Liberal Education and America's Promise
Wisconsin Advocacy and Campus Action Initiative
Wisconsin was designated the first official partner state in the LEAP campaign in March 2005. In collaboration with AAC&U, leaders in Wisconsin have piloted a series of campus action and advocacy efforts that champion the value of a liberal education for all college students. An initiative of the University of Wisconsin System, LEAP in Wisconsin seeks to increase understanding of the value and purpose of liberal education for UW System students and Wisconsin citizens.
LEAP in Wisconsin is part of the Growth Agenda for Wisconsin, a ten-year plan for the UW System. The Growth Agenda calls for higher education to act as a catalyst for educational, social, civic, and economic transformation. The agenda intends to move the UW System forward into the multicultural democracy that characterizes 21st century America.
In 2008, the UW System endorsed a set of Shared Learning Goals. These goals, aligned intentionally with LEAP Essential Learning Outcomes, now appear as the first of 11 action steps in the Growth Agenda. A commitment to model inclusive excellence likewise appears as a lead objective of the agenda.
Latest News from LEAP in Wisconsin
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UW-Oshkosh Explores Connections Between On-Campus Student Employment and Essential Learning Outcomes
UW-Oshkosh, a member of the LEAP Campus Action Network and part of AAC&U's Compass project, is conducting a study to "understand how to thoughtfully and systematically modify students' employment to offer students greater engagement" and ensure that students' work experiences on campus include enhanced learning opportunities and lead to greater achievement of liberal education outcomes. Read more about the study and how to become a Campus Action Network member school.
- The University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh Advance-Titan's Jessica Bedore wrote an article about the UW-Oshkosh Liberal Reform Education Team's (LERT) work to change the way that liberal arts classes are presented and organized on campus. She writes, "According to UW-Oshkosh's LERT Web site,
'The Liberal Education Reform Team is charged with presenting a framework for student learning outcomes to be adopted by the UW-Oshkosh. The following outcomes, based on those from the Association of American Colleges & Universities, are being proposed for campus-wide discussion and adoption.'”
- Teams from 14 University of Wisconsin System institutions met in Madison on Nov. 20-21, 2008, to discuss how best to educate students for 21st-century challenges. AAC&U President Carol Geary Schneider was among the keynote speakers. The “Liberal Education: A Unifying Mission for the 21st Century University” conference featured “best practices” from across the UW System, as well as sessions that reflect a range of curricular and co-curricular initiatives that seek to ensure that students will learn the knowledge, skills, values, and habits of mind needed for effective citizenship in a rapidly changing and globally interdependent world. See welcome remarks by President Reilly and Regent President Bradley.
- The University of Wisconsin System announced its fourth annual UW System Liberal Arts Scholarship Competition, established to support and promote liberal education throughout the state’s public university system. For the essay competition, students are invited to discuss ways that a liberal education prepares one to be a more engaged and effective citizen—focusing on citizenship at not only the local, but also at the national and global levels. Winners will receive a $2,000 scholarship to help support their undergraduate education.
- The Faculty Senate at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh recently passed a new set of student learning outcomes based on the Essential Learning Outcomes of LEAP. The specific UW-Oshkosh outcomes were developed by the University's Liberal Education Reform Team and Resource Group, comprised of faculty, staff, and students. Upon approval, UW-Oshkosh Chancellor Richard H. Wells noted that "we need to deliver a strong, intentional liberal education if our students are to succeed in this ever-changing global century."
- Wisconsin Lieutenant Governor and LEAP National Leadership Council member Barbara Lawton recently gave the commencement address at University of Wisconsin-Baraboo/Sauk County, telling students that "creativity is one of the last legal ways to gain an unfair advantage over your opponents."
Recent and Upcoming Events
- Wisconsin Lieutenant Governor Barbara Lawton and UW-System President Kevin Reilly hosted a leadership meeting at the Wingspread Conference Center in Racine, WI, on "Liberal Education and Wisconsin's Promise" April 29-30, 2008. Bringing together state leaders in public and private higher education, K-12 education, business, media, philanthropy, and government, the meeting developed an agenda for advancing the LEAP learning outcomes as part of a larger Wisconsin Growth agenda. The meeting ended with the official signing of a LEAP Year Proclamation that noted, in part, that "the State of Wisconsin will dedicate itself with extra diligence to align its PK-12 and higher education systems and to make liberal education available to all its citizens for the benefit of individuals, communities, nation and the world."
