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Engaging Today's Students with the Liberal Arts

Conference on The Future of Liberal Education

October 15-16, 2005
Coe College

What does the future hold for liberal arts colleges? What will their future students be like? How will the society be different? And how should liberal arts colleges respond to changes in our students and our society?

These were the crucial questions for the last conference of the ACM Engagement Project. Over its three years of work the project has looked at higher education's current context and identified creative new work going on at consortial campuses. This closing conference reviewed this work, assessed the changes facing liberal arts colleges, and speculated on what colleges can do to prepare for the future. The conference was designed for both junior faculty who will be teaching at the liberal arts college of the future, and current faculty leaders who can help prepare for that future. Conference sessions includde:

• A panel of ACM presidents reflecting on the historical development of liberal arts colleges, their present role, and future challenges
• Small group discussions of challenges for liberal education
• A presentation of research into how ACM faculty and students understand the liberal arts and the missions of liberal arts colleges
• Concurrent sessions identifying the lessons learned from the campus projects supported by the Engagement Project
• Campus team meetings
• An exercise challenging participants to create the model for a new liberal arts college.

The conference was held October 15-16, 2005, at Coe College. The schedule includes links to some of the presentations at the conference.

The conference program book included several articles designed to encourage participants to think about liberal arts colleges and their future. They included:

• "Old Main," Inside Higher Ed (http://insiderhighered.com), July 22, 2005.
• George Allen, "The Liberal Arts in the 21st Century, According to Change and Liberal Education," Liberal Arts Online, July 2005.
• Jennifer J. Lasknowski, "Move Over Mars and Venus!," Liberal Arts Online, October 2004.
• Gregory C. Wolniak, Tricia A. Seifert, and Charles F. Blaich, "A Liberal Education Changes Lives: Why Everyone Can and Should Have This Experience," Liberal Arts Online, March 2004.

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