others said that the American ideal of a ‘liberal education’ — one that offers a broad knowledge of science, cultures and society and high-level analytical and communication skills — is being copied internationally. A quality liberal education ‘is the most powerful form of learning we offer in this country, and even today, Asian universities and Middle Eastern leaders are trying to import it,’ Carol Schneider, president of the Association of American Colleges and Universities, said by e-mail. ‘The major itself (whatever it is) is only a part of a strong liberal education.’”

  • May 1, 2011 - The Chronicle of Higher Education has published a commentary by AAC&U President Carol Geary Schneider titled, “'Degrees for What Jobs?' Wrong Question, Wrong Answers.” In this opinion article, President Schneider notes that the recent NGA Center for Best Practices report, Degrees for What Jobs?, makes “short-sighted policy recommendations [that] would do nothing to meet the nation’s long-term needs for intellectual capital and could well deplete the learning this country needs, both for individual students and the global economy.” Schneider notes that, “the NGA report seems stuck in an obsolete mindset that sees learning in a job-related major as the only goal that matters.” She argues, instead, that employers consistently say that to achieve the outcomes most important in today’s workplace, “students need more liberal education, not less.”

  • January 27, 2011 -- Carol Geary Schneider, president of AAC&U, wrote a guest blog post for The Washington Post College, Inc. blog. Schneider notes, "Lumina's proposed ‘Degree Qualifications Profile’ provides students, the public and faculty alike with a roadmap for essential learning. Drawing from hundreds of on-campus discussions across the US, the profile outlines the competencies students should develop and demonstrate through their specialized studies (the major), through broad, integrative studies (general education redefined) and by constant practice of intellectual skills such as analytical inquiry, use of information resources, engaging diverse perspectives, quantitative analysis and communication to different audiences.”

  • President Carol Geary Schneider sent a letter to the editor of Newsweek responding to their article published on April 5, 2010 called “The Death of the Liberal Arts,” making the point that liberal education is very much alive and, in fact, in the midst of a resurgence. She notes the importance of liberal education outcomes in today’s world and references the research from LEAP on how much employers value it, and why liberal education outcomes are, in fact, rewarded in today’s job market (ppt).

  • President Carol Geary Schneider sent the following response to a New York Times article (February 25, 2009) on humanities justifying their worth, pointing out that in its LEAP initiative, AAC&U “emphasizes the need to help students learn how to connect their college learning with real-world problems, examined choices, and responsible action both in their personal lives and in their working lives.”

  • President Carol Geary Schneider responds to a recent commentary in The Chronicle of Higher Education in which Richard Hersh and Richard Keeling argue for the importance of liberal education and criticize a recent statement of the National Association of Scholars. In her letter, President Schneider notes the revitalization of liberal education AAC&U’s LEAP initiative is making visible.

  • Letter to the editor (August 14, 2008) of The Chronicle of Higher Education stating that "the most visionary [colleges and universities] are creating a new liberal education that helps students develop big-picture understanding and sophisticated intellectual capacities, as well as the practical acumen to get things done in the real world" (November 30, 2007, subscription required).

  • Opposing op-ed piece in USA Today about choosing a major in high school. (September 4, 2007)

  • Letter to the editor of the Wall Street Journal in response to a Peter Berkowitz column on "Compassless Colleges," citing the efforts of the LEAP campaign. (September 11, 2007)

  • An Urgent Agenda in Inside Higher Ed (February 9, 2007)

  • more...

 

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