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The important issues with which students may
find themselves engaged during and after Smith are, by their nature, complex. Some
of these challenges are already evident: poverty, quality of and access to health
care, HIV/AIDS, cancer, technology literacy and the digital divide, sustainability
and stewardship of the environment, education, human rights, freedom of expression,
and conflict resolution. Furthermore, the world in which our students will live and
work is increasingly diverse. All of these problems are messy and difficult, and
their solutions will require complex, interdisciplinary thinking skills.
Ensuring students’ abilities to address such problems
requires skills of synthesis and integration, not simply a satisfaction of distribution
requirements. Liberal arts colleges, such as Smith, are well-positioned to achieve
these aims, with their focus on student-faculty interactions in and out of class,
productive collaborations among students, ample opportunities for active and inquiry-based
learning experiences, prompt and meaningful feedback to students, and experiences
with students and faculty from other cultures and backgrounds. The challenge to Smith
is to construct a curriculum and overall college experience that makes use of these
structures and experiences to develop essential student capacities. The strategic
planning process should encourage the college to take risks, rethink organizational
structures, and propose creative ways of achieving institutional goals.
Below, we introduce each of the eight strategic directions,
along with questions we believe will inform and frame our conversations this fall
and a sampling of potential initiatives that emerged during the spring’s discussions.
These possible initiatives are not intended as specific proposals or commitments,
but as a means of encouraging and extending discussion. Similarly, the areas of exploration
listed in each section are not intended as an exhaustive list, but rather as guides
for further analyses. |
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The
Planning Process
Re-imagining
the
Liberal Arts at Smith
Strategic
Directions
Committee
on
Mission & Priorities
Contact
Us
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