The New American Colleges and Universities (NAC&U), a national consortium in which Belmont is a member, hosted several events in Washington, D.C., this week that spotlighted its members’ collective mission and approach to teaching and learning.
Events began with a Capitol Hill briefing on Tuesday in the Rayburn House Office Building that featured several students including Belmont senior Samantha Huber. The briefing was titled “Holistic Approaches to Postsecondary Persistence and Success: Integrating Liberal Education, Professional Studies and Civic Engagement.” Hubner, an Honors student majoring in political science major with minors in Chinese and French, spoke about her experience as part of an interdisciplinary research team on a 22-day project in China during summer 2014, noting the confidence she gained in that experience gave rise to her applying for and receiving a State Department internship, which she completed last summer. Hubner worked in the Office of Global Food Security, which works directly with the Obama Administration’s Feed the Future Initiative. Hubner and peers from other institutions shared how their integrative education–including undergraduate research, business consulting and multidisciplinary team projects–improved the quality of their college experiences and prepared them with real-world skills.
In addition, on Wednesday another briefing on holistic approaches in a liberal arts education was held at the National Press Club, and Belmont junior Justin Lang, a psychology and sociology double major, presented a poster on the influences and perceptions for college students when it comes to healthy eating.
About The New American Colleges and Universities
The New American Colleges and Universities is a national consortium of selective, small to mid-size (2,000-7,500 students) independent colleges and universities dedicated to the purposeful integration of liberal education, professional studies, and civic engagement. To improve the quality and effectiveness of teaching and learning among its members, The New American Colleges and Universities sponsors projects and conferences, administrator and faculty affinity groups, surveys and data benchmarking, and international study programs. The New American Colleges and Universities collectively and individually are often cited as models of the intentional integration of teaching and learning, scholarship, and service. Follow them on Twitter @NACandU.