- On April 25, 2008, AAC&U hosted a regional meeting in Madison, WI, on the "Role of the Departments in Advancing and Assessing Liberal Education Outcomes." Representatives from Edgewood College, St. Olaf College, the UW System Administration, UW-Madison, UW-Milwaukee, UW-Oshkosh, UW-Parkside, and UW-Whitewater all gathered to talk about current practices in student learning and assessment and strategies for strengthening assessment practices in departments and undergraduate majors. This meeting—along with three others held in other areas of the country—was supported with a grant from the Teagle Foundation.
Resources and LEAP in Wisconsin Websites
Press Releases and Coverage
- In July 2009, NBC 26 announced the selection of The University of Wisconsin Oshkosh as one of the nine beta campuses for the Give Students a Compass Project.
- Thomas C. Pleger, campus executive officer and dean at the University of Wisconsin - Baraboo/Sauk County, wrote a guest editorial about how "A liberal arts education will prepare you for the future" in The Baraboo News Republic. He writes, "The liberal arts curriculum is the foundation for virtually every major offered in the University of Wisconsin System, and is designed to develop critical thinking skills, problem solving, communication skills, empathy, an understanding and appreciation for the arts and the human condition, and the ability to understand information."
- Three undergraduate students from the University of Wisconsin System were honored in the third annual UW System Liberal Arts Scholarship Competition, established to support and promote liberal education throughout the state’s public university system. For the essay competition, students were invited to imagine themselves as a graduating senior giving advice to a younger sibling on how best to navigate college to reap the benefits of a liberal education. Winners received a $2,000 scholarship to help support their undergraduate education.
- Julie Strupp writes about Lt. Gov Barbara Lawton's attendance at "Liberal Education: A Unifying Mission for the 21st Century University" in The Badger Herald (November 24, 2008). “Liberal education may be the key to keeping students competitive in the 21st century and revitalizing the U.S. economy,” said Lt. Gov. Barbara Lawton at a University of Wisconsin System conference Friday.
- Rebecca Autrey writes about the conference, "Liberal Education: A Unifying Mission for the 21st Century University" in The Daily Cardinal (November 24, 2008). Representatives from 14 of the UW System schools met in Madison Thursday and Friday for a conference about the importance and usefulness of a liberal education.
- Rachel Vesco writes about the conference, "Liberal Education: A Unifying Mission for the 21st Century University" in The Badger Herald (November 21, 2008) . AAC&U President Carol Geary Schneider was among the keynote speakers at this LEAP conference in Wisconsin. In 2005, The University of Wisconsin System was named AAC&U’s pilot partner in moving forward the Liberal Education and America’s Promise agenda.
- The Wisconsin system used leap year and leap day to promote LEAP on their campuses. Donna Silver, assistant director in the office of professional and instructional development in the Wisconsin system, wrote "LEAP program vital to education in the state" in The Capital Times (February 28, 2008). Scott Furlong, dean of liberal arts and sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, wrote "LEAP promotes liberal arts education" in the Green Bay Press Gazette (February 29, 2008). John Koker, dean of the College of Letters and Sciences at Oshkosh, wrote "Promoting a 'liberal' education, as in 'liberating' the mind…." in The Northwestern (March 4, 2008). And George Savage, chair of the department of languages and literatures at UW-Whitewater, wrote “Time to value well-rounded universities” in the Wisconsin State Journal (February 28, 2008), stating that a liberal education is “is practical, politically essential and philosophically relevant.”
- AAC&U Annual Meeting podcasts including speech by Wisconsin Lt. Governor Barbara Lawton
- The Lt. Governor of Wisconsin, Barbara Lawton, gave a speech about LEAP to the UW Board of Regents.
- Wisconsin public radio program, The West Side, on Liberal Education and UW-Eau Claire Campus-Community Dialogue (March 6, 2006)
- UW-Oshkosh LEAP activities featured in UW-Oshkosh Magazine.
- Press release announcing University of Wisconsin System and AAC&U partnership
If you would like to be involved in LEAP in Wisconsin, please contact Rebecca Karoff at 608-263-2728 or rkaroff@uwsa.edu or Debra Humphreys at Humphreys@aacu.org.
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