Redesigning Liberal Education: Innovative Design for a Twenty-First-Century Undergraduate Education

- Blurb -

The future of liberal education in the United States, in its current form, is fraught but full of possibility. Today's institutions are struggling to maintain viability, sustain revenue, and assert value in the face of rising costs. But we should not abandon the model of pragmatic liberal learning that has made America's colleges and universities the envy of the world. Instead, Redesigning Liberal Education argues, we owe it to students to reform liberal education in ways that put broad and measurable student learning as the highest priority. Written by experts in higher education, the book is organized into two sections. The first section focuses on innovations at 13 institutions: Brown University, College of the Holy Cross, Connecticut College, Elon University, Florida International University, George Mason University, Georgetown University, Lasell College, Northeastern University, Rollins College, Smith College, Susquehanna University, and the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. Chapters about these institutions consider the vast spectrum of opportunities and challenges currently faced by students, faculty, staff, and administrators, while also offering "radical visions" of the future of liberal education in the United States. Accompanying vision chapters written by some of the foremost leaders in higher education touch on a wide array of subjects and themes, from artificial intelligence and machines to the role that human dispositions, mindsets, resilience, and time play in how we guide students to ideas for bringing playful concepts of creativity and openness into our work.Ultimately, Redesigning Liberal Education reveals how humanizing forces, including critical thinking, collaboration, cross-cultural competencies, resilience, and empathy, can help drive our world. This uplifting collection is a celebration of the innovative work being done to achieve the promise of a valuable, engaging, and practical undergraduate liberal education. Contributors: Isis Artze-Vega, Denise S. Bartell, Randy Bass, John Bodinger de Uriarte, Laurie Ann Britt-Smith, Jacquelyn Dively Brown, Phillip M. Carter, Nancy Chick, Michael Daley, Maggie Debelius, Janelle Papay Decato, Peter Felten, Ashley Finley, Dennis Frey, Chris Gallagher, Evan Gatti, Lisa Gring-Pemble, Kristina Moss Gudrun Gunnarsdottir, Anthony Hatcher, Toni Holbrook, Derek Lackaff, Leo Lambert, Kristin Lange, Sherry Linkon, Anne Magro, Maud Mandel, Jessica Metzler, Borjana Mikic, William Moner, Phillip Motley, Matthew Pavesich, Uta Poiger, Rebecca Pope-Ruark, Michael Reder, Michael Roth, Emily Russell, Heather Russell, Ann Schenk, Michael Shanks, Susan Singer, Andrea Sinn, Christina Smith, Allison Staudinger, William Sullivan, Connie Svabo, Meredith Twombly, Betsy Verhoeven, David Voelker, Scott Windham, Mary Wright, Cathy Zeek