Project Pericles
Encyclopedia
Project Pericles Inc. is a non-profit organization composed of liberal arts college
s and universities geared towards the ideas that social responsibility and participatory citizenship are essential parts of an undergraduate curriculum, in the classroom, on campus, and in the community.
The Boards of the Pericleans formally committed their institutions to the policies and objectives of Project Pericles. Their presidents formed a Presidents’ Council to cooperate in policy-making and program development and implementation. The planning committee became the Board of Directors. Distinguished educational, business, political, and community leaders became the National Board of Advisors.
In April 2003, the first ten Pericleans met in New York for the first national conference of Project Pericles. Delegates included presidents, provosts, deans, faculty, students, and alumni. In August 2003, Project Pericles established an independent office and hired Karen E. Holt as Executive Director. In November 2005, Jan R. Liss became its second Executive Director.
In 2004 and 2005, a select group of new Pericleans added to the diversity of Project Pericles. The esprit of Pericleans and cumulative experience continue to strengthen Project Pericles in its mission as a transforming force for higher education.
Liberal arts college
A liberal arts college is one with a primary emphasis on undergraduate study in the liberal arts and sciences.Students in the liberal arts generally major in a particular discipline while receiving exposure to a wide range of academic subjects, including sciences as well as the traditional...
s and universities geared towards the ideas that social responsibility and participatory citizenship are essential parts of an undergraduate curriculum, in the classroom, on campus, and in the community.
Background
Conceived by Eugene M. Lang, a retired businessman known for his educational philanthropy, Project Pericles seeks to counter the growing political cynicism and civic disengagement of young people. Convinced that higher education must promote social and civic engagement, in 1999 Lang organized a planning committee and consulted with college presidents, trustees, faculty, students, and others. By the end of 2000, the objectives, policies, and startup plans of Project Pericles were set. Ten colleges and universities became “founding Pericleans.”The Boards of the Pericleans formally committed their institutions to the policies and objectives of Project Pericles. Their presidents formed a Presidents’ Council to cooperate in policy-making and program development and implementation. The planning committee became the Board of Directors. Distinguished educational, business, political, and community leaders became the National Board of Advisors.
In April 2003, the first ten Pericleans met in New York for the first national conference of Project Pericles. Delegates included presidents, provosts, deans, faculty, students, and alumni. In August 2003, Project Pericles established an independent office and hired Karen E. Holt as Executive Director. In November 2005, Jan R. Liss became its second Executive Director.
In 2004 and 2005, a select group of new Pericleans added to the diversity of Project Pericles. The esprit of Pericleans and cumulative experience continue to strengthen Project Pericles in its mission as a transforming force for higher education.
Members
- Allegheny CollegeAllegheny CollegeAllegheny College is a private liberal arts college located in northwestern Pennsylvania in the town of Meadville. Founded in 1815, the college has about 2,100 undergraduate students.-Early history:...
- Bates CollegeBates CollegeBates College is a highly selective, private liberal arts college located in Lewiston, Maine, in the United States. and was most recently ranked 21st in the nation in the 2011 US News Best Liberal Arts Colleges rankings. The college was founded in 1855 by abolitionists...
- Berea CollegeBerea CollegeBerea College is a liberal arts work college in Berea, Kentucky , founded in 1855. Current full-time enrollment is 1,514 students...
- Bethune-Cookman University
- Carleton CollegeCarleton CollegeCarleton College is an independent non-sectarian, coeducational, liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota, USA. The college enrolls 1,958 undergraduate students, and employs 198 full-time faculty members. In 2012 U.S...
- Chatham University
- Dillard UniversityDillard UniversityDillard University is a private, historically black liberal arts college in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded in 1930 incorporating earlier institutions that went back to 1869, it is affiliated with the United Church of Christ and the United Methodist Church....
- Drew UniversityDrew UniversityDrew University is a private university located in Madison, New Jersey.Originally established as the Drew Theological Seminary in 1867, the university later expanded to include an undergraduate liberal arts college in 1928 and commenced a program of graduate studies in 1955...
- Earlham CollegeEarlham CollegeEarlham College is a liberal arts college in Richmond, Indiana. It was founded in 1847 by Quakers and has approximately 1,200 students.The president is John David Dawson...
- Elon UniversityElon UniversityElon University is a private liberal arts university in Elon, North Carolina, United States. Formerly known as Elon College, it became Elon University on June 1, 2001. The campus is a botanical garden and features oak trees, brick sidewalks, fountains, and lakes...
- Goucher CollegeGoucher CollegeGoucher College is a private, co-educational, liberal arts college located in the northern Baltimore suburb of Towson in unincorporated Baltimore County, Maryland, on a 287 acre campus. The school has approximately 1,475 undergraduate students studying in 31 majors and six interdisciplinary...
- Hampshire CollegeHampshire CollegeHampshire College is a private liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1965 as an experiment in alternative education, in association with four other colleges in the Pioneer Valley: Amherst College, Smith College, Mount Holyoke College, and the University of Massachusetts...
- Hendrix CollegeHendrix CollegeHendrix College is a private liberal arts college located in Conway, Arkansas. The student body averages around 1,400 and currently represents forty-three states and fourteen foreign countries. In US News and World Report's America's Best Colleges, Hendrix is ranked annually in the top tier of...
- Macalester CollegeMacalester CollegeMacalester College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college located in Saint Paul, Minnesota. It was founded in 1874 as a Presbyterian-affiliated but nonsectarian college. Its first class entered September 15, 1885. The college is located on a campus in a historic residential neighborhood...
- Morehouse CollegeMorehouse CollegeMorehouse College is a private, all-male, liberal arts, historically black college located in Atlanta, Georgia. Along with Hampden-Sydney College and Wabash College, Morehouse is one of three remaining traditional men's colleges in the United States....
- New England CollegeNew England CollegeNew England College is a private four-year college in Henniker, New Hampshire, enrolling a total of approximately 1800 undergraduate and graduate students.-History:The school was created in 1946 for students attending college on the G.I...
- The New SchoolThe New SchoolThe New School is a university in New York City, located mostly in Greenwich Village. From its founding in 1919 by progressive New York academics, and for most of its history, the university was known as the New School for Social Research. Between 1997 and 2005 it was known as New School University...
- Occidental CollegeOccidental CollegeOccidental College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college located in the Eagle Rock neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1887, Occidental College, or "Oxy" as it is called by students and alumni, is one of the oldest liberal arts colleges on the West Coast...
- Pace UniversityPace UniversityPace University is an American private, co-educational, and comprehensive multi-campus university in the New York metropolitan area with campuses in New York City and Westchester County, New York.-Programs:...
- Pitzer CollegePitzer CollegePitzer College is a private residential liberal arts college located in Claremont, California, a college town approximately east of downtown Los Angeles. Pitzer College is one of the Claremont Colleges....
- Rensselaer Polytechnic InstituteRensselaer Polytechnic InstituteStephen Van Rensselaer established the Rensselaer School on November 5, 1824 with a letter to the Rev. Dr. Samuel Blatchford, in which van Rensselaer asked Blatchford to serve as the first president. Within the letter he set down several orders of business. He appointed Amos Eaton as the school's...
- Rhodes CollegeRhodes CollegeRhodes College is a private, predominantly undergraduate, liberal arts college located in Memphis, Tennessee, USA. Originally founded by freemasons in 1848, Rhodes became affiliated with the Presbyterian Church in 1855. Rhodes enrolls approximately 1,700 students pursuing bachelor's and master's...
- St. Mary's College of MarylandSt. Mary's College of MarylandSt. Mary's College of Maryland, established in 1840, is a public, secular liberal arts college located in St. Mary's City, Maryland. It is a member of the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges and designated as a Public Honors College . St. Mary's College is a small college, with about 2,000...
- Spelman CollegeSpelman CollegeSpelman College is a four-year liberal arts women's college located in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The college is part of the Atlanta University Center academic consortium in Atlanta. Founded in 1881 as the Atlanta Baptist Female Seminary, Spelman was the first historically black female...
- Swarthmore CollegeSwarthmore CollegeSwarthmore College is a private, independent, liberal arts college in the United States with an enrollment of about 1,500 students. The college is located in the borough of Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, 11 miles southwest of Philadelphia....
- Ursinus CollegeUrsinus CollegeUrsinus College is a liberal arts college in Collegeville, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.-History:1867Members of the German Reformed Church begin plans to establish a college where "young men could be liberally educated under the benign influence of Christianity." These founders were hoping to...
- Wagner CollegeWagner CollegeWagner College is a private, co-educational, national liberal arts college with an enrollment of approximately 2,400 total students located atop Grymes Hill in New York City's borough of Staten Island...
- Widener UniversityWidener UniversityWidener University is a private, coeducational university located in Chester, Pennsylvania.Its main campus sits on 108 acres , just southwest of Philadelphia...
- The College of WoosterThe College of WoosterThe College of Wooster is a private liberal arts college primarily known for its Independent study program. It has roughly 2,000 students and is located in Wooster, Wayne County, Ohio, United States . Founded in 1866 by the Presbyterian church as the University of Wooster, it was from its creation...
External links
- Project Pericles, Inc.
- The Lang Center - Swarthmore CollegeSwarthmore CollegeSwarthmore College is a private, independent, liberal arts college in the United States with an enrollment of about 1,500 students. The college is located in the borough of Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, 11 miles southwest of Philadelphia....
- Students in Action - PBSPublic Broadