ACC hosted the Teagle Foundation’s Cornerstone: Learning for Living conference at the Highland Campus October 23-24, bringing together leaders from over 60 institutions nationwide to discuss the future of liberal arts education.
The event highlighted ACC’s Great Questions Seminar Program (GQS), which encourages critical thinking through discussion-based learning with transformative texts. The program is supported by a Teagle Foundation grant.
Attendees included representatives from Texas community colleges, the University of Texas at Austin, and Texas A&M University, who shared insights on integrating the humanities into general education.
ACC Provost, Dr. Monique Umphrey, shared the opening remarks and stressed the importance of programs that give our students “the ability to think critically. It’s never been more vital.”
The conference also featured panels with ACC students who have participated in GQS, sharing their experiences and discussing the seminar’s impact on their academic journey, and ACC faculty and experts from participating colleges across the country exploring the evolving role of the liberal arts in higher education.
‘The Chronicle of Higher Education’ Shares Key Takeaways
An editor from “The Chronicle of Higher Education” hosted a panel discussion during the conference that featured ACC Associate Professor of Government and Humanities Ted Hadzi-Antich Jr. alongside faculty from Prairie View A&M University, Purdue University, and the University of Wisconsin at Platteville. They discussed challenges, ways to get administrative buy-in, and how to measure success.
“The Chronicle” gathered key takeaways from the panel as well as from the overall two-day conference.