Press Release

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

Association of American Colleges and Universities Selects 111 Colleges and Universities to Participate in Summer Institutes

Teams of Faculty and Administrators Will Attend Institutes on
General Education, Leadership for Student Engagement, Inclusion, and Achievement, and Science Education and Civic Engagement

Washington, DC—April 2, 2003—The Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) announced today the selection of 111 colleges and universities-public and private, 2-year and 4-year-to participate in three separate institutes AAC&U sponsors each summer. Teams of faculty and administrators from 23 campuses will attend AAC&U's 13th annual Asheville Institute on General Education co-sponsored by and held at the University of North Carolina at Asheville from May 31-June 4, 2003. Teams from 42 campuses will participate in this year's Greater Expectations Institute focused on Student Engagement, Inclusion, and Achievement in Denver, Colorado from June 25-29, 2003. This institute is sponsored by AAC&U's national initiative, Greater Expectations: The Commitment to Quality as a Nation Goes to College. Representatives from 49 campuses will participate in the third summer institute sponsored by AAC&U's initiative, Science Education for New Civic Engagements and Responsibilities (SENCER), to be held at Santa Clara University from August 8-12, 2003.

"We are very pleased to have been selected to participate in the AAC&U summer institute," said Pamela Eibeck, vice provost for undergraduate studies at Northern Arizona University (NAU) and leader of a team chosen to attend the Greater Expectations institute. "Through the Greater Expectations project, AAC&U is leading the charge for colleges and universities to recognize and respond to the changing educational needs of our students and our society. By working with colleagues across the country at the institute, NAU will develop a workable plan to establish institution-wide educational objectives, and link those learning goals with effective pedagogy and assessment. Success in this endeavor will require long-term institutional changes through which all academic units will become central players in the integrated education of a student, rather than just providing pieces of the curriculum."

Teams attending AAC&U's Asheville Institute on General Education will work together to examine current trends in general education, discuss strategies for implementing curricular reforms especially in tight fiscal climates, and refine their own general education reform plans in the context of their own campus missions. Participants will attend sessions on such topics as assessing learning outcomes, faculty development, the politics of curricular change, interdisciplinarity and integrative learning, service learning, diversity and global learning, technology, and learning communities.

The third annual Greater Expectations Institute is designed to help faculty and administrative leaders create campus environments and curricular structures that prepare students to flourish in a complex, diverse, and interdependent world. The institute supports teams of campus leaders to work on ways to deepen and connect existing campus reform efforts. Teams at the institute develop a concrete plan of action that serves as a blueprint for divisional, departmental, and/or campus-wide action. The Institute addresses the urgent question of how to create campus environments that engage, include, and challenge all students while tapping innovative programs already in place.

The SENCER Institute is part of a comprehensive, national AAC&U project funded by the National Science Foundation. SENCER aims to improve undergraduate science education and stimulate civic engagement through the design and development of courses that teach basic science through learning about complex, capacious, and unsolved public issues such as HIV/AIDS. The SENCER Institute is designed to strengthen faculty leadership and institutional capacity through a team-based, intensive, residential program for innovators interested in developing or improving science courses that challenge students academically and engage and inspire their civic capacities. Participants in the Institute share models for undergraduate science and learn about resources to support continued development and improvement of science education at the undergraduate level.

See the lists of schools selected to participate in these three institutes below. For additional information about Greater Expectations, SENCER, or other AAC&U programs and initiatives, visit www.aacu.org.

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 1000 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.

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

Schools Attending the 2003 AAC&U/Asheville Institute on General Education
For information, contact Debra Humphreys, AAC&U, 202/387-3760 ext 422; Humphreys@aacu.org

Abilene Christian University (TX)
Augsburg College (MN)
Bates College (ME)
Buena Vista University (IA)
East Stroudsburg University (PA)
Indiana University of Pennsylvania (PA)
Keene State College (NH)
Lewis University (IL)
Louisiana Community and Technical College System (LA)
Messiah College (PA)
Montreat College (NC)
New York Institute of Technology (NY)
Oral Roberts University (OK)
Peace College (NC)
Roger Williams University (RI)
Saint Xavier University (IL)
Texas Wesleyan University (TX)
The University of North Carolina at Pembroke (NC)
Tusculum College (TN)
University of California, Merced (CA)
University of San Diego (CA)
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (VA)
Western Kentucky University (KY)

Schools Attending the 2003 Greater Expectations Institute on Student Engagement, Inclusion, and Achievement
For information, contact Debra Humphreys, AAC&U, 202/387-3760 ext 422; Humphreys@aacu.org

Alvernia College (PA)
Butler University (IN)
Chapman University (CA)
Chatham College (PA)
Christopher Newport University (VA)
Colby-Sawyer College (NH)
College of Notre Dame of Maryland (MD)
College of Saint Catherine (MN)
The College of Saint Scholastica (MN)
Dominican University, Illinois (IL)
Drexel University (PA)
Indiana State University (IN)
Indiana University, Purdue University - Fort Wayne (IN)
Indiana University, Purdue University - Indianapolis (IN)
Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture (Kenya)
Lane Community College (OR)
Mars Hill College (NC)
Miami University (OH)
Northern Arizona University (AZ)
Ohio Dominican University (OH)
Saint Joseph College, Connecticut (CT)
Southern Illinois University - Edwardsville (IL)
University of Michigan (MI)
University of Nebraska, Lincoln (NE)
University of St. Francis, Illinois (IL)
Washington State University (WA)
Appalachian College Association
Bluefield College (VA)
Ferrum College (VA)
Warren Wilson College (NC)
David and Elkins (WV)
Berea College (KY)
Pikeville College (KY)
Lee University (TN)
Wheeling Jesuit University (WV)
Milligan College (TN)

Bell South College Going Minorities Initiative
The University of Alabama, Huntsville (AL)
Macon State College (GA)
Jackson State University (MS)
The University of North Carolina at Pembroke (NC)
Trident Technical College (SC)

Schools Attending the 2003 SENCER Summer Institute

Ball State University (IN)
Bard College (NY)
Beloit College (WI)
Chapman University (CA)
Christian Brothers University (TN)
Claremont College (CA)
College of New Jersey (NJ)
College of New Rochelle (NY)
Columbia University (NY)
Dominican University of California (CA)
Drury University (MO)
Duke University (NC)
Egerton University (Kenya)
Elon University (NC)
Emory University (Oxford College) (GA)
Fairfield University (CT)
Florida International University (FL)
Georgetown University (DC)
Hampton University (VA)
Heritage College (WA)
Howard University (DC)
Kent State University (OH)
Loyola University Chicago (IL)
Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MA)
North Carolina Wesleyan College (NC)
Notre Dame de Namur University (CA)
Peace College (NC)
Philadelphia University (PA)
Rice University (TX)
Rosemont College (PA)
Rutgers, The State University of NJ (NJ)
Saint Mary's College of California (CA)
Saint Vincent College and Seminary (PA)
Seton Hill University (PA)
Smith College (MA)
State University of New York at Plattsburgh (NY)
Stonehill College (MA)
Susquehanna College (PA)
University of Charleston (WV)
University of Cincinnati (OH)
University of South Carolina-Sumter (SC)
University of South Dakota (SD)
University of Southern Maine (ME)
University of Virginia (College at Wise) (VA)
Vassar College (NY)
West Virginia Wesleyan College (WV)
Wheelock College (MA)
Whittier College (CA)