2008 Annual Meeting

INTENTIONAL LEARNING, UNSCRIPTED CHALLENGES
Knowledge and Imagination for an Interdependent World

January 23-26, 2008
Washington, DC

Conference Program

THURSDAY MORNING, JANUARY 24

Women’s Networking Breakfast:
Teaching Race: Engaged Scholarship Beyond the Classroom
Melissa Harris-Lacewell, Associate Professor of Politics and African American Studies, Princeton University and author of Barbershops, Bibles, and BET:
Everyday Talk and Black Political Thought (2006). She has provided expert commentary on U.S. elections, racial issues, religious questions and gender issues for The New York Times, Boston Globe, CNN, NBC, Fox, Public Television, NPR, Black Enterprise, and others.  Melissa Harris-Lacewell is at work on a new book – For Colored Girls Who've Considered Politics When Being Strong Wasn't Enough.
Podcast

Opening Plenary
Global Citizenship and the Humanities
Martha Nussbaum is the Ernst Freund Distinguished Service Professor of Law and Ethics at the University of Chicago.  Her most recent publication is The Clash Within: Democracy, Religious Violence, and India's Future (2007).  Martha Nussbaum is the author of numerous books, including Frontiers of Justice: Disability, Nationality, Species Membership (2006), Upheavals of Thought: The Intelligence of Emotions (2001), and Cultivating Humanity: A Classical Defense of Reform in Liberal Education (1997), for which she was awarded AAC&U’s Frederic Ness Award.  Her next publication – Liberty of Conscience: In Defense of America’s Tradition of Religious Equality – will be published in February 2008.
Podcast

THURSDAY, JANUARY 24, 10:30-11:45 am

Featured Session
How Can We Better Communicate the Multiple Purposes and Outcomes of Liberal Education?
This session will address how institutions can more effectively communicate the full range of liberal education’s objectives with the result of both changing public expectations and altering the resources within our institutions to further realize those outcomes.
Moderator:  Debra Humphreys, Vice President for Communications and Public Affairs, AAC&U
Panelists:  Robert Corrigan, President, San Francisco State University; Sally E. Pingree, Trustee, The Charles Engelhard Foundation; Daniel Sullivan, President, St. Lawrence University; Lisa Chen, Senior Vice President, Fenton Communications; Elizabeth Christensen, Student, Concordia College-Moorhead
This session was sponsored by the Bringing Theory to Practice Project

Featured Session
Faculty of the Future:  Voices from the Next Generation
Since 1996, K. Patricia Cross, a distinguished scholar in American higher education, has sponsored the K. Patricia Cross Future Leader Awards. Graduate students are honored for their outstanding work in undergraduate teaching, their excellence in research, their active engagement in civic and university programs, and their commitment to a career in higher education. Recipients of the 2008 Cross Award will explore with the audience topics such as teaching and learning at the undergraduate level, the role of their disciplines, their views of today’s college students, and their views of the changing American academy.
Welcome:  K. Patricia Cross, David Gardner Professor of Higher Education, Emerita, University of California, Berkeley
Moderators:  L. Lee Knefelkamp, Professor of Psychology and Education, Teachers College, Columbia University; Jerry Gaff, Senior Scholar, AAC&U

Recipients of the 2008 K. Patricia Cross Future Leaders Award
Thomas Eatmon, Jr., Public Policy, Southern University
Andrew Farke, Vertebrate Anatomy / Paleontology, Stony Brook University
Kyle Gobrogge, Neuroscience, Florida State University
Frances Gratacos, Molecular Biology, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey/Rutgers
Jennifer Lavy, Theatre History and Criticism, University of Washington
Christine Reiser, Anthropology, Brown University
Paul Rogers, Education, University of California, Santa Barbara
Cindy Spurlock, Communication Studies, University of North Carolina
Kimberly Van Orman, Philosophy, University at Albany, SUNY
Dumaine Williams, Pharmacology, Stony Brook University

Educating For Democracy: Preparing Undergraduates For Responsible Political Engagement
This session draws on a Carnegie Foundation study of education for political development and on efforts by a number of colleges and universities to implement the lessons learned in that study. The presenters will address the question of how undergraduate education can most effectively prepare graduates for thoughtful, responsible, skillful political participation. They will offer an overview of research findings, along with concrete suggestions for strengthening educational practice.
Thomas Ehrlich, Senior Scholar, The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching; Anne Colby, Senior Scholar, The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching; Barbara Burch, Provost, Western Kentucky University
Supplemental information available here

Assessing Intentional Learning: A Teagle Foundation Project
Presenters will discuss the challenges that five liberal arts institutions face individually and collectively in pursuing a project supported by the Teagle Foundation.  The group has developed a rubric for intentional learning—based on the AAC&U Greater Expectations: A New Vision for Learning as a Nation Goes to College (2002)—and is creating tools for assessing student progress in becoming intentional learners.
Wendy Kolmar, Professor of English and Women's Studies and Associate Dean for Curriculum and Faculty Development, Drew University; Kathleen Harring, Professor of Psychology; Associate Dean for Institutional Assessment, Muhlenberg College; Adrienne Bloss, Professor of Computer Science; Assistant Dean for Curricular and Faculty Development, Roanoke College; Tammy Tobin-Janzen, Associate Professor of Biology; Coordinator of the Center for Teaching and Learning, Susquehanna University; Joel D. Wingard, Professor of English, Director of the Writing Program; Moravian College
Roanoke College Web site
Assessing Intentional Learning - PowerPoint (PDF)
Assessing Intentional Learning - Rubric)PDF)

Religion as Unscripted Challenge
This session seeks both to describe the unscripted challenge of religion and to begin framing coherent and constructive responses.  Panelists will briefly present key issues and then will focus discussion on how religion is an unscripted challenge on campuses and in classrooms, on whether universities have any obligations regarding religion, and on how to better “enscript” religion in order to make the university more effective and classroom teaching more conducive to student learning.
Rhonda Jacobsen, Director of Faculty Development and Professor of Psychology, Messiah College; Larry Braskamp, Professor Emeritus of Education, Loyola University Chicago; Elizabeth Tisdell, Associate Professor and Program Coordinator, Adult Education Doctoral Program, Penn State, Harrisburg; Douglas Jacobsen, Distinguished Professor of Church History and Theology, Messiah College

Bringing Connecticut into the age of Nanotechnology: A State-Wide Collaborative Effort Among Public And Private Higher Education Institutions, the State Department of Higher Education, and Connecticut Industry
The State of Connecticut is implementing a statewide articulation among private and public higher educational institutions. A state-wide “Connecticut Nanotechnology Minor” will be available to any institution in the state awardable by the Board of Governors for Higher Education. The panel will address the issues related to collaborative leadership and pedagogy, including policy issues, collective procedures, and an in-depth discussion of what it means to work interdependently.
Jonas Zdanys, Associate Commissioner for Academic Affairs and Chief Academic Officer, and Christine Thatcher, Associate Director for Academic Affairs – both of the Department of Higher Education, State of Connecticut; Louis Manzione, Dean, College of Engineering, Technology and Architecture, University of Hartford; Evangelos Hadjimichael, Dean, School of Engineering, Fairfield University

Fostering Engaged Student Learning:  NSSE as a Tool for Understanding and Building a Campus Culture
Representatives from members of the Consortium for Innovative Environments in Learning (CIEL) will describe NSSE findings and how the data have been used to facilitate students’ learning and sustain campus cultures that support engaged institutions.  Examples of programs and initiatives (curricular and cocurricular) to support interdisciplinary and integrative learning will be shared, along with lessons learned and next steps. 
Nance Lucas, Associate Dean, New Century College, George Mason University; Sirkka Kauffman, Assistant Dean of Academic Affairs, Marlboro College; Mimi Steadman, Director of Institutional Assessment, Daemen College; Deborah Quick, Chair, Department of Social Sciences, Johnson C. Smith University
This session is sponsored by the Consortium for Innovative Environments in Learning

Integrating Liberal Arts and Professional Programs
Providing stronger integration and linkages between professional and liberal arts programs is an increasingly important goal in higher education. Faculty from both professional programs and from traditional liberal arts disciplines will discuss effective strategies for integration and the potential benefits to student learning when such integration takes place.
Elizabeth Twining Blue, Professor of Social Work and Chair, Department of Human Behavior and Diversity, University of Wisconsin-Superior; Maria Stalzer Wyant Cuzzo, Professor of Legal Studies and Director, Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, University of Wisconsin-Superior; Emily E. LaBeff, Professor of Sociology andChair, Department of Sociology, Prothro-Yeager College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Midwestern State University; Stephen F. West, Distinguished Teaching Professor of Mathematics, State University of New York College at Geneseo
This session is sponsored by the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges

