The American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) has recognized the Center for Public Service at the University of Pikeville, Concourse at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the Centennial Institute at Colorado Christian University as Oases of Excellence.
Oases of Excellence are remarkable programs and departments at colleges and universities that provide opportunities for students to become well-informed citizens. Oases maintain the highest academic standards, ensure free inquiry into a range of viewpoints, and teach students the foundational arts and sciences, including American history.
The Center for Public Service at the University of Pikeville “is dedicated to serving the Appalachian region through community outreach and educating a new generation of leaders.” The center hosts book clubs on democratic citizenship, offers a minor in political science and a certificate in political and civic engagement, and holds an annual Constitution Day event for high school students in the area. The center also funds research to address problems facing the Appalachian region.
“The American Council of Trustees and Alumni has long been one of the nation’s leading advocates of the liberal arts. At a time when a robust classical education is more endangered than ever, it is a true honor to be recognized by ACTA for the work we are doing here in the heart of Appalachia,” said Professor Jeffery Tyler Syck, the center’s founding director.
Concourse at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a first-year program that incorporates math and science requirements into a core humanities curriculum. Concourse hosts a cohort of 50 students each year who take the same courses and participate in enriching extracurricular activities, such as a weekly lunch seminar on topics including the elements of a meaningful life, art, free speech, and the politics of physics.
Concourse Director Linda Rabieh remarked, “The American Council of Trustees and Alumni leads the way in highlighting programs that promote liberal education and the open, wide-ranging discourse it requires. It is an honor to be a part of this impressive group of schools and programs.”
The Centennial Institute at Colorado Christian University (CCU) “works to enhance public understanding of the most important issues relating to faith, family, and freedom.” As CCU’s think tank, it publishes a journal on what makes a free and just society and sponsors a lecture series. Its 1776 Scholars program connects students to local civic leaders and offers them work experience with the institute.
Greg Schaller, director of the Centennial Institute, commented, “We are honored that ACTA’s Oases of Excellence project has recognized the Centennial Institute at Colorado Christian University. This acknowledgment affirms our commitment to rigorous, principled programming that engages the foundational ideas of liberty, virtue, and truth. We are proud to stand alongside other academic centers working to renew American higher education.”
A complete list of ACTA’s Oases of Excellence can be found here.
As Inside Higher Ed reported last week, Indiana, Ohio, Utah, and Texas’s mandates to review or remove public college programs with low enrollments could be the death of foreign language study.
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