UNCA Co-Hosts National Conference on Education May 31-June 4;
Conference to Focus on Effective Change on Campuses

UNC Asheville and the Association of American Colleges and Universities will co-host the 13th annual Asheville Institute on General Education May 31-June 4 on the UNCA campus.

Some 145 faculty members and administrators representing 23 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 and service learning, that are specific to their home campuses.

"General education is the group of courses on a college campus that all of its students are required to take," said Margaret Downes, UNCA literature and language professor and director of the Key Center for Service-Learning, who is conference co-director. "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."

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 work with colleagues from across the nation about our own programs."

Participating institutions are: Abilene Christian University (Texas); Augsberg College (Minn.); Bates College (Maine); Buena Vista University (Iowa); East Stroudsburg University (Penn.); Indiana University of Pennsylvania; Keene State College (N.H.); Lewis University (Ill.); Louisiana Community & Technical College System; Messiah College (Pa.); Montreat College; New York Institute of Technology; Oral Roberts University (Okla.); Peace College (N.C.); Roger Williams University (R.I.); Saint Xavier University (Ill.); Texas Wesleyan University; Tusculum College (Tenn.); University of California, Merced; University of North Carolina at Pembroke; University of San Diego; Virginia Tech; and Western Kentucky University.

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

For more information about the Asheville Institute on General Education, call conference co-director Margaret Downes 828/251-6577.

Media Contacts:

• Dr. Margaret Downes, UNCA Literature and Language Professor, 828/251-6577
• Jill Yarnall, UNCA Public Information Assistant Director, 828/251-6526