Fifteen professors from across the country participated in Transylvania’s seminar on liberal education
Transylvania University, an early leader in liberal arts education, recently hosted a faculty seminar titled Twenty-first Century Liberal Education: AContested Concept. The 15 seminar participants were selected from a pool of over 50 applicants from liberal arts colleges throughout the country. They reflect the diversity within the professorate at liberal arts colleges and include faculty members from Smith College, Hollins University and Middlebury College among others. Acceptance to the program included the cost of the sessions, all seminar materials, lodging, meals and a travel stipend. Seminar sessions included “Alternative Traditions in Liberal Education,” “The Current State of Liberal Education in America” and “The Purposes of Liberal Education: Varieties of Social Engagement.” Participants were asked to consider the application of liberal education principles to enhance their own effectiveness as college and university teachers – in the classroom, in the preparation of course offerings and in the construction of curricula at their academic institutions. Martha Andresen, professor of English at Pomona College gave the opening address, “I will speak as liberal as the north”: Tales of Teaching at a Liberal Arts College. The plenary speaker was John Churchill, executive secretary of The Phi Beta Kappa Society. He spoke about the current state of liberal education in America. Through this seminar, Transylvania University, with assistance from The Phi Beta Kappa Society, sought to contribute to a national conversation on the idea of liberal education and the mission of the liberal arts college in