2008 Greater Expectations Institute: Campus Leadership for Student Engagement, Inclusion, and Achievement
June 20-24, 2007 | Burlington, Vermont
Dear Colleagues:
It is my pleasure to invite you to apply to send a leadership team to AAC&U’s 7th annual Greater Expectations Institute: Campus Leadership for Student Engagement, Inclusion, and Achievement, to be held June 20–24, 2007 in beautiful Burlington, Vermont. The Institute is a five-day, intensive program designed for campuses working on ways to increase student engagement, inclusion, and high achievement. The Institute will help you align institutional purposes, structures, and practices as well as advance and assess the kinds of practical liberal education outcomes outlined in AAC&U’s signature report, Greater Expectations: A New Vision for Learning as a Nation Goes to College, such as critical inquiry, intercultural competence, and integrative learning. Our setting—on the shores of Lake Champlain—will provide an ideal retreat for this important work
Nearly 200 teams representing all institutional types and sizes have participated in past Institutes. Overwhelmingly, they report that the experience offers significant assistance in planning and managing educational change. Once back on campus, teams regularly utilize Institute resources to build shared commitment for their educational change efforts across the institution. Some teams have developed leadership seminars and faculty retreats based on the Institute’s curriculum.
What you can expect from the Institute
Campus leadership teams come to the Institute to advance a specific educational change project. The Institute will help you align the project to your institution’s mission, clarify your desired outcomes, refine your planning and processes, and build a culture that fosters student and institutional learning. While in Burlington, teams will confer with expert faculty; explore more deeply the issues of engagement, inclusion, and high achievement; learn from other teams engaged in a rich variety of educational change efforts; and develop a concrete plan for departmental, divisional, or campus-wide action.
For the third year, we are pleased to offer team leaders the opportunity to participate in a half-day leadership development workshop. This pre-Institute session is designed to help leaders maximize their teams’ experiences in Burlington and develop skills in building consensus, understanding group dynamics, aligning institutional structures, and managing change. Team leaders will be invited to participate once their teams are accepted into the Institute. The workshop will entail a separate registration fee and will include lunch, refreshments, and materials.
This year, participants will have an opportunity to learn about the University of Vermont’s newest residential learning communities, Global Village and GreenHouse, which grew out of the university’s 2005 Institute action plan. In addition, UVM will welcome Institute participants to campus for a closing night dinner. AAC&U extends thanks to Dennis Mahoney, Professor of German and Director of the Global Village Residential Learning Community, John Sama,, Director of the Living and Learning Center, and Gary Derr, Chief of Staff, for arranging this very special event. For more information about the University of Vermont Residential Learning Communities, visit http://www.uvm.edu/~rlc/.
Standard of Excellence Framework
The Greater Expectations Institute curriculum grows out of AAC&U’s long-standing work in diversity and educational quality, most recently brought together under a major initiative, Making Excellence Inclusive. Our framework rests on two beliefs: that a high-quality, practical liberal education should be the standard of excellence for all students, and that diversity and intercultural competence are essential elements of a contemporary liberal education. AAC&U is a national resource for campuses looking to create and sustain diverse learning environments; the Institute focuses on developing the collaborative leadership needed to do so.
Please visit the sidebars to the right for more information about the Institute, including the curriculum, the faculty, and the application process.
Sincerely,
Alma R. Clayton-Pedersen
Vice President, Office of Education and Institutional Renewal
Director, Greater Expectations Institute
Questions? Please contact Nakia Bell at bell@aacu.org or 202-387-3760 ext. 407.
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