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Breakout Questions

Spring 2001 Faculty Institute,
Xavier University of Louisiana

An afternoon with Dr. Leon Botstein, President of Bard College

Following Dr. Botstein's presentation, faculty will break into small groups to discuss one of the questions below.  Faculty members are to select the question that interests them most.

How do we convey the notion that liberal arts education is more of a beginning than an ending of an individual's education?

How do we balance the frequently competing interests of a professional or even pre-professional education with those of a liberal arts and science education?

If courses are bricks in building an education, what are essential campus activities outside the courses that form the mortar, especially those that involve faculty and students informally?

Keeping in mind that the Greek word for leisure is scholē, what is the role of leisure in the process of education and how does this element relate to administrator, faculty, and student workloads?

What is the role of the campus environment in furthering the ideals of a liberal education?

How do we initiate a conversation across the curriculum on ideals and virtues?

How can the university create a climate in which the proclamation and discussion of unpopular or disturbing issues can be encouraged in an atmosphere of civility?

How can the university create a more campus-centered learning, social, recreational, and athletic experience for its students?

How can the university lessen the grade-consciousness of the students while increasing their actual learning and intellectual interests?

How does a university liberal arts education differ from that experienced in secondary and primary school and how does this call for a different kind of teacher in different kinds of roles?

What kind of marks should the Roman Catholic and African-American character of Xavier leave on its students -- black, non black, Catholic, and non Catholic -- and what processes should the university use to accomplish these aspects of its work?

How should a Catholic university that is historically black use its intercultural, interreligious, and interdisciplinary context as a way of enhancing an understanding of the broader religious, cultural, and social dimensions of society?

What kind of core curriculum would enhance the goals of Xavier's liberal arts education?

What skills should a well-constructed liberal arts education impart to the student?  How do these skills satisfy the needs of the modern marketplace?

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