Structuring Courses to Maximize Deep Learning
This session will focus on the international research on deep learning that complements research by John Bransford and others on "How People Learn."  Familiarity with some key learning principles in these areas – and their practical application – will enable faculty and curriculum designers to create courses that foster inquiry and analysis, critical and creative thinking, written and oral communication, and teamwork and problem solving.  Participants will become familiar with these key learning principles and learn practical ways to sequence out-of-class assignments with in-class activities that challenge students to learn deeply, not superficially. 
Barbara Millis, Director, Excellence in Teaching Program, University of Nevada
Millis Handout - Identify some differences (PDF)
Supplemental Information (PDF)
Supplemental Information (PDF)
Millis - PPT (PDF)

ACAD Session:
Philosophical Commitments, Strategic Initiatives
Presenters will focus on two case studies to illustrate how administrators can develop initiatives—retention and graduation for at risk students, and sustainability across the curriculum—that arise from broader, philosophical commitments to undergraduate education. We will invite participants to share their own ideas about how to move strategically to promote change at their own institutions.
Geoff Chase, Dean of Undergraduate Studies, San Diego State University; Chris Frost, Associate Dean of Undergraduate Studies, San Diego State University; Amy Shachter, Associate Provost for Research Initiatives, Santa Clara University
Supplemental Material
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3

Networking Luncheon for Faculty and Administrators of Color

Diversity: A Corporate Campaign
Diana Akiyama is Director of Religious and Spiritual Life at Occidental College.
Podcast

THURSDAY, JANUARY 24, 1:30-2:30 pm

Featured Session
It Takes a Curriculum:  Preparing Students for Research and Creative Work
In order to integrate research most effectively into the learning experience, undergraduate education should focus on the “student as scholar” from the first to final year. President Hodge will offer a vision of the student as scholar, where ‘scholar’ is defined in terms of an attitude, an intellectual posture, and a frame of mind derived from the best traditions of an engaged liberal education. Fulfilling this vision requires the curriculum to become learning-centered, providing intentional pathways that culminate in capstone experiences, peer-reviewed research papers, and creative presentations.
David Hodge, President, Miami University
It Takes a Curriculum PowerPoint
Podcast

Featured Session
Innovations in Service-Learning:
2007 Ehrlich Faculty Award for Service-Learning
Each year, Campus Compact recognizes and honors one faculty member for contributing to the integration of community or public service into the curriculum and for efforts to institutionalize service-learning.  In partnership with Campus Compact, AAC&U welcomes Marybeth Lima, Professor of Biological and Agricultural Engineering at Louisiana State University and recipient of the 2007 Thomas Ehrlich Faculty Award for Service-Learning. Professor Lima writes and speaks widely on service-learning and is the co-author of Service-Learning: Engineering in Your Community, designed specifically to address the lack of service-learning resources for the engineering community.
Marybeth Lima, Professor of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, Louisiana State University

Courseval™ Web-Based Evaluations Provide In-Depth Reports about Teachers, Courses, Students and Programs
Web-based evaluations significantly ease the study of courses and programs. The campus concern with reduced survey completion rates distracts from the several substantial advantages of on-line participation. Participation is actually higher than typically reported and results are unchanged from in-class evaluation. CoursEval™ provides enhanced and timely reports for faculty, chairs, deans, provosts, directors, advisors, and students.
Peter Gold, Representative, and Brian R. Hopewell, Director of Business Development – both of Academic Management Systems
This session is sponsored by Academic Management Systems.

Accountability and Assessment for Continuous Improvement: How to Effectively Manage a Process of Learning Outcomes Assessment
As accountability, accreditation, and assessment emerge as vital institutional issues, the academy must establish a framework that engages its community in the process of identifying what its students know and are able to do.  The key to doing so successfully is found in understanding the interdependence amongst the institution, its programs, their respective goals, outcomes and methods, and measures of assessment.  This session includes a demonstration of a management system that allows the academic and non-academic programs to manage objectives, outcomes, assessment plans, findings, improvement initiatives and accreditation requirements.
Webster Thompson, Executive Vice President, TaskStream
This session is sponsored by TaskStream.

Strategic Planning, Outcomes Assessment, and Monitoring Implementation Progress in Higher Education
Academic leaders recognize that strategic planning can no longer be just a vision.  Nuventive’s TracDat 4 provides the platform for supporting the entire planning process by documenting complex, institution-wide strategic and operational plans, including tracking the progress of efforts to accomplish related objectives and tasks.  Nuventive will demonstrate in this session how TracDat manages plan details, designates responsibilities, links initiatives to goals, links outcomes to performance measurement plans and budgets, controls changes, and reports progress.
Scott Johnson, Vice President of Sales, Nuventive
This session is sponsored by Nuventive.

Innovative Strategies for Offering and Assessing Integrative Learning
This session presents two curricular integration strategies. Team SJSU Studies is a two-semester, team-taught, interdisciplinary course sequence integrating 12 units of upper division general education around a particular theme, in this case, global climate change. Students Actively Integrating Learning (SAIL) uses an e-portfolio to guide students through a reflective, integrative, learning experience from FYE through capstone.  Participants will work to develop other integrative learning strategies suitable for their students.
Gail Evans, Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies and Director of General Education, San Jose State University; Eloise Stiglitz, Associate Vice President for Student Services, San José State University
Supplemental information available here
Supplemental information available here
Innovative Strategies - Assessing Integrative Learning (PPT)

2007 CIRP Freshman Survey: Release of Findings
New questions on the 2007 CIRP Freshman Survey reveal the academic habits of mind that students bring to college, some new surprising findings on parental involvement, beliefs about diversity, concern for the environment, and changes in the reasons students give for why they choose which college to attend.
Sylvia Hurtado, Director, Higher Education Research Institute, John H. Pryor, Director, Cooperative Institutional Research Program, Higher Education Research Institute – both of the University of California, Los Angeles

20/20 Session:  Internationalizing the Curriculum and the Faculty

The Global Understanding Initiative at St. Edward's University
To internationalize its curriculum, integrate curricula and co-curricula programs, and create a five-year Quality Enhancement Plan for re-accreditation, St. Edward's University has implemented its interdisciplinary Global Understanding (GU) initiative, which accomplishes these three goals within its existing General Education curriculum without adding any additional courses or increasing the hours required for students’ graduation. The initiative’s developmental process, curricular and co-curricular components, outcome measures, and assessment activities will be described and discussed.
Robert Strong, Assistant Professor & Global Understanding Course Coordinator, St. Edward's University; Marianne Hopper, Dean of University Programs & Director of Global Understanding Program, St. Edward's University
Supplemental information available here (PDF)
Developing Global Understanding (PDF)

Modeling Intercultural Competency through Faculty Internationalization
How does one adapt a faculty educated in a different era to the educational needs of a rapidly changing globalized century?  To educate our graduates for responsible leadership and global citizenship, Rollins College pledged to develop the intercultural and international competencies of all our faculty and be models to our students.  This presentation will describe the faculty internationalization program and the corresponding benefits in student learning outcomes.
Roger Casey, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost, Rollins College

20/20 Session:  Strategies for the First Year – Civic Connections

Liberal Learning and the First Year: Pedagogies of Citizenship
St. Lawrence University’s First Year Program course encourages students to critically examine theories of democracy while actively assuming the responsibilities of citizenship in a diverse democracy. We use a variety of pedagogies, asking students to engage in the local community (moving outside the “bubble”); create reflective learning journals; and collaboratively examine historical and contemporary theories and examples of citizenship in American society.  We believe our philosophy and pedagogies are potentially applicable across disciplines and institutions.
Elizabeth Regosin, Associate Professor of History and Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs, St. Lawrence University, NY; Ronald Flores, Associate Professor of Sociology and Director of Community-Based Learning Program, St. Lawrence University

