President Chopp Joins New "Presidents' Trust" to Advance Liberal Education as Source of American Civic Vitality and Economic Innovation and Growth

by Nancy Nicely
11/20/2009

President Rebecca Chopp has joined a new Presidents' Trust formed by the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U). President Chopp and an esteemed group of 81 other college and university leaders from around the country are forming this Trust to collectively make the case for liberal education and its value in today's world. The Presidents' Trust is a leadership group within AAC&U's national initiative, Liberal Education and America's Promise (LEAP): Excellence for Everyone as a Nation Goes To College.

Members of the LEAP Presidents' Trust are leaders from all sectors of higher education and are committed to advocating for the vision, values, and practices that connect liberal education with the individual and societal needs of the twenty-first-century. Through regional and national meetings and their own advocacy efforts, Trust members will engage with campus members and those outside of higher education about the core purposes and practices of liberal education. They are all also providing leadership for advancing reforms in the practice of liberal education both on campus and with other groups and organizations with which they are affiliated.

President Chopp said she feels strongly that Swarthmore "must take both a leadership and partnership role in advancing the cause of liberal arts education. Students educated in the liberal arts tradition have the ability to effect great positive change in our society as leaders and thinkers in all paths of life."

The core priority areas for the Presidents' Trust in 2009-2010 include making the economic case for liberal education; making-and fulfilling-the civic case for liberal education; engaging first-generation families and new Americans with the meaning and value of liberal education; integrating liberal arts and professional preparation on campus; and charting a new direction for assessment and accountability.