Press Release

Jennifer O'Brien
202-387-3760
OBrien@aacu.org

Major Grants Awarded to Develop and Measure Impact of Programs to Improve College Students' Health, Well-Being, and Civic Development through Engaged Learning

Washington, DC—July 11, 2007—The Bringing Theory to Practice Project (BTtoP), sponsored by the Charles Engelhard Foundation of New York City and developed in partnership with the Association of American Colleges and Universities, announced today that grants totaling $860,000 have been awarded to six colleges and universities. These institutions are being funded to develop and evaluate new strategies to get students more engaged with their learning, and, in so doing, improve their health and civic engagement.

“This round of Bringing Theory to Practice grants will support the selected institutions as they make extraordinary commitments to the learning, the well-being, and the civic development of their students,” said Project Director Don Harward. “We are honored to be supportive of the excellent work being pursued on nearly 300 campuses around the nation having some connection to the BTtoP Project. With gratitude to Sally Engelhard Pingree, the Charles Engelhard Foundation, the William and Mary Greve Foundation, the Christian A. Johnson Endeavor Foundation, the Andrew Mellon Foundation, the Bank of New York, and Brookfield Financial Properties, and individual donors, awards from the BTtoP Project range from major multi-year matching grants to small grants stimulating the planning and evaluation of campus initiatives.”

Two schools were awarded an “Intensive Site” grant – $250,000 each over a three year period – to improve upon earlier efforts and involve more students in engaged learning, practices that lead to improved health, civic engagement, and learning outcomes. Georgetown University (Washington, D.C.) will work to bridge the divide often seen in students' lives between academics and their experiences outside the curriculum in an effort to promote students' personal growth and development with its program, "Connecting Life and Learning: Engaging the Whole Person Through the Integration of Academics and Student Affairs.” St. Lawrence University (Canton, NY) will implement "Transforming Pedagogy, Transforming Lives: Engaged Learning as a Source of Student Civic Development and Well-Being," a program to infuse a variety of engaged pedagogies through the first-year program. It will also examine the relationship between these engaged pedagogies and students' alcohol use, mental well-being, and civic development.

BTtoP also awarded four schools “Demonstration Site” grants of $90,000 each over a two-year period. Dickinson College (Carlisle, PA) renewed their previous grant to continue work on "Extended Assessment of Engaged Learning Initiatives," a program that explicitly tests the relationship between first-year student engaged learning initiatives and their short-and long-term effect on student engagement, alcohol use, mental health, and civic engagement. California State University, Chico (Chico, CA) will begin working on "Forming Democratic Citizens for the 21st Century” to create an integrated, innovative, and pedagogically sound learning experience for all first-year students enrolled in the Introduction to University Life course.

Another Demonstration Site grant was awarded to Montclair State University (Montclair, NJ) for "Expanding Capacity for Engaged Learning across Montclair State University: Building academic, Personal, and Civic Development through a Service Leadership Program." This program will develop, establish, and assess an interdisciplinary, cross-divisional leadership and service program that includes both curricula and co-curricula components while promoting engaged pedagogies and campus-wide civic engagement. The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (Chicago, IL) will create "The Residential College Program: Preparing for Life After Art School Now,” an effort that will bring together faculty, staff, students, and alumni to provide a holistic experience for first-year students that will introduce concepts of well-being, enhance students’ engagement within an urban community of artists and designers, and improve student retention and graduation rates.

For additional information regarding the Project and grant support, see www.bringingtheorytopractice.org.

The Bringing Theory to Practice Project is sponsored by the Charles Engelhard Foundation of New York City and developed in partnership with the Association of American Colleges and Universities. It explores and advocates the academic community's support of engaged learning and the relationship of such learning to student health and civic development.

The project is guided by an interdisciplinary planning group of scholars, researchers, practitioners, and institutional leaders. Currently, there are 300 colleges and universities across the nation connected to the project, many supported by grants, and many in discussion of these topics on their campuses.

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 more than 1,150 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 on the AAC&U Web site.