Civic Connections for Entering Students: Linking the Curriculum with the City
This presentation will detail the development of intentional strategies to enhance civic knowledge and engagement among students at IUPUI, including the collaboration between student affairs and academic affairs that resulted in an integrated curriculum/co-curriculum that fosters civic capacity in first-year students.  Panelists will share information on innovative course development, campus activities, and supporting assessment.
Frank Ross, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Student Life and Learning, Scott Evenbeck, Dean of University College, and Casey Thompson, Student -- all of the Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis
Civic Connections for Entering Students - 2008 (PDF)

Building Intentionality into Community College General Education Programs
General education programs at community colleges often fail to provide students with a rationale for program requirements.  Since a significant number of students begin their baccalaureate coursework at community colleges, these institutions ought to articulate how their general education programs provide graduates with learning that helps them thrive in an unpredictable world.  Recognizing that discussions on general education reform can stall quickly due to a lack of effective structure, the presenters will share their process for successfully negotiating these debates, which eventually led to information now shared with students.
John Downey, Vice President for Instruction and Student Services, Jeff Lanigan, Assistant Professor of History - both of Blue Ridge Community College

ACAD Session:
When the Glider Hits the Wall: Environmental Studies Meets the (Academic) Environment
This session is a case study on revitalizing an interdisciplinary program in Environmental Studies, with commentary on the Science/Arts boundary from a UK perspective.  It is a participatory session in which we will ask for suggestions about how to foster interdisciplinary arts/sciences initiatives.
Ralph Blasting, Dean of Liberal Arts, and Larry Medsker, Dean of Science -- both of Siena College; David Coates, Dean of Life Sciences, University of Bradford, UK
Glider case study (PDF)

THURSDAY, JANUARY 24, 2:45-4:00 pm

Featured Session
Defining Scholarship in Science and Mathematics: Challenges and Opportunities
The Boyer report – “Scholarship Reconsidered: Priorities of the Professoriate” – began a conversation about what scholarship was and how it could be assessed. Defining scholarship is not a simple matter. It must be determined in the context of disciplinary conventions – the framework in which faculty conduct their work and are evaluated. Representatives from disciplinary organizations in science and mathematics will summarize the discussions that have occurred, review documents that can inform faculty work and institutional policies, and discuss how disciplinary organizations can encourage the conversion of information into knowledge.
Melanie Cooper, Alumni Distinguished Professor, Clemson University; Theodore Hodapp, Director of Education and Diversity, American Physical Society; Michael Pearson, Associate Executive Director, Director of Programs & Services, Mathematical Association of America; Thomas Pusateri, Associate Director for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning and Professor of Psychology, Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, Kennesaw State University
MAA statement
Physics Statements
ACS Scholarship Statement
QualityBenchmarks Psych programs
Scholarship In Psychology
Handout panelist bios

Why We Err and What We Can Do About It: Human Decision Making in the Academy
Leadership decision making in academia is a risky and uncertain business. Cognitively human decision making is complex enough, involving argument making, heuristic thinking and dominance structuring. Mix in the culture and of the academy and the opportunities for error multiply exponentially. Aimed at assisting participants to anticipate and recognize the threats posed by some of the most dangerous sources of human decision making error, this session recommends easy and workable strategies groups and individuals can use to protect against or mitigate these hazards.
Peter (Pete) Facione, Educational Consultant, STRATUS; Noreen Facione, Professor Emerita, University of California, San Francisco
How we err - Facione Facione - AACU 2008 BW

Internal and External Forms of Accountability in Higher Education: Vertical and Horizontal Realities
Existing accountability systems in higher education are strongly ingrained and primarily vertically organized, but new demands for greater accountability emphasize horizontally organized outcomes – a difference that illuminates dissonance between institutional functioning societal expectations. Higher education can develop new accountability systems that ensure the accomplishment of primarily horizontal outcomes.
Richard Keeling, Principal and Senior Executive Consultant, and Ric Underhile, Senior Director, Organizational Development – both of Keeling & Associates, LLC; Andrew Wall, Assistant Professor, University of Rochester

Inclusive Excellence:  Building Trust Through Empowerment and Sharing Intentional and Inclusive Responsibility for Holistically Educating All Students
How do we foster intentional and inclusive responsibility for holistically educating all students?  How do we create an integrated and coherent experience for students?  The process we have chosen to follow and the goals we have set for ourselves at Manchester Community College address questions of coherence and connectedness.   We will share some of our highlights – challenges, opportunities and shared celebrations – as well as dialogue with colleagues about what they have experienced and might teach us.
Jonathan Daube, President, Alfred Carter, Dean of Student Affairs, and Kenneth Klucznik, Professor of English – all of Manchester Community College

Creative and Critical Thinking: Assessing the Foundations of a Liberal Arts Education
Presenters will report on findings that have emerged from a Five Colleges of Ohio project to assess two fundamental and related intellectual and practical skills of a liberal arts education: creative and critical thinking. The three-year study, funded by the Teagle Foundation, focuses on faculty/student surveys and primary trait analysis (PTA) to create tools to measure the degree to which creative and critical thinking are occurring in liberal arts settings.
Nancy Grace, Professor of English, and Iain Crawford, Vice President for Academic Affairs – both of The College of Wooster; Sarah Murnen, Professor of Psychology, Kenyon College; Lori Bettison-Varga, Provost and Dean of the Faculty, Whitman College
Supplemental Information available here.

The City as Curriculum at Home and Abroad
Study abroad remains a powerful transformative experience for undergraduate students, yet it also frequently functions as a stand-alone component of their education, divorced from the curriculum on campus. Beloit College and Kalamazoo College have responded to this problem with new curricular initiatives that more explicitly link what happens abroad to teaching and learning on campus. Both, furthermore, have turned to the cities after which they are named as laboratories for pre- and post-study abroad learning.
Elizabeth Brewer, Director of International Education, Marion Fass, Professor of Biology, and Daniel Youd, Assistant Professor of Chinese – all of Beloit College; Jennifer Redmann, Associate Professor of German, and Elizabeth Manwell, Assistant Professor of Classics -- both of Kalamazoo College
City as Curriculum (PowerPoint - PDF)

Adopting the Teacher-Scholar Faculty Model: It’s All About the Hyphen
This session explores models, strategies, and issues associated with institution-wide adoption of the teacher-scholar faculty model.  A teacher-scholar model espouses the integration of faculty scholarship/creative activity with pedagogy to stimulate a powerful, engaged learning environment.  Discussion will focus on core defining principles, salient elements of institutional culture needed for implementation, and challenges and opportunities confronting institutional leadership in shifting to this model.  
Jeffrey Osborn, Dean, School of Science, and Elizabeth Paul, Interim Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs – both of The College of New Jersey; Barbara Dixon, President, Truman State University; John Swift, Professor of English and Comparative Literary Studies, Occidental College

Revving the History Engine:  Using Online Tools Inter-institutionally for Collaborative Education and Research
American historians at four liberal arts colleges are working in collaboration with the University of Virginia's Center for Digital History and NITLE to use the Center's "History Engine” to engage their students in the collaborative development of resources for the study of 19th-century history. The tool enables a studio model of teaching and learning in which students add to and draw upon the wider world of original research as history scholars do.
Nancy Millichap, Director of Professional Development Programs, National Institute for Technology & Liberal Education; Lloyd Benson, Walter Kenneth Mattison Professor of History, Furman University; James Tuten, Assistant Professor of History, Juniata College; Julian Chambliss, Assistant Professor of History, Rollins College
Supplemental information available here

Utilizing Diverse: Issues In Higher Education magazine as Your Diversity Solution
America simply won’t be able to compete in the global workplace without a talented, educated, and diverse workforce, requiring diversity at all levels of our education system. What if you had access to America’s Premiere Diverse Talent Pool? What if you had access to timely news and information on diversity in higher education?  The award-winning Diverse: Issues in Higher Education is the ideal compliment to your recruiting efforts in developing a staff and environment inclusive of all of your diversity goals. This session will provide solutions to diversifying your institution through Diverse’s job posting services for staff and high level vacancies, as well as introduce Diverse’s subscription partner program, thereby keeping your campus colleagues well informed about diversity issues, strategies, and best practices.
Will Cox,Vice President for Advertising and Operations, Diverse: Issues in Higher Education

