Press Release

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

Professors Jean Eckrich and John Flohr Appointed
Faculty Fellows for Spring Semester

Eckrich will work with the American Association for Higher Education and Flohr with the Arts Education Partnership

Washington, DC—February 24, 2003—The Institute for Experiential Learning (IEL) and the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) announced the appointment of two new faculty fellows for the spring 2003 semester. Professors Jean Eckrich and John Flohr will serve as part of the Faculty Fellows Internship Program sponsored by IEL in cooperation with AAC&U.

Professor Eckrich is chair of Exercise and Sport Sciences at Colby-Sawyer College in New Hampshire. She will be spending her spring semester as a faculty fellow with the American Association for Higher Education (AAHE). As part of her fellowship, she will be exploring the scholarship of teaching and learning that has emerged from the AAHE and Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching partnership. She will assist in the production of a book about how campuses are supporting the scholarship of teaching and learning, and work on the implementation of a March colloquium on the subject.

Professor Eckrich's interests range from student learning, the liberal education curriculum and connections to the undergraduate major, and the role of faculty development in implementing pedagogical initiatives. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Delaware, her M.A. from the University of Wyoming, and her Ph.D. from Purdue University.

Professor John Flohr is professor of music education at Texas Woman's University. Flohr is spending his semester interning in Washington, DC at the Arts Education Partnership (AEP), a national coalition of arts, education, business, philanthropic, and government organizations that demonstrates and promotes the essential role of arts education in the learning and development of every child.

Professor Flohr's interests include music and early childhood education, arts, and psychology. He has recently completed a new text, The Musical Life of Young Children. He is president-elect of the Texas Music Educators Conference and is a board member of the Texas Coalition of the Arts. Professor Flohr received his undergraduate degree from Hamline University and his M.A. and Ph.D. in music education from the University of Illinois-Urbana.

"I am so impressed with this year's Faculty Fellows," stated Mary Ryan, Executive Director of IEL. "Both Jean and John bring a host of skills and interests to the program. They are risk-takers to come to Washington, DC and work in a non-academic environment for the semester. They look forward to being challenged by their work here. I look forward to working with them as they explore higher education issues in these more practical work environments."

The Faculty Fellows Internship Program enables faculty to broaden their professional, disciplinary, and personal horizons, reinvigorating their own work as scholars, teachers, and educational leaders. Faculty Fellows spend one full semester in the Washington, DC area immersed in a challenging professional environment, such as a government agency, non-profit organization, national association, museum, foundation, or other site. In collaboration with local leaders, participants investigate applied areas of knowledge, develop skills, and explore the systems and policies of their host organizations or agencies.
Through these professional internship experiences, Faculty Fellows return to campus with new insights about how the aims of liberal education can be enhanced by high quality experiential learning programs.
For information about the program, see www.ielnet.org/faculty_fellows.html.

IEL is a recognized leader in the field of experiential education, creating Washington, D.C. - based learning opportunities for U.S. and international students. Its highly successful academic programs include the Embassy and Diplomatic Scholars Program, which arranges student internship in embassies and international organizations, and the Capital Experience, which places interns at sites such as the National Institutes of Health, the Smithsonian Institution, and legislative offices on Capitol Hill."

IEL is committed to individual development through excellence in experiential education.

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 has more than 1000 members.

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.

Information about AAC&U membership, programs and publications can be found at www.aacu.org.