Contact: Debra Humphreys, VP for Communications and Public Affairs
202-387-3760 (ext. 422)
Humphreys@aacu.org

Will New College Graduates Be Ready to Compete and Help Solve the Nation's Big Problems? Are Colleges Ready to Face The Challenges of Educating a New Generation in Tough Times?

1,300 Educational Leaders Gather in Seattle to Debate These Questions at AAC&U Annual Meeting - Ready or Note: Global Challenges, College Learning, and America's Promise

Washington, DC - January 21, 2009 - Thirteen hundred educational leaders from around the country-- presidents, provosts, deans, faculty members - gathered in Seattle, Washington on January 21st to debate the future of undergraduate education in challenging times.  Participants discussed the implications of the latest research on undergraduate education and leading-edge campus innovations at the annual meeting of the Association of American Colleges and Universities.

Workshops and presentations covered the latest research on teaching and learning and the latest campus approaches to such issues as global learning, assessment, general education, the resurgence of liberal education, maintaining academic quality in tough economic times, and the role of environmental sustainability on campus and in the curriculum.

Speakers included:

Molly Corbett Broad, president, American Council on Education
Carol Geary Schneider, president, Association of American Colleges and Universities
Melissa Harris-Lacewell, associate professor of politics and African American studies, Princeton University, and contributor to the Kitchen Table blog (http://princetonprofs.blogspot.com)

Eric Liu, professor, University of Washington, and former speechwriter and domestic policy adviser to President Clinton
Mimi Gardner Gates, director, Seattle Art Museum
Peter Sacks, author of Tearing Down the Gates: Confronting the Class Divide in American Education
George D. Kuh, chancellor's professor, Indiana University, and former director of the National Survey of Student Engagement
Stanley N. Katz, director, Center for Arts and Cultural Policy Studies, Princeton University, and contributor to Brainstorm Blog, Chronicle of Higher Education

Other Highlights:

Release of latest data on first-year students from the annual CIRP Freshman Survey released each year by the Higher Education Research Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles

Release of new report on "Women's Progress in Higher Education" with speech by author, Judy Touchton, founder of womenLeadersMove.com

Pre-meeting Symposium on Sustainability with keynote speaker, Stephanie Pfirman, Hirshorn Professor and chair, Department of Environmental Science, Barnard College

Opening night forum with Chris Jordan, provocative photographer and creator of "Running the Numbers: An American Self-Portrait"

Ronald Williams, vice president, College Board, and former president of Prince George's Community College speaking on "Integrating Minority Males in the Higher Education Pipeline"

For additional information or to arrange interviews with speakers, contact Debra Humphreys at humphreys@aacu.org.  For podcasts of selected sessions and conference materials, see www.aacu.org.

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.