Inclusive Leadership for Unscripted Challenges: Women Working Across Difference in Complex Higher Education Systems
Women committed to principles of inclusive leadership face both the challenges of the institution’s written and unwritten rules and the challenges of working across differences of identity and background. By raising consciousness about the complexities of becoming effective multicultural allies, women can effect grass-roots educational reform. Building on the principles of Campus Women Lead, this workshop will illuminate the transformational power of women acting strategically to strengthen inclusive institutions that expect and cultivate the best from everyone.
Johnnella Butler, Provost, Spelman College; Pat Lowrie, Director, Women’s Resource Center, Michigan State University; Donna Maeda, Associate Professor of Critical Theory and Social Justice, Occidental College; Caryn McTighe Musil, Senior Vice President, Association of American Colleges and Universities

ACAD Session: 
The Program Review as Research
Pepperdine University uses an innovative program review process based on two premises.  First, program reviews are best done by faculty; and second, the purpose of program review flows from the purpose of the academy itself – inquiry. We describe a practical, five year old model for reviewing our 75 academic and student affairs programs, which is based on the research/inquiry format.
David Baird, Dean, Seaver College, Cindy Miller-Perrin, Chair, Social Science Division, Maire Mullins, Chair, Humanities and Teacher Education Division, and Don Thompson, Associate Vice President for Assessment and Institutional Research – all of Pepperdine University
Supplemental Information (PowerPoint on Web)

THURSDAY, JANUARY 24, 4:15-5:30 pm

Featured Session
A New Agenda for American Higher Education: Shaping a Life of the MInd for Practice
The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching convened the Seminar “A Life of the Mind for Practice” to imagine a new model for undergraduate teaching that bridges the liberal-professional education divide and reconnects student analytic insight with practical judgment and action. This panel offers the inspiration and tools needed to renew the teaching profession and the mission of higher education.
William Sullivan, Senior Scholar, and Matthew Rosin, Consulting Scholar – both of The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching; Daisy Floyd, Dean and Professor of Law, Mercer University School of Law; Gary Downey, Alumni Distinguished Professor, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Podcast

Evidence of Learning that Really Matters:  New Data on Employers’ Views
Results from a survey sponsored by AAC&U and released in January 2007 indicate that employers want colleges to place more emphasis on developing the essential outcomes of an engaged liberal education. This session will highlight the results of a new survey of employers completed in December 2007 that asks in more detail about the skills and areas of knowledge most important for success in today’s global economy. Presenter will provide an overview of employers’ views on key outcomes and on a variety of approaches to assessing those outcomes and helping students demonstrate their ability to integrate their learning and apply it in new settings. The respondent will describe several AAC&U initiatives designed to help campuses develop effective approaches to assessment and integration consistent with these survey findings.
Debra Humphreys, Vice President for Communication

Promising Pathways to Integrative Learning
Three senior academic officers will describe selected mission-driven initiatives at their institutions that reflect the Principles of Excellence explicated in the LEAP report.  They will also discuss the strategies used to effectively overcome the obstacles that often stymie systemic curricular change and innovation in order to successfully implement and assess the impact of the initiatives.  Participants will have ample opportunity to interact with the presenters to learn more about how the institutions managed the implementation challenges.
George Kuh, Chancellor's Professor and Director, Indiana University Bloomington; William Craft, Professor and Vice President for Academic Affairs, Luther College; Thomas Moore, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the Faculty, Winthrop University; Devorah Lieberman, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, Wagner College 
LEAP Handout        

National and Institutional Initiatives to Foster Excellence through Equity
Institutions of higher education are on the front line of efforts to enhance the talent pool, prepare the next generation of creative thinkers, and maintain global competitiveness.  Research shows that success and innovation are fostered in environments that embrace diversity. After a brief introduction of national efforts, institutional strategies, and departmental approaches to create and strengthen such environments, there will be a moderated discussion on the challenges and opportunities for adapting and implementing successful strategies.
Laurel Haak, Science Director, Discovery Logic; Jo Handelsman, Howard Hughes Medical Institute Professor, University of Wisconsin; Anne Fischer, AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellow, National Science Foundation; Celeste Rohlfing, Program Director, Chemistry Division, National Science Foundation; Claire Van Ummersen, Vice President for Effective Leadership, American Council on Education
This session is sponsored by the Association for Women in Science.

Integration of Engineering and Science with the Liberal Arts:  Learning from Each Other
In an increasingly interdependent world, the need for innovative, integrative cross-disciplinary learning is more important than ever, particularly between technology and the liberal arts.  This session will demonstrate how three ANAC institutions are building bridges between engineering and the sciences and the liberal arts, while challenging students to solve global problems.  Topics will include the application of virtual reality to non-science disciplines, the benefits of computer programming to the non-technical major, and the use of visualization tools to bring together multi-disciplinary data sets.
Moderator:  Lynette Robinson, Executive Director, Associated New American Colleges
Panelists:  Don Roberts, Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of Evansville; Diana Stuart Sinton, Director of Spatial Curriculum and Research, University of Redlands; Jeff Will, Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Valparaiso University
This session is sponsored by the Associated New American Colleges

Evaluating Globally, Assessing Locally: Connecting National Evaluation Paradigms to Campus-based Assessment Initiatives
Leaders of two liberal arts college consortia funded by the Teagle Foundation, and the director of the Wabash National Study of Liberal Arts Education, will discuss the quantitative and qualitative assessment approaches used by each consortium, the relationship of these to the Wabash National Study, and the lessons learned about how assessment can be successfully developed simultaneously at the individual and multi-institutional level.
Lee Cuba, William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Sociology, Wellesley College; Steven Weisler, Dean of Academic Development, and Carol Trosset, Director of Institutional Research – both of Hampshire College; Hampshire College; Charles Blaich, Director of Inquiries, Wabash College
Supplemental Information

Citizenship in a Global World: A Panel Discussion
Over the past year, a group of faculty and administrators at IUPUI, in conjunction with Patti Clayton of North Carolina State University and Barbara Holland of the National Service-Learning Clearing House, have been in discussion regarding the nature of globally-minded citizenship.  What outcomes do we associate with globally-minded citizenship?  What are the strategies institutions of higher education should use to transform curriculum and assessment in helping students achieve those outcomes?  This will be an interactive session in which presenters and participants will discuss these and other questions.
William Plater, Director, International Community Development, Steven Jones, Coordinator, Office of Service Learning, and Susan Sutton, Associate Dean of International Programs – all of the Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis
Supplemental information available here

Unfinished Business:  The Continuing Challenge of Diversity Hiring
While their student populations are becoming more diverse, many institutions struggle to hire faculty and staff from underrepresented groups.  This session will focus on the continuing challenges of diversity hiring, even for institutions with diversity initiatives and strong administrative support.  The presenters, authors of an academic search manual that focuses on diversity hiring, will briefly overview the issues and challenges, and engage the audience to offer their perspectives and solutions to the diversity hiring crisis.
Lauren Vicker, Professor, Chair, St. John Fisher College; Harriette Royer, Director, Education and Counseling, William E. Simon Graduate School of Business Administration, University of Rochester
Vicker Royer discussion notes (PDF)
Vicker Royer presentation slides (PDF)

Cooperative and Interdisciplinary General Education Reform:  The Success and Limits of BRIDGE
This session will examine a specific general education reform process (BRIDGE) at a state university from the perspective of modeling integration and interdisciplinarity.  It will highlight the successes and the difficulties of the process, concerning practical and theoretical assumptions about the relationship between general education and the disciplines.  The session will include opportunities for participants to reflect on their institutional situations, with an eye to general education reform, using ideas from Paulo Freire.
Eric Ruckh, Associate Professor of History, Chair BRIDGE Committee, Jennifer Rehg, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, Paul Brunkow, Associate Professor of Biological Sciences, and David Sill, Senior Scholar – all of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
Supplemental information available here
Success and Limits of BRIDGE PowerPoint (PDF)

Intentional Learning in the Psychology Major:  The Experience at COPLAC Institutions
Psychology is one of the largest majors at public liberal arts colleges, but faculty members arestill able to offer students meaningful undergraduate research experiences, capstone seminars, and the small class experience. This session will focus on innovative approaches to undergraduate learning in departments of psychology at public liberal arts colleges.
Moderator:  William Spellman, Dean of Humanities, University of North Carolina at Asheville
Panelists:  Luis Cordon, Professor of Psychology, Eastern Connecticut State University; Peggy Brooks, Professor of Psychology, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts; Kristen Gilbert, Professor of Psychology, University of Montevallo This session is sponsored by the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges
Intentional Teaching PowerPoint PDF
ComparisonChart (PDF)

