Each generation of students inevitably must confront anew the fundamental questions of meaning and value that have vexed human beings down through the ages. As students have struggled with these "Big Questions," individually and collectively, liberal education has traditionally sought to provide them with a variety of cultural and historical…

In the face of rising global competition and the heightened call for accountability issued by the Spellings Commission on the Future of Higher Education, educators across the country are being called upon--once again--to demonstrate the validity of a liberal education. They are asked repeatedly if their approach to undergraduate education will…

Developing the ability to make, recognize, and evaluate connections among disparate concepts, fields, or contexts is what integrative learning is all about. Breadth and depth of learning remain hallmarks of a quality liberal education. Yet, today, there's a growing consensus that breadth and depth are not enough. Strengthening integrative learning…

This article presents the author's examination of the role of faculty in the new academy. He contends that undergraduate education reforms that were launched in the last three decades of the twentieth century, although creative and energetic, have not been fully integrated into the central mission of most institutions, structured into the reward…

In the tradition of peer review, the members of a profession form with society an unwritten contract whereby society grants the profession autonomy to govern itself and, in return, the members of the profession agree to meet correlative personal and collegial group duties to society. The members of the profession agree to restrain self-interest to…

In this article, the author claims that the steady corporatization of American higher education has threatened to relegate faculty governance, never strong, to the historical archive. In public institutions, faculty disempowerment has been codified by law--legislatures, the governor or county executive or their staff, or state boards of higher…

Mid-career faculty are the keystone of the academic enterprise. They fill essential instructional, program development, administrative, and citizenship roles at their institutions. They form a bridge between faculty generations by mentoring new colleagues and assuming leadership duties as their senior colleagues move toward retirement. Mid-career…

"Ivy-clad towers" in academia still exist today and always, they require their students to spend considerable time in community service to learn about social justice. The poor almost seem to exist so that academics can study them or so that university students can elevate their own consciousness by serving them for a short period. As such,…

The present period is characterized by an unprecedented degree of global integration at the economic, political, and cultural levels. Economically, this has created a situation in which only creative problem solvers and innovators will be able to compete globally. On the other hand, liberal education remains more important than ever at these…

In this article, the author contends that there is confusion among the general public about what defines a liberal arts college and liberal arts education. This confusion over what is liberal and what is professional, over what is a liberal arts college and what is not, provides an interesting backdrop to the question about the conflation of…

In this article, the authors state that the presidents and deans, with the cooperation of the professors, are responsible for the faculty and for the curriculum as a whole. The faculty work within organizations, and every organizational policy and practice, many outside the purview of faculty, has at least potential impact, either positive or…

In this article, the author describes the challenge of profound curriculum reform for Wagner College. Unlike many institutions that tinker with course offerings, the salvation of the college could come only through dramatic refocusing and revitalization of not just what the faculty members teach, but the way they teach. The resurrection of Wagner…

The Leadership Scholars Certificate Program at Rutgers University is an intellectually rigorous program that draws on the rich scholarship in gender studies to reimagine leadership, accelerate young women to leadership, and prepare them as educated citizens who will make a difference in the world. This article describes a leadership development…

Built on innovative practices discovered at all types of institutions, the "Greater Expectations" report describes a "New Academy" committed to college access for all those who desire a postsecondary education, especially students from traditionally underrepresented groups. Access alone is insufficient, however, so this New Academy also is…

This article discusses the notion that American Education is at a crossroads, and attempts to answer the question of how liberal learning graduates can be made more competitive in the modern work place. It introduces the idea that the gap between old and new working environments is highlighted by the vast difference in the computing power…