On January 20, 2022, Project Pericles presented our work at The American Association of Colleges & Universities (AAC&U) Annual Meeting held in Washington, D.C. Our session, “Connecting Classrooms to Communities: Empowering Students to Address Grand Challenges” highlighted the work of our Periclean Faculty Leaders (PFLs). PFLs develop and teach innovative courses incorporating a community-initiated project.
The session featured two PFLs in the Humanities (funded by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation) and two PFLs in STEM and Social Sciences (funded by The Arthur Vining Davis Foundations). The PFL Program is also supported by The Eugene M. Lang Foundation.
The panelists:
- Jan Liss, Executive Director, Project Pericles, moderated the panel.
- Lori Banks, Assistant Professor of Biology, Bates College, discussed her course, “Cellular Biochemistry”
- Evan Mack, Senior Teaching Professor of Music, Skidmore College discussed “Arts and Rural Poverty: Creative Solutions to Real World Problems”
- Jordan Smith, Assistant Professor of History, Widener University, discussed his course, “History and Memory in Chester.”
- Catherine van de Ruit, Assistant Professor, Health and Exercise Physiology, Ursinus College, discussed her course, “Community Health.”
Students apply course content to address real-world concerns raised by community partners, and campuses develop mutually beneficial collaborations. PFLs discussed their strategies to help solve grand challenges our nation faces.
More than 40 people attended the session and the panel was one of the only 75-minute slots. The panel explored: linking nutritional deficiencies to limited access to healthy food; creating public-facing exhibits showcasing how citizens challenged local racial injustices; collaborating with local school districts and an arts nonprofit; and how community organizations challenged health disparities and social marginalization. The goal of the panel was to enhance the understanding of civic engagement as a form of “high engagement learning” connecting curriculum with real-world civic responsibilities.
AAC&U is the leading national association dedicated to advancing the vitality and public standing of liberal education by making quality and equity the foundations for excellence in undergraduate education in service to democracy. Project Pericles has been presenting at the AAC&U Annual meeting for the past 16 years.