ACAD Session:
Preparing for Change: Selecting Leadership Strategies for Learning Success As leaders become more engaged in promoting student learning and accountability on their campuses, new leadership strategies to advance collaboration and innovative programs are essential. Presenters will assist leaders to strengthen their abilities to use collaborative leadership practices and to identify leadership strategies by responding to mini-cases studies and sharing successes and solutions to learning leadership challenges.
Carleen Vande Zande, Special Assistant to the Vice President of Academic Affairs, Marian College; Larry A. Robinson, Office of the Provost, Seton Hall University
Leaders Role in Change AACU 2008

FRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 8:45-10:15 am

Featured Session
Transforming the Undergraduate STEM Community
There are multiple and diverse initiatives focused on transforming the undergraduate STEM community. A three-column grid of student learning goals would include the AAC&U LEAP goals in one column, learning goals from 21st century pedagogies in a second, and learning goals from scientific disciplinary societies in a third – but the best of these initiatives share a vision of student learning. This interactive session will encourage participants to synthesize the perspectives on student learning goals from a variety of disciplines and external agencies. Participants will also identify specific steps to build campus-wide awareness of the relationship between broad institutional goals for student learning, what is taught, and how it is taught.
Judith Dilts, Associate Dean, College of Science & Mathematics, James Madison University; Louise Hainline, Dean for Research & Graduate Studies, City University of New York—Brooklyn College; Bradford Lister, Director, Anderson Center for Innovation in Undergraduate Education. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; Jeanne Narum, Director, Project Kaleidoscope; James Swartz, Vice President for Academic Affairs, Dean of Faculty and Professor of Chemistry, Grinnell College
This session is sponsored by Project Kaleidoscope

Supporting Faculty as They Support Student Learning
Faculty members form the heart of an institution’s resources to promote student learning. This session highlights significant changes in faculty demographic characteristics, the nature of faculty appointments, and faculty work itself. Given these changes, universities and colleges face the challenge of fostering academic workplaces that support a diverse faculty.  Participants will learn about and discuss effective and innovative policies, programs, and practices to help them attract and retain excellent faculty committed to fostering student learning.
Ann Austin, Erickson Professor of Higher, Adult, and Lifelong Education, Michigan State University

The Intentional Service-Learning Course: The Unscripted Challenges
The panelists – all finalists for the 2007 Thomas Ehrlich Faculty Award for Service-Learning – will discuss their experiencesof creatingservice-learning courses and how they incorporate, (co-)teach, and/or create civic andintercultural knowledge, social responsibility, and globalcitizenship education. They will address their intentions for their courses, what they learned that they did not expect, and what their students andcommunity taught them.  The panel will also explore the difference between charity andpromoting social justice via service-learning projects.  Are they different?  How so?  Does it make a difference in the course?
Moderator: Marybeth Lima, Professor of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, Louisiana State University and recipient, 2008 Ehrlich Award for Service-Learning
George Catalano, Professor of Bioengineering, Binghamton University; Jeff Gingerich, Associate Professor of Sociology Cabrini College; Jean Strait, Associate Professor of Education, Hamline University; Rachel Willis, Associate Professor of American Studies, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill -- all finalists for the 2008 Ehrlich Award for Service-Learning
This session is sponsored by Campus Compact

Views of Change across the Horizon: Using Policy to Create Partnerships that Change Practice
What is required to foster change within institutions of higher education? Through brief presentations and small group discussion, participants in this interactive session will engage in a guided dialogue focused on institutional change across different types of institutions, define the types of evidence that demonstrate the presence of change, and tackle the question of what is required to ensure that teaching and pedagogical scholarship becomes part of an institution’s faculty culture.
Patricia Maloney, Consultant; Penelope Earley, Professor and Director, Center for Education Policy, George Mason University; Richard Millman, Professor of Mathematics and Acting Chair of Curriculum and Instruction, University of Kentucky
Supplemental information available here

Diversity's Civic Death
The civic death of diversity has been announced. Should we attend the funeral and move on, deny the evidence and continue with what we have been doing?  Or should we shape new strategies to revitalize the teaching of diversity in our universities?  Resegregation, the decline of affirmative action, and recent research testify to a diminished civic commitment to integration, racial inclusion, and other forms of social heterogeneity.  What should we do?
Timothy Green, Professor of English, and Marianne Hopper, Dean of University Programs – both of St. Edward's University
Supplemental information available here

Paradigm Shifting Without a Clutch
Fostering liberal learning outcomes without a thorough knowledge of change theory is like “paradigm shifting without a clutch.”  The use of change management approaches may not guarantee success, but it helps organize the process and improves the likelihood of achieving desired outcomes.  Change management theory provides insights into how change can be analyzed, planned, and implemented.   Participants will be challenged to examine their change strategies and develop and apply alternative approaches.
Stephen Zerwas, Director of Academic Assessment, University of North Carolina at Greensboro; Kathleen Rountree, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, Ithaca College

Rehearsal and Improvisation:  Aligning Campus Scripts with Millennial Student Development
New discoveries in adolescent brain development challenge campus leaders to align educational goals and practices with the physical, cognitive, and social developmental capabilities and needs of millennial students.  The presenters, using the work of scholars such as Magolda, Giedd, Howe, and Strauss, will critique with the audience their experiences in developmental programming.  
Carol Long, Dean, College of Liberal Arts, Willamette University; Kris Bartanen, Academic Vice President and Dean of the University, and Alyce DeMarais, Associate Academic Dean – both of the University of Puget Sound; Jeanne Ortiz, Dean of Students, Whittier College
Supplemental information available here (PDF)
Supplemental information available here (PDF)

CLAQWA Online: Next Steps in Writing Assessment
This session will demonstrate how writing assessment can be integrated anywhere in the curriculum using a theoretically-grounded and easy to use online system.  Perspectives from three institutions will show how practical writing and thinking skills can be developed using integrated assessment that is logically designed around classroom assignments.  The session will showcase the ideas and experience of using such a system – for instructional and assessment purposes – and to invite participants to join a consortium of CLAQWA Online users.
Teresa Flateby, Director, Office of Assessment, University of South Florida; Allen DuPont, Director of Assessment, North Carolina State University; David Eubanks, Director of Planning, Assessment, and Information Services, Coker College
Supplemental information available here.
Supplemental information available here.

FRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 10:30-11:45 am

Featured Session
Engaging Science: Bringing Creativity to the Undergraduate Classroom
Teaching often takes a back seat to research at leading American universities. Determined to change that fact, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) combed the country for leading research scientists who, through their teaching and mentoring, strive to ignite the scientific spark in a new generation of students. This session will explore best practices for creating hands-on learning experiences that challenge students to think like working scientists.
Claudia M. Neuhauser, HHMI Professor and Head Distinguished McKnight University Professor
Dept. of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, University of Minnesota; Utpal Banerjee, HHMI Professor and Chair of the Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology Department, University of California, Los Angeles; and Jo Handelsman, HHMI Professor of Bacteriology and Plant Pathology, University of Wisconsin, Madison.
Chair:  Peter J. Bruns, Vice President for Grants and Special Program, Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Peter Bruns Bringing science to the classroom (PowerPoint - PDF)
NUMB3R5 COUNT (PowerPoint - PDF)
Podcast

Integrating Liberal Education in Business Curricula
Richard Stevens, senior vice president at Boeing, recently asserted that a broad education anchored by ethics and critical thinking—in other words, a liberal arts education—is crucial to success in business.  The Associated New American Colleges define themselves by their integration of conceptual, liberal inquiry and applied, professional learning.  In this session, five ANAC business deans will discuss both the conceptual models that guide the curricular integration of business and liberal learning and the specific steps taken by their universities in implementing these models.
Moderator: Nancy Carrick, Vice President of Academic Affairs, University of Redlands
Panelists:  Bob Clark, Dean, University of Evansville; Dick Fetter, Dean, School of Business and interim provost, Butler University; Alicia Jackson, Dean, School of Business, Susquehanna University; Stuart Noble-Goodman, Dean, School of Business, University of Redlands; Pat Raines, Dean, School of Business, Belmont University
This session is sponsored by the Associated New American Colleges

