Press Release

CONTACT: Debra Humphreys
(202) 387-3760 (ext. 422)
E-mail: humphreys@aacu.org

Eleven Colleges and Universities to Participate in Project Aimed at Preparing College Students for Responsible Global Citizenship

Washington, DC—April 9, 2002—The Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) announced today the names of ten colleges and universities competitively chosen to participate in its newest initiative, "Liberal Education and Global Citizenship: The Arts of Democracy," a curriculum and faculty development project supported with funds from The Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE) in the Department of Education.

Participating Institutions (funded by FIPSE) :

Representing a wide variety of institutional types, these schools have all committed to developing new courses within undergraduate majors that will encourage students to think about global issues, diversity issues from an historical perspective, questions of justice and equality, and democratic practices and principles.

"Liberal Education and Global Citizenship" is the first funded project in AAC&U's ongoing initiative, "Shared Futures: Learning for a World Lived in Common." It aims to prepare future college graduates to become more informed, socially responsible, and engaged citizens of the nation and the world. The project will assist institutions as they provide students with a sophisticated understanding of their increasingly interconnected but unequal world.

The three-year project will support faculty and administrative teams with a series of activities: a four-day faculty institute, an online faculty development seminar, grant funds to support campus-based faculty development activities, and working forums at AAC&U's regional and annual meetings. An advisory board of leading scholars will also serve as campus consultants. They include: Grant Cornwell, St. Lawrence University; Evelyn Hu-Dehart, University of Colorado, Boulder; Obioma Nnaemeka, Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis; Chandra Talpade Mohanty, Hamilton College; Eve Stoddard, St. Lawrence University; Janice Monk, University of Arizona, Tucson; and Jeff Milem, University of Maryland.

"This project will be one small way of beginning to work toward another kind of global community than the fractured, violence-ridden one represented by the kind of heinous acts committed on September 11th. Our students can and should become part of a wider positive force committed to working in community with others across cultural, religious, and national borders to create socially responsible, peaceful, and equitable societies" said Caryn McTighe Musil, project director and AAC&U vice president responsible for Diversity, Equity, and Global Initiatives.

FIPSE is providing a grant of $609,497 to support this project. This represents 62 percent of the total cost of the project with the remaining 38 percent funded by AAC&U. AAC&U continues to seek support for the Shared Futures Initiative to enable more schools to participate in projects like Liberal Education and Global Citizenship. Updates and information about the project can be found at AAC&U's Web site (www.aacu.org/globalcitizenship/index.cfm).

AAC&U is the leading national association devoted to advancing and strengthening liberal learning for all students, regardless of academic specialization or intended career. Since its founding in 1915, AAC&U's membership has grown to more than 740 accredited public and private colleges and universities of every type and size.

AAC&U functions as a catalyst and facilitator, forging links among presidents, administrators, and faculty members who are engaged in institutional and curricular planning. Its mission is to reinforce the collective commitment to liberal education at both the national and local levels and to help individual institutions keep the quality of student learning at the core of their work as they evolve to meet new economic and social challenges.