UNC Asheville Co-Hosts National Conference on Education June 1-5; Conference to Focus on Innovation, Effective Change on Campuses

UNC Asheville and the Association of American Colleges and Universities will co-host the 12th annual Asheville Institute on General Education June 1-5 on the UNCA campus.

Some 125 faculty members and administrators representing 21 colleges and universities from across the country will attend the conference to explore the question of what college students should learn as part of a sound general education. Working in teams, participants will focus on many areas of curricular reform, including diversity education and service learning, that are specific to their home campuses.

"General education is the group of courses that ALL students at a college are required to take. It's the most important part of a student's college education, actually: these particular courses are worthwhile for all students, no matter what they're studying as a major. In general education courses, students broaden their understanding of many fields, and learn to think better, to consider different points of view, and to express themselves clearly," said Margaret Downes, UNCA literature and language professor and director of the Key Center for Service-Learning, who is conference co-director.

AAC&U, headquartered in Washington, D.C., is the leading national association working to advance and strengthen learning in the liberal arts. More than 730 public and private colleges and universities are members.

"Liberal arts colleges have always been the leaders in defining undergraduate education," Downes said. "As one of the leading public liberal arts colleges in the nation, UNCA is pleased to host this institute, and to have our faculty talk with colleagues from across the nation about our own interdisciplinary and service-learning programs."

Institutions sending teams are: Berry College (Ga.), Christian Brothers University (Tenn.), Mary Baldwin College (Va.), West Virginia Wesleyan College, the University of Virginia's College at Wise, Albertus Magnus College (Conn.), Eastern Oregon University, Whittier College (Calif.), Millersville University (Pa.), Belmont University (Tenn.), Marymount Manhattan College (N.Y.), CUNY-Brooklyn College, Capital University (Ohio), Dallas County Community College District (Texas), Pennsylvania College of Technology, Cazenovia College (N.Y.) , Franklin College (Ind.), Keuka College (N.Y.), Louisiana Community & Technical College System, Olivet Nazarene University (Ill.) and Thomas University (Maine).

In addition to Downes, the 13 nationally known Asheville Institute consultants include Merritt Moseley, UNCA literature and language professor and Honors Program director, and Carol Schneider, AAC&U president.

Media Contacts:

• Dr. Margaret Downes, UNCA conference co-director, 828/251-6577
• UNCA Public Information Office, 828/251-6526