Press Release

Contact: Debra Humphreys
Vice President for Communications and Public Affairs
202-387-3760 ext. 422
Humphreys@aacu.org

Teams from More Than Fifty Colleges and Universities Selected to Attend Institutes on General Education Reform and Campus Leadership for Student Engagement, Inclusion, and Achievement

Washington, DC—May 5, 2005—The Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) announced today the selection of teams from more than fifty colleges and universities for its 2005 summer institutes. Faculty and administrators from thirty-one campuses will attend AAC&U's Institute on General Education from May 20 to 25. This year's institute will again be held on the campus of Salve Regina University in Newport, Rhode Island. Teams from twenty-eight campuses will participate in the 2005 Greater Expectations Institute on Campus Leadership for Student Engagement, Inclusion, and Achievement in Burlington, Vermont, which will be held from June 22 to 26. This institute grows out of AAC&U's national initiative on the aims of a twenty-first-century liberal education, Greater Expectations: The Commitment to Quality as a Nation Goes to College.

Teams attending AAC&U's Institute on General Education will examine current trends in general education, discuss strategies for implementing curricular reforms, and refine their own general education reform plans in the context of their campus missions. Participants will attend sessions on such topics as faculty development, interdisciplinary learning, service learning, diversity, global preparedness, and learning communities. This year's institute also features a special track on planning effective strategies for assessing general education outcomes and programs.

"A tremendous amount of creative effort goes into each campus's planning for general education reform," said Andrea Leskes, director of the Institute on General Education. "The institute provides campus teams with experienced consultants to advise and inspire them, along with time for reflection and collaboration in a beautiful setting."

The fifth annual Greater Expectations Institute will help campus leaders align institutional purposes, policies, structures, and practices as well as advance efforts to develop and assess student achievement of the practical liberal education outcomes outlined in AAC&U's Greater Expectations report. Teams at the institute will confer with expert faculty; explore issues of engagement, inclusion, and high achievement; learn from the projects of other teams; and develop their own plans for concrete departmental, divisional, or campus-wide action.

"We are very excited about the range of projects that campus teams will develop at this year's institute and the diverse expertise represented in the faculty that will consult with them," said Alma Clayton-Pedersen, director of the Greater Expectations Institute. "We are eager to continue work begun at the 2004 institute to help campus teams 'make excellence inclusive' by linking their diversity and inclusion efforts with their academic quality and assessment initiatives."

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

AAC&U Summer Institutes: Participating Schools

Institute on General Education

Alvernia College (PA)
American University in Bulgaria (Bulgaria)
Appalachian State University (NC)
Clarkson University (NY)
College of the Desert (CA)
College Misericordia (PA)
CUNY Kingsborough Community College (NY)
CUNY Queens College (NY)
Earlham College (IN)
Fayetteville State University (NC)
Franklin College (IN)
Frederick Community College (MD)
George Mason University (VA)
Gordon College (MA)
Louisiana State University (LA)
Loyola University New Orleans (LA)
Miami-Dade College (FL)
Michigan State University (MI)
Northern Arizona University (AZ)
North Georgia College and State University (GA)
Roanoke College (VA)
Temple University (PA)
University of Dayton (OH)
University of Michigan-Flint (MI)
University of Nebraska-Lincoln (NE)
University of New Hampshire (NH)
University of Saint Frances (IL)
University of Southern Maine (ME)
University System of Georgia (GA)
Washington State University (WA)
Worcester State College (MA)

Greater Expectations Institute: Campus Leadership for Student Engagement, Inclusion, and Achievement

Alvernia College (PA)
Augustana College (IL)
Berry College (GA)
Bloomfield College (NJ)
California State University-Northridge (CA)
Centenary College (NJ)
Clark University (MA)
Eastern Washington University (WA)
Floyd College (GA)
Frederick Community College (MD)
Linfield College (OR)
North Georgia College and State University (GA)
Paul Smith's College (NY)
Ramapo College of New Jersey (NJ)
Saint Joseph's College, New York (NY)
San Jose State University (CA)
State University of New York at Plattsburgh (NY)
Susquehanna University (PA)
The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey (NJ)
University of Arkansas at Fayetteville (AR)
University of Maryland Baltimore County (MD)
University of Memphis (TN)
University of Scranton (PA)
University of Vermont (VT)
University of Wisconsin-Parkside (WI)
Western Kentucky University (KY)
Winona State University (MN)
Winthrop University (SC)

AAC&U is the leading national association concerned with the quality, vitality, and public standing of undergraduate liberal education. Its members are committed to extending the advantages of a liberal education to all students, regardless of academic specialization or intended career. Founded in 1915, AAC&U now comprises 1,000 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.