National conversation on "What does it mean to be liberally educated in the 21st century?"

Report on Reports I, 2002
Recommendations for Action in support of Undergraduate Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics
An analysis of and recommendations from a selection of influential reports since the mid-1980’s that have set the stage for and shaped efforts to transform undergraduate STEM.
Criticism and the consensus of "truth"
This 1997-1998 PKAL F21 statement discusses how the objectivity of science and the ability to criticize are essential to not only scientists, but also reporters, lawyers, politicians, and other non-scientists.
Report of the NSF Advisory Committee for Science Education to the National Science Board, 1970
The National Science Foundation (NSF) initiated a reivew of its educational program and published this report in 1970. The report outlines one essential goal: "To educate scientists who will be at home in society and to educate a society that will be at home with science."
The Attributes of a General Education in the Sciences
This was a talk Thomas J. Wenzel delivered at a workshop in October of 2004 at Union College on general education in the sciences.
Bowdoin General Studies
This is the description of Bowdoin College's new general studies curriculum.
Project 2061: Science for all Americans summary
Published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), this summary provides an introduction to Project 2061 in reforming education in science, mathematics and technology for all Americans.
Reaching for Science Literacy
From the July/August 1991 issue of Change magazine, this article by Lynn Arthur Steen describes what works in building natural science communities and addresses science literacy for all.
A rationale for the improvement of the college science experience
From Science for Non-Specialists: The College Years (National Academy Press 1982), this chapter discusses how to bring the facts and wisdom of science to undergraduate non-majors.
World citizenship
Liberal education develops world citizenship- a combination of the intellectual power of the mind and effective action.
Liberal education and capstone experiences
Liberal education at Beloit College is considered "liberating" education, which promotes the development of the intellect, reflective thinking, and effective action.
Science for everybody
Included as a paper in the "Science in the College Curriculum: A Report of a Conference Sponsored by Oakland University and Supported by a Grant from the National Science Foundation, May 24-36, 1962," Warren Weaver's essay, including commentaries, addresses the problem of "what sort and amount of exposure to science" should undergraduate non-science majors receive.
"Nature Justly Viewed" in A Free and Ordered Space: The Real World of the University
As the Yale Freshman Address, this speech by President A. Bartlett Giamatti describes how liberal education, which develops the search for "seeing the truth humanely and wholly," defines a great university.
Deconstructing "Narratives of Decline" about the Liberal Arts
Reflecting on a comment by the former president of Williams College, Frank Oakley, this essay explores liberal education as a "narrative" in addressing the changes that have occurred in the last decade.
Everything I Needed to Know about Averages...I Learned in College
Undergraduate mathematics, or quantitative reasoning, courses provide a core component to liberal education and apply across all college studies.
How to waste $3.1 billion
In response to an article in the New York Times, Connor explains how institutions in liberal education have to get serious about teaching for the real world.
Remarks on the liberal arts by Alan Greenspan Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board
From Perspectives - excerpts from remarks made at the International Understanding Award Dinner of the Institute of International Education, 2002, these remarks by Alan Greenspan reflect on how the standard of living has improved due to education. He comments that "the liberal arts embody more than a means of increasing technical intellectual efficiency. They encourage the appreciation of life experiences that reach beyond material well-being and, indeed, are comparable and mutually reinforcing."
Tendencies in higher education that might affect classical studies
This discussion on the trends that are likely to affect higher education in the next few years focuses on promoting awareness of "the importance (and vitality) of liberal education."
Greenspan Says Higher Education Still Key to Future Prosperity
The American Council on Education (ACE) 81st Annual Meeting Special Issue includes Alan Greenspan's speech on how higher education in the United States gives Americans the ability to face challenges in the economy and the work force.
Liberal Arts and an International Campus Environment: 'Jihad vs. McWorld' Revisited
An international or a "global" perspective is central to a contemporary liberal arts education, but integrating internationalism into the curriculum and the college community involves more than simply requiring some specific courses, or sending students overseas. This presentation discusses ways in which the benefits of study abroad experiences can be re-integrated into the broader campus setting to provide a global perspective that is necessary for the liberal arts experience to reach its potential. (A paper presented at the "Intellectual Leadership in the Liberal Arts" Conference in 2003.)
Education in the Nation's Service
Selected quotes from this text focus on Wilsonian ideas and ideals and comment on how college should be a "community of scholars and pupils" - a "mode of association."
Science and the other liberal arts: Some strategies for general education
A FIPSE lecture delivered on March 26, 1993, at Brescia College, in which the author suggests some desirable outcomes of undergraduate science education, proposes strategies for attaining those goals, and describes a number of specific courses created for that purpose.
Mission of the University
Selected quotes by Jose Ortega Y Gasset reflect on the importance of defining an institutional mission and of restoring "enlightenment" to university teaching in order to cultivate educated men and women.
Statistical literacy and liberal education at Augsburg College
Since statistics are contextual, statistical literacy focuses on what is taken into account. This focus on context is why statistical literacy can be viewed as an essential component of a liberal education.
Making science a core liberal art in the 21st century
Given the ongoing success of the sciences in building cumulative knowledge about the natures and causes of things, it is argued that the sciences may have operationally embodied certain epistemic principles that may be helpful in dealing with the human condition. Investments in identifying and justifying these epistemic principles should be an integral part of any effort to make science a core liberal art in the 21st century.
The Creative Campus: Who's No. 1?
Printed in "The Chronicle Review," October 1, 2004 edition, this article measures college "creativity" and defines the important features of a creative campus.
Rethinking scientific literacy
Emphasizing case studies, this book, written by Wolff-Michael Roth at the University of Victoria and Angela Calabrese Barton at Columbia University, explores ways of improving the scientific literacy of students. The publisher's website provides an abstract, reviews, biography, and content information.
The One Graph You Need to See and The Dartmouth Liberal Arts Conference
These recent essays reflect on a graph based on the freshman surveys by the Higher Education Research Institute at UCLA and an article in the Boston Globe about a conference at Dartmouth College.
"What does it mean to be liberally educated in the 21st century" and Other Small Questions
A Report and Reflections on a Recent Meeting
In the SENCER January e-newsletter ( www.sencer.net), David Burns reflects on the Task Force meeting at Wabash College in January 2005 on "What does it mean to be liberally educated in the 21st century."