“High-Impact” Practices:  What They Are, Why They Work, and Who Benefits
“High-impact” practices such as learning communities, student-faculty research, study abroad, and capstone seminars are positively associated with a host of educational outcomes.  But to maximize student learning, we must know more about how these practices work in different settings with different students. The presenters will summarize results from items added to the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) that measure the effects of participating in “high impact” practices on other college experiences and self-reported outcomes.
George Kuh, Chancellor's Professor and Director, Robert Gonyea, Assistant Research Scientist and Associate Director, Jillian Kinzie, Assistant Research Scientist and Associate Director,, and Thomas Nelson Laird, Assistant Professor and Project Manager – all of the Center for Postsecondary Research, Indiana University

Using Technology to Build Collective Responsibility for Improving Student Learning:  Two Universities Collaborate To Develop One Organizational Learning Environment
This session showcases the partnership between two research universities that are using the same continuous improvement system and technology to tackle a persistent problem—how to affect faculty culture to develop a renewed sense of collective responsibility for improving student learning.  This demonstration of an operating organizational learning environment addresses a critical LEAP question and conference theme about how institutions can show that students are actually achieving the kinds of learning they need for life, work and citizenship.
Kim Bender, Director of Assessment, Colorado State University; Nancy Mitchell, Professor, College of Journalism and Mass Communications, and Jeremy Penn, Assessment Associate for PEARL – both of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Using Technology - PowerPoint (PDF)
Supplemental Information (web site)
Supplemental Information (web site)

Visioning a Future in Times of Fiscal Challenge
This panel presentation will provide a candid portrayal of an institution seeking to effect change despite and because of fiscal constraints. We do so because the change being sought should enhance student learning and make it more mission-centered, intentional and integrative. In addition to the intrinsic worth of such efforts, we think that this focus is essential for us to overcome our enrollment challenges and revitalize our institution.
Lauren Bowen, Associate Academic Vice President for Academic Programs and Faculty Diversity, Nicholas Santilli, Associate Academic Vice President for Planning and Assessment, Linda Eisenmann, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Chris Kerr, Coordinator of Social Justice Initiatives and Immersion Experiences, and Peggy Finucane, Interim Director of the Center for Community Service – all of John Carroll University

History Across the Curriculum: A Case for the Integrative Function of History in the University
In "The End of Education," the late Neil Postman suggested that "all subjects be taught from an historical prospective." It is in this spirit that the panel will discuss how a historical perspective is essential to a variety of disciplines. The panel reflects this diversity of discipline, with representatives from departments of English, Astronomy, and Education.
George Savage, Chair of the Department of Langages and Literatures, Elena Levy-Navarro, Associate Professor of English, and Anne Durst, Associate Professor of Education – all of the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater;  David Cohen, Associate Professor of Astronomy, Swarthmore College

Liberal Education and the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning:  An Integrated System-level Approach
This panel explores the integration of two University of Wisconsin System initiatives—the LEAP Campaign to the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning—in order to develop the role of SoTL in measuring achievement of LEAP outcomes to ensure that all students get the education they need and deserve in today’s world.  The panel will address challenges and benefits of system-level leadership and integration of work taking place across multiple institutions.
Rebecca Karoff, Academic Planner, Rebecca Martin, Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, and Lisa Kornetsky, Director of the Office of Professional and Instructional Development – all of the University of Wisconsin System Administration; Mary Huber, Senior Scholar and Director of the Integrative Learning Project, The Carnegie Foundation for Teaching

Liberal Arts Colleges Outside the United States

Planning Global Citizenship Education In Pakistan
In planning the Faculty of Arts and Sciences of the Aga Khan University we are bringing new pedagogy and a new vision of co-curricular life to Pakistan. What are the challenges we face in relation to our stakeholders and the larger community?  What do we think will work to prepare young Pakistanis and others from the region of the twenty-first century as global citizens and educated people?
Marcia Grant, Academic Planning Head, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, The Aga Khan University; Assia Bandukda, Academic Planning Manager, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, The Aga Khan University; Brian Nedwek, Vice President for Academic Affairs, Maryville University

Education with “Presence”
The mission of undergraduate education is to prepare the student for social and economic endeavors, as well as be a foundation for life.  Committed to constructive engagement with the whole of human culture, Effat College aims to educate tomorrow’s diversity of leaders at an international standard by providing an interdisciplinary environment conducive to inspired teaching, learning, and research. The interaction between the student and the institution is made even more meaningful if we are truly present for that student. 
Haifa Jamal Al-Lail, Dean, and Elizabeth Noble, Vice Dean of Institutional Planning and Quality Control – both of Effat College

Growing Pains of the Academic Skills Curriculum at University College, Utrecht University
What works and what doesn't?  University College Utrecht CUC) is a continental Europe pioneer in Liberal Education, having taken up the challenge of preparing students in a Liberal Arts & Sciences curriculum for specialized graduate studies within the context of a discipline oriented Higher Education System.  By subscribing to the Bologna Charter in 1999, Europe decided to harmonise its variety of Higher Education system and adopt an undergraduate-graduate model. Anticipating this decision Utrecht University, founded its international undergraduate honors college in 1997.  Since then, the concept of Liberal Arts and Sciences has gained increasing recognition and the UCU model has proven to be a valuable alternative to early specialization.
Orlanda Lie, Professor medieval culture; Head Humanities Department, and Fried Keesen, Director of Education, Head Academic Core Department – both of University College Utrecht, University College Utrecht
Growing Pains of the Academic Skills Curriculum (PDF)

Learning Communities for STEM Academic Achievement:  Improving STEM Teaching and Learning at Historically Black Colleges and Universities
This session will report on the Learning Communities for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Academic Achievement (LCSAA) project.  This FIPSE-funded initiative includes four partner HBCU’s which have been engaged for three years in inter-institutional and interdisciplinary learning communities to develop innovative curricular approaches to increasing African-American students’ STEM achievement.  The audience will learn about the major activities on each campus; outcomes and efficacy of the projects; and lessons learned about best practice and implementing learning communities in STEM.  The presentations will demonstrate the impact of the LCSAA project on the institutions, faculty and students that have been involved
Kimberley Freeman, Co-Project Director - Learning Communities for STEM Academic Achievement,  Howard University, and Jill McGowan, Associate Professor, LCSAA Fellow – both of Howard University; Tor Kwembe, Professor, LCSAA Campus Coordinator, Jackson State University; Jacqueline Farr, Associate Professor, LCSAA Fellow, Talladega College; Marrion Carroll, Assistant Professor, LCSAA Fellow, Xavier University

ACAD Session:
The Ins and Outs of Deaning: Why We Become Deans and Why We Quit
This presentation is based on our own leadership experiences, as a new dean and an 18-year veteran, and on our disciplinary expertise in organizational behavior and social psychology.  Research on why faculty members become deans and why deans continue or step down will provide context for discussion of the experiences of audience members. 
Christopher J. Zappe, Interim Dean, College of Arts and Sciences and Associate Professor of Management, and  Eugenia P. Gerdes, Dean Emerita, College of Arts and Sciences and Professor of Psychology – both of Bucknell University
ZappeGerdes PowerPoint (PDF)

ACAD Keynote Luncheon

Promoting Interdisciplinarity? Aligning Faculty Rewards with Curricular and Institutional Realities

Cathy Trower
Cathy Trower is Director and Research Associate at the Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education.
Podcast

FRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 1:30-2:30 pm

Featured Session
Engaging Community College Students in Authentic Undergraduate ResearchEngaging community college students in research is one of higher education’s most important investments in advancing liberal education outcomes, promoting successful transfer to four-year institutions and helping ensure completion of baccalaureate degrees. This session will present strategies for recruiting students and increasing their confidence and ability to become effective science practitioners, ways to promote faculty collaboration between two- and four-year colleges, and how to help students successfully transition from two-year to four-year institutions.
Kelly McConnaughay, Professor of Biology, Bradley University; Thomas J. Dowd Jr., Associate Professor, William Rainey Harper College; David Brown, Professor of Chemistry, Southwestern College; Jodi Wesemann, Assistant Director for Higher Education, American Chemical Society

A “Win-Win” IT Solution to Focus Students’ Curricular and Co-Curricular Plans on Essential Outcomes
Academic institutions should “give students a compass” to focus their curricular and even co-curricular plans on achieving essential outcomes—and then assess progress.  This session demonstrates an IT solution that implements this process:  a) schools determine essential outcomes; b) students input activities; and c) schools monitor essential outcomes and provide interim mentoring via the academic advising and career planning processes.  Institutions also seeking strategies for student civic engagement, the first-year experience, co-curricular transcripts, student resumes and portfolio tools should attend.
L. K. Williams, Co-Founder of Data180
This session is sponsored by Data180

