Liberal Education Initiative

The Currency of the Liberal Arts and Sciences: Rethinking Liberal Education in Wisconsin

What does it mean to make the teaching and learning of liberal education intentional?

There are endless ways to do this:

• By placing the outcomes of a liberal education on the syllabi faculty develop for their courses as part of their learning goals for students;
• By discussing these outcomes with students in ways-in-person and online-that help students understand the practical and intellectual applicability of these outcomes to their lives in college and beyond;
• By communicating to incoming and first-year students the value and purpose of general education and the role of the liberal arts and sciences in providing that integral component of their education, regardless of proposed major or chosen field;
• By conducting formal and informal faculty and academic staff discussions on the value and purpose of liberal education, whether in the hallway of a department, a departmental meeting, in online discussion groups, or in the convening of other campus-wide committee meetings for faculty and academic staff;
• By holding seminars, lectures, fora for the campus community devoted to the discussion of the value and purpose of liberal education;
• By preparing electronic or print publications and documents that are shared with prospective, incoming, and current students.

• UW-Fond du Lac  
  • The Value of a Liberal Arts Degree
    "The value of the liberal arts at UW-Fond du Lac is now apparent, visible and intentional in at least 26 courses on campus. This is a solid basis for the message that we are doing an exceptional job of preparing students to do more than transfer-we are preparing them to be thoughtful, articulate and inquisitive people that will continue a life time of learning." - Daniel J. Blankenship, Ph.D., Campus Dean and Chief Executive Officer
  • Meet Our Faculty Lecture Series: 2005-2006
  • University Performing Arts Series: 2005-2006
• UW-Green Bay  
  • An Interdisciplinary Lesson Plan to Foster Student Engagement
    Involving freshman seminar courses designed to promote the development of a variety of skills, including problem-solving, creativity, information literacy, and a better understanding of the meaning and value of interdisciplinarity.
  • Founders Association Fall Dinner focuses on liberal education
    A "town hall" discussion on the value of liberal education highlighted the UW-Green Bay Founders Association Annual Fall Dinner on Nov. 16.
• UW-La Crosse  
  • Faculty Collaboration Yields Pedagogical Innovation at UW-La Crosse
    Feature article on Lesson Study in the September, 2006 issue of AAC&U News.
• UW-Marathon County  
  • 2006-07 Shared Reading Series:  Affluenza
    A campus/community common reading program and dialogue. 
• UW-Milwaukee  
  • Master's in Liberal Studies (MLS)
    The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee's College of Letters and Science offers the Master's in Liberal Studies (MLS), the only degree of its kind in the state of Wisconsin. The MLS is designed for college graduates interested in an interdisciplinary master's degree. In the best liberal arts tradition, the MLS emphasizes breadth of learning across disciplines, critical thinking, clear communication, and integration of knowledge. While strengthening each student's general education is the primary goal of the program, the degree also expands professional and career opportunities. The MLS is based in the College of Letters and Science prestigious Center for 21st Century Studies and features small seminars led by distinguished graduate faculty.
• UW-Oshkosh  
  • "Liberal Education in the Community: UW Oshkosh weaves culture of lifelong learning," UW-Oshkosh Magazine, Spring 2007. (2.7 MB pdf)
  • The Integration of the Liberal Arts Across the Curriculum in the College of Letters & Science
    A campus website with example statements from course syllabi.
  • September 6, 2005, Opening Day Address by Michael Zimmerman, Dean of the College of Letters and Sciences
    The text of Dean Zimmerman's address, as posted on the AAC&U website.
  • "A Liberating Education: UW-Oshkosh takes a LEAP forward," UW-Oshkosh Magazine, Spring 2006. (2.1 MB pdf)
  • "An Essential Education: A strong liberal studies program at UW-Oshkosh prepares students to be innovative, creative professionals," UW-Oshkosh Magazine, Fall 2006. (4.4 MB pdf)
• UW-River Falls  
  • Community Classroom: Fall 2005 (157 kb pdf poster)
    Public lecture series, sponsored by the College of Arts and Sciences, Outreach and Graduate Studies
    • The Species Invasion Threat (1.2 MB pdf postcard)
    • What Is Saturday Morning TV Teaching Our Kids (1.2 MB pdf postcard)
    • Does God Play Dice? 100 Years After Einstein (1.3 MB pdf postcard)
    • The Koran and the New Testament (1.4 MB pdf postcard)
• UW-Stevens Point 
  • New in 2007: Monthly Radio Segment on Value of Liberal Education Launched in Wisconsin
• UW-Superior 
  • Liberal Arts Initiative
• UW-Whitewater  
  • 2007-08 Contemporary Issues Lecture Series
  • 2007: UW-Whitewater Regional Literary Award
  • 2006-07 Contemporary Issues Lecture Series
  • Fall 2006: Four authors to visit campus this semester (pdf)
  • Fall 2006: Department of Language and Literatures Faculty Seminars (pdf)
  • 2005-06 Contemporary Issues Lecture Series
  • Spring 2006 lineup (23 kb pdf document)
    and see also the
  • August 9, 2005 News & Publications press release

More to come!

Please send links or other materials to Rebecca Karoff rkaroff@uwsa.edu