• Front Page
• Work Project
• Conference

Conference Theme: "Integration of Liberal and Professional Studies: from Aspirations to Improved Practice"

Few issues feature more prominently in higher education's curricular reform agenda these days than the aspiration to bring about a meaningful integration of liberal and professional studies in the education of undergraduate students. Not only is interaction between liberal arts and professional programs limited on most campuses, but faculty suspicions regarding everything from the intellectual training to the motives of colleagues across this "great curricular divide" are commonplace. Consequently, significant curricular integration largely remains still-born, especially if general education distribution requirements are excluded (which, in any case, many students still regard as hurdles to "get out of the way.")

The conference will explore the philosophical foundations of the liberal and professional traditions in the American academy in order to understand better the cultural and epistemological factors that help to explain their current estrangement and argue for integrative efforts. Institutional case studies of reforms, commonly motivated by a desire to link theory and practice in improving learning outcomes of graduates in both areas, will be presented and analyzed. Attention will be given to faculty development programs designed to increase appreciation for what the reflective tradition of the liberal arts and the practice tradition of the professions have to offer each other. Strategies will be discussed to assist institutions in implementing change efforts for better integrating liberal and professional studies.