CGS Launches Its First Academic Center

On September 1, 2011, the College of General Studies officially embarked on a new, groundbreaking initiative: the Center for Interdisciplinary Teaching and Learning. The center, says Dean Linda Wells, will “cement the College’s place” in the national conversation about interdisciplinary study. “Through conferences, summer institutes, workshops, an online journal, and other outreach initiatives,” she says, “the center will allow us to show others what’s unique about CGS, increasing our visibility and strengthening our reputation.”

Under the leadership of Associate Dean Natalie McKnight, the center will not only expand opportunities for students to work closely with faculty members—a cornerstone of a CGS education—but also offer new ways for alumni to re-engage with the College’s students and faculty. Alumni will be encouraged to attend the summer institutes and to mentor students, helping them find internships and talking to them about career planning.

In recent years, many CGS alumni have made financial commitments to the College, including gifts to fund the Stanley P. Stone Distinguished Lecture Series; the Professors Fund, which makes possible the annual Peyton Richter Award for Interdisciplinary Teaching; the James Wilcox Undergraduate Research Fund; and the Brendan F. Gilbane Scholarship for CGS students going on to study in the College of Arts & Sciences or the College of Communication. These and other funds will be incorporated into the Center for Interdisciplinary Teaching and Learning, along with new funds the College will establish to support the center’s activities.