The College and Beyond II: Liberal Arts and Life public colloquium series explored the values, dimensions, and outcomes of liberal arts education, and how they might be measured. In panel discussions, academic leaders, researchers, and national experts gathered to consider issues long central to liberal arts education, as well as its status in the current climate. Seminars focused on “Measuring the Liberal Arts” featured path-breaking projects seeking to develop and refine measures of undergraduate education, and especially its liberal arts components, and to determine its impact on the present and future lives of students.
Fall 2020
Opening Event
Taking the Measure of the Liberal Arts
Tuesday, September 15, 2020
Speakers
Anne Curzan, Dean, College of Literature, Science, and the Arts; Geneva Smitherman Collegiate Professor of English Language and Literature, Linguistics, and Education; Arthur F. Thurnau Professor; University of Michigan | Bio
Janet Schrunk Ericksen, Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Dean; Professor of English and Medieval Studies; University of Minnesota Morris | Bio
Chris Long, Dean, College of Arts & Letters; Professor of Philosophy; Michigan State University | Bio
Jacqueline Mattis, Dean, School of Arts and Sciences (SASN); Professor of Psychology; Rutgers University – Newark | Bio
Seminar 1 on Measuring the Liberal Arts
Measuring a Liberal Education and its Relationship with Labor Market Outcomes: An Exploratory Analysis
Friday, October 2, 2020
Speakers
Rayane Alamuddin, Associate Director for Research and Evaluation, Ithaka S+R | Bio
Daniel Rossman, Researcher, Ithaka S+R | Bio
Paul Courant (Moderator and Discussant), Edward M. Gramlich Distinguished University Professor Emeritus and Provost Emeritus, University of Michigan | Bio
Carol Geary Schneider (Discussant), Consultant, Lumina Foundation and President Emerita, Association of American Colleges and Universities | Bio
Seminar 2 on Measuring the Liberal Arts
The Value of Residential Liberal Arts Education: Lessons from COVID-19
Friday, October 23, 2020
Speakers
Richard Arum, Dean; Professor of Sociology and Education, University of California, Irvine | Bio
Jacquelynne S. Eccles, Distinguished Professor of Education, University of California, Irvine | Bio
Luise von Keyserlingk, Postdoctoral Scholar, University of California, Irvine | Bio
Timothy McKay (Moderator), Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education; Arthur F. Thurnau Professor of Physics, Astronomy, Education, University of Michigan | Bio
Seminar 3 on Measuring the Liberal Arts
Measuring Liberal Arts Education: Recombination, Interdisciplinarity, the Topography of Knowledge, Representation, and STEM Outcomes
Friday, November 13, 2020
Speakers
Peter Bearman, Director, Interdisciplinary Center for Innovative Theory and Empirics (INCITE); Jonathan R. Cole Professor of Sociology, Columbia University | Bio
Chad Borkenhagen, Postdoctoral Research Scholar, Interdisciplinary Center for Innovative Theory and Empirics (INCITE), Columbia University | Bio
Siqi Han, Postdoctoral Research Scholar, Interdisciplinary Center for Innovative Theory and Empirics (INCITE), Columbia University | Bio
Kevin Stange (Moderator and Discussant), Associate Professor of Public Policy, University of Michigan | Bio
Winter 2021
Inaugural Winter Event
The Liberal Arts in 2021: Addressing Global Challenges
Wednesday, February 3, 2021
Speakers
Angela Dillard, Richard A. Meisler Collegiate Professor of Afroamerican & African Studies, History, and in the Residential College, University of Michigan | Bio
Earl Lewis, Director, Center for Social Solutions; Thomas C. Holt Distinguished University Professor of History, Afroamerican and African Studies, and Public Policy, University of Michigan; President Emeritus, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation | Bio
Bhramar Mukherjee, John D. Kalbfleisch Collegiate Professor and Chair, Department of Biostatistics; Professor of Epidemiology and Global Public Health, University of Michigan | Bio
Chris Poulsen, Associate Dean for Natural Sciences; Henry Pollack Collegiate Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences and Climate and Space Sciences, University of Michigan | Bio
Timothy McKay (Moderator), Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education; Arthur F. Thurnau Professor of Physics, Astronomy, Education, University of Michigan | Bio
Seminar 4 on Measuring the Liberal Arts
Using Multiple Forms of Data to Talk about Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Liberal Arts Education
Friday, February 26, 2021
Speakers
Nicholas Bowman, Mary Louise Petersen Chair in Higher Education, College of Education, University of Iowa | Bio
Sylvia Hurtado, Professor of Education, School of Education & Information Studies, University of California, Los Angeles | Bio
Anthony Jack, Assistant Professor of Education, Graduate School of Education, Harvard University | Bio
W. Carson Byrd (Moderator), Faculty Director of Research Initiatives, National Center for Institutional Diversity, University of Michigan | Bio
Seminar 5 on Measuring the Liberal Arts
Measuring Liberal Education: A Report from the College and Beyond II Study at the University of Michigan
Friday, March 19, 2021
Speakers
Paul Courant, Edward M. Gramlich Distinguished University Professor Emeritus and Provost Emeritus, University of Michigan | Bio
Allyson Flaster, Assistant Research Scientist, Inter-university Consortium of Political and Social Research (ICPSR), University of Michigan | Bio
Ben Koester, Research Scientist, Department of Physics, University of Michigan | Bio
Annaliese Paulson, Doctoral Student, Center for the Study of Higher and Postsecondary Education, University of Michigan
Anne Ruggles Gere, Arthur F. Thurnau Professor of English, Gertrude Buck Collegiate Professor of Education, University of Michigan | Bio
Members of the Gere Research Team, University of Michigan
Jason Godfrey, Doctoral Student, Joint Program in English and Education
Mike Ion, Doctoral Candidate, Educational Studies Department
Naitnaphit Limlamai, Doctoral Candidate, Joint Program in English and Education
Andrew Moos, Doctoral Student, Joint Program in English and Education
Kathryn Van Zanen, Doctoral Student, Joint Program in English and Education
Concluding Plenary Session
Making the Case for Liberal Education
Wednesday, April 14, 2021
Speakers
Rebecca Blank, Chancellor, University of Wisconsin-Madison | Bio
Douglas Haynes, Vice Chancellor for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, Professor of History, University of California, Irvine | Bio
Renu Khator, Chancellor, University of Houston System, and President, University of Houston | Bio
Costas Spirou, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, Professor of Sociology and Public Administration, Georgia College & State University | Bio
Anne Curzan, (moderator), Dean, College of Literature, Science, and the Arts; Geneva Smitherman Collegiate Professor of English Language and Literature, Linguistics, and Education; Arthur F. Thurnau Professor; University of Michigan | Bio