Enabling Continuous Improvement in Blackboard
Build a culture of evidence to improve your academic effectiveness. Extend your Blackboard environment to make it easier to adopt assessment institution-wide. The Blackboard Outcomes System helps inform improvement of student learning with evidence-based decisions;manage quality processes for institutional assessment committees and departmental assessment projects; and streamline compliance with the most challenging requirements of regional and specialized accreditation. Learn how institutions have expanded Blackboard to support campus-wide assessment and improvement.
Neil Allison, Director, Outcomes Strategy, Blackboard, and Donna Jones, Solutions Engineer, Blackboard

Sustaining High-Stakes Change
After a new program has been implemented, normalcy threatens leaders' ability to maintain its successes and improve its weaknesses. This presentation identifies campus stakeholders whose intellectual and emotional satisfaction largely contribute to the future of a once new program and solicits ideas about how better to re-energize after the first year of implementation.
Melissa Meeks, Director of WISe, Assistant Professor of English, Vivia Fowler, Dean and Vice President for Academic Affairs, and Patricia Gibbs, Vice President for Enrollment Services and Student Affairs – all of Wesleyan College
Sustaining High-Stakes Change PowerPoint (PDF)
high stakes handout

20/20 Session:   Sustainability Issues on Campus

Back to the Future:  Re-inventing a “Green” Learning Environment
This session provides a blueprint for campus planning and innovation tied to issues of sustainability and grounded in the principles of liberal learning.  Transformative institutional change is possible when community members are open to boundary crossing both within and outside the organization and when individual and institutional focus is tied directly to an integrated set of liberal learning outcomes:  civic engagement; responsible citizenship; and problem solving informed by knowledge of the physical and natural world.
Jacqueline Johnson, Chancellor, Lowell Rasmussen, Associate Vice Chancellor, Campus Planning and Facilities, and Sandy Olson-Loy, Vice Chancellor Student Affairs – all of the University of MInnesota Morris
Supplemental information available here

Global Climate Change and Campus Movements
This presentation looks at national developments in and the effectiveness of citizen engagement on global warming. Special emphasis is given to the role of new forms of campus and youth activism that have often stimulated commitments from staff, faculty, and administration.
Robert Musil, co-author, Ignition: How You Can Fight Global Warming and Spark a Movement

20/20 Session: Efficient Strategies for Institutional Change

Making It Happen
By what process can university structure be changed in order to fulfill the mission more completely and meet the needs of the campus and external communities?  Western Connecticut State University relocated and reorganized departments and programs to form a new school.  This presentation addresses the process, applicable elsewhere, and the outcomes assessed during the first year of operation.
Carol Hawkes, Dean, School of Visual and Performing Arts, Western Connecticut State University
MAKING IT HAPPEN - PowerPoint (PDF)

3/5ths of a Mile in Ten Seconds
This presentation will describe the ups and downs of introducing an interdisciplinary, inquiry based general education curriculum on short notice – including what worked, what didn't, and everything in between. Learn how one small private college discovered not only a lot about general education, but a lot about itself, its students, and its culture, and how those lessons can be applied to other programs at other schools in the same situation.
Robert Mayer, Faculty, Core Division, David Kite, Professor and Philosophy Coordinator, Cinse Bonino, Director of Instructional Development, and Jennifer Vincent, Assistant Professor of Economics – all of Champlain College
Overview Champlain College Presentation (PDF)
Part 1-Moving Off Center Champlain College (PDF)
Part 2-Implementation Champlain College (PDF)
Curriculum Comparison Champlain College (PDF)

Praxis Pedagogy: Integrating Theory and Practice Across the Curriculum
The term “Praxis Pedagogy” draws from the work of John Dewey and Paulo Freire, who have significantly influenced experiential education, service-learning and civic engagement.  The purpose of this session – intended to connect research and theory to practical implications – is to report on three studies that have led to the development of a “Praxis Pedagogy” model for community engaged learning courses; to describe this approach to teaching and learning; and to present some of the challenges for working with students and faculty, academic institutions, and community partners.
Margaret Post, Director, Donelan Office of Community-based Learning, College of the Holy Cross; Lisa Boes, Research Officer, Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning, Harvard University

Intentional Pathways: Designing Learning Models to Develop Informed, Responsible, Self-Directed Students
This workshop shares curriculum and assessment models from two campuses in the AAC&U “Shared Futures” global education initiative, each with distinctive missions to prepare students for social responsibility.  We invite discussion of assessment as a process that establishes buy-in from faculty across the institution toward the purposeful development of students’ learning experiences. Such designs are purposeful, intentional pathways that delineate curricular structures and processes while assessing student outcomes against stated goals of such models.
Christine Krueger, Director, University Core of Common Studies and Associate Professor of English, Marquette University; Bruce Keith, Professor of Sociology and  Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, United States Military Academy
Intentional Pathways - Cultural Perspective Goal Rubric (PDF)
Intentional Pathways - Cultural Perspective Goal Standard (PDF)
Intentional Pathways - Overarching Goal Assessment Instrument (PDF)
Intentional Pathways - Overarching Goal Standard (PDF)
Intentional Pathways - PowerPoint (PDF)
Intentional Pathways handout (PDF)

Pathways for 21 Century Survival: To Meet The Unscripted Challenges By Knowing Self, Understanding Others, And Collaborating To Solve Complex Problems. ... And We Teach That How?
Faculty from two different liberal arts colleges and teaching in different disciplines, each creating alliances with their institutions’ career services and counseling centers, will share a three phased instructional pedagogy that enables students to explore and draw pragmatic applications from an exploration of their cultural history and key personality preferences. These students gain a deeper understanding of themselves and richer insights into others enabling the building of collaborative team processes for solving complex, multifaceted problems. This pedagogical process forms a critical set of requisite skills for success in the 21st Century world: knowing self, understanding others, and collaborating to solve complex problems. 
Cecilia Mcinnis-bowers, Professor of International Business, Rollins College; Byron E. Chew, Monaghan Professor of Management, Birmingham-Southern College
Presentation Revised Version for Website (PDF)

Assessing Information Literacy Across Institutions: The Research Practices Survey
Information literacy – the ability to conduct ethical and effective academic research using appropriate strategies and resources with knowledge and discernment – is an essential college outcome.  This session shares lessons learned from the 2006-07 administration of the Research Practices Survey, an innovative on-line tool for assessing student information literacy developed by faculty, librarians, assessment professionals, and students from eight liberal arts institutions.  Particular attention will be given to the use of results for instructional improvement.
Jo Beld, Director of Evaluation and Assessment and Professor of Political Science, St. Olaf College; Shauna Sweet, Research Analyst and Graduate Student, Joint Program of Survey Methodology, University of Maryland
Additional information available here
Additional information available here

ACAD Session:
Learning to Bridge the World: Strategies for Global Partnerships
This panel discussion features representatives from three institutions with successful international partnerships in China, the Middle East, and Antigua. Panelists will address strategies for establishing and maintaining successful international partnerships as well as sharing the rewards and challenges of global education.
Virginia M. Coombs, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, Keuka College; Laura de Abruna, Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, Roger Williams University; Janice Levy, Associate Professor of Cinema, Photography & Media Arts, Ithaca College

FRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 2:45-4:00 pm

Featured Session
Cultivating the Spirit: College and the Search for Meaning
This presentation will be based on a national longitudinal study of college students' spiritual development.  Questions to be addressed include:  How does the undergraduate experience shape students' spiritual development?  How does spirituality interface with academic life?  The presenters will also address the role of spirituality in shaping students’ social behavior towards others, the community, and the world.
Alexander W. Astin, Senior Scholar & Founding Director, and Helen S. Astin, Professor Emeritus and Senior Scholar – both at the Higher Education Research Institute, University of California, Los Angeles
Supplemental Information (web site)
Spirituality in Higher Education PowerPoint (PDF)
Podcast

Featured Session
Academic Governance in the New Academy
For nearly a century three concepts have formed the centerpiece of academic practice: the rights and correlative duties of academic freedom, peer review, and shared governance. This session will reaffirm the value of these concepts, critique the way they are implemented in practice, and suggest revisions in all three based on changes that have taken place in the academy. The speakers will argue that the academic profession is failing to socialize its new members about its traditions and ethical principles, leading to the slow erosion of the profession’s autonomy. The session will offer new approaches for socializing faculty to better prepare them for exercising their educational and scholarly responsibilities.
Jerry Gaff, Senior Fellow, AAC&U; Neil Hamilton, Professor of Law, University of Saint Thomas; Peter Ewell, Vice President, National Center for Higher Education Management Systems
Podcast

Institutional Reorganization in Support of Liberal Education
Panel members will show how three institutions have initiated significant institutional reorganization to advance essential learning outcomes and give undergraduate education a unified voice by establishing a University College. Panelists will discuss the relation between the intentional and the unscripted in terms of both intended and unintended consequences of reorganizational efforts and the intentional effort to provide structures for continuous change. Participants should come away with both ideas for institutional change and challenges to anticipate.
David Haney, Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education, and Carter Hammett-McGarry, Director of General Education – both of Appalachian State University; John Smail, Dean of University College, University of North Carolina at Charlotte; Gregory Young, Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education, Montana State University

Global Education at a Global Research University
Carnegie Mellon University has branch campuses in Silicon Valley, California, and Education City, Doha, Qatar, along with programs in Singapore and Australia.  In 2006, the Pittsburgh campus began a three-year pilot project to enhance global learning on that campus.  This project supports eight separate courses in seven of the university's different schools or colleges.  Now, in collaboration with AAC&U's Shared Futures Inititative, Carnegie Mellon is working with 15 other U.S. colleges and universities to enhance global learning even further.
Michael West, Teaching Professor of French and Francophone Studies, and Amy Burkert, Director, Health Professions Program – both of Carnegie Mellon University

NEH Funding Opportunities
This session will offer participants a review of current funding opportunities and priorities in higher education from the National Endowment for the Humanities, led by senior program officers from the agency.
Frederick Winter, Senior Program Officer, National Endowment for the Humanities
NEH PowerPoint (PDF)

Strategic Innovation for 21st Century Learning
The University of the Pacific has ventured into bold territory with its recent strategic planning process intentionally focused on transforming the student learning experience. The process resulted in the genesis of new programs and initiatives that will better prepare Pacific's graduates to thrive in our interdependent and dynamic world. The presentation overviews innovation processes and details three initiatives – the Global Center for Social Entrepreneurship, the First-Year Experience, and the Emotional Social Intelligence initiative.
Robert Brodnick, Assistant Provost for Planning, Innovation, and Institutional Assessment, Elizabeth Griego, Vice President, Student Life, Lou Matz, Associate Dean for General Education, Jerry Hildebrand, Director Global Center for Social Entrepreneurship – all of University of the Pacific
Supplemental information available here (PDF)

Faculty-Student Learning Communities as Effective “Crosswalks and Communal Spaces” for Engaged Global Learning
Through providing connections across multiple liberal arts and professional disciplines and a forum for common exploration of complex problems, faculty-student learning communities can provide the “crosswalks and communal spaces” that AAC&U’s report, College Learning for the New Global Century, describes as necessary to move beyond academic divisions.  This session will describe a model of learning communities that facilitates undergraduate research in a civic engagement context.  Presenters will chart how particular practices result in significant student achievement in the areas listed within the AAC&U’s “Essential Learning Outcomes,” with specific examples drawn from the projects of the two student presenters.
Catharine O'Connell, Vice President for Academic Affairs,  Jo Ann Burkhardt, Head of Teacher Education, Kaitlin Studer, Student, and Elizabeth Grafing, student – all of Defiance College
Supplemental information available here

Outcomes for Student Learning from Undergraduate Research Experiences
This session will describe efforts to assess student learning and other outcomes derived from mentored research experiences.  We will discuss establishing forals for research programs and measurements that can be undertaken to evaluate outcomes and assess the quality of the research being accomplished.
Nancy Hensel, Executive Officer, Council on Undergraduate Research,; David Brakke, Dean, College of Science and Mathematics, James Madison University; Mary Crowe, Director, Office of Undergraduate Research, University of North Carolina-Greensboro
This session is sponsored by the Council on Undergraduate Research

LEAP Goals and Faculty Development:  A Curricular Approach
This session combines theory, practice, and research to demonstrate that the LEAP goals for liberal education apply to faculty development programming as well as undergraduate curricula. Accepting the premise that faculty development is curricular, i.e, goal-oriented, iterative, active, and responsive to assessment, a LEAP-informed approach speaks to the lifelong learning that higher education seeks to instill in all students.
Carol Rutz, Director, Writing Program, Elizabeth Ciner, Associate Dean of the College, and Nathan Grawe, Associate Professor of Economics – all of Carleton College
Supplemental information available here.
Carleton College - Quantitative Inquiry, Reasoning, and Knowledge (web site)

Public Health and the Future of Undergraduate Education
The world’s challenge to human health has never been greater.  This panel will present an overview of public health education within the liberal arts.  Using LEAP goals, we offer program material in integrative public health and epidemiology. Discussion will address general education and minor program designs and consider challenges to collaboration across professional and liberal arts schools.  We hope to prompt new thinking toward an educated citizenry and encourage networking for a new national initiative.
Susan Albertine, Dean, School of Culture and Society, The College of New Jersey, and Professor of English and President-elect, Council of Colleges of Arts and Sciences, David Fraser, Former President, Swarthmore College, and Adjunct Professor of Epidemiology, University of Pennsylvania; Richard K. Riegelman, Professor of Epidemiology, Medicine, and Health Policy and former (founding) Dean, School of Public Health and Health Services, George Washington University; Nancy Persily, Clinical Professor and former Associate Dean of Academic Affairs, SUNY Albany, School of Public Health
The Curriculum Guide for Undergraduate Public Health Education (Version 1.0) is now posted. Comments and feedback are welcome. [ PDF document]Public Health - PowerPoint (PDF)
Public Health Handout (PDF)
Public Health Consensus Report (PDF)

The Democracy Imperative: Advancing Deliberative Democracy in and through Higher Education
This session will address the need for democracy "across the curriculum" and what that might look like. We will discuss the barriers to integrative education about democratic principles of freedom, justice, and equity and democratic practices of inclusive dialogue, public reason, shared governance, conflict transformation, and collaborative policymaking and action. We will make the case for elevating "public reason" to a core competency parallel to, for example, critical thinking.  Through an interactive format, we will consider the barriers to this work, and how colleges and universities can overcome those barriers.
Nancy Thomas, Acting Director, The Democracy Imperative, Bruce Mallory, Provost and Executive Vice President, and Michele Holt-Shannon, Associate Director of Discovery – all of the University of New Hampshire
Supplemental information available here
Democracy Imperative PowerPoint (PDF)

ACAD Session:
Structures and Leadership for Experiential Education
Experiential learning is widely recognized as a powerful pedagogical method and important means for community service and engagement. Presenters will discuss the process, challenges, and evolution of experiential learning structures at their respective institutions, and participants will consider best practices, different institutional models, community concerns, and other opportunities to expand experiential education.
Lake Lambert, Director, Center for Community Engagement, and Ferol Menzel, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the Faculty – both of Wartburg College; Bruce Dalgaard, Executive Director, Center for Experiential Learning, and Arnie Ostebee, Assistant Provost – both of  St. Olaf College; Cheri Doane, Director of Community-Based Learning, Central College

FRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 4:15-5:30 pm

Featured Session
Reframing the Quality and Accountability Challenge:  Employers, Educators and the Quest for Meaningful Evidence
Assessment and accountability are the buzzwords of the year. But the call for instant metrics is missing the real message from employers: the desperate need for college graduates—in all fields—who can work in innovative environments, think beyond the obvious, and bring practical intelligence to a turbulent global economy. Given this disconnect, how should educators respond?
Moderator: Carol Geary Schneider, President, AAC&U
Panelists:  Wayne Johnson, Vice President for University Relations Worldwide, Hewlett Packard; Robert Sternberg, Dean Of Arts And Sciences, Tufts University
Podcast

The Special Promise of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning: Looking to the Past and to the Future
The scholarship of teaching and learning aims to transform the culture of college teaching by making the private work of the classroom visible, discussed, studied, built upon, and valued by the entire academic community. In this session, the leadership team of the Carnegie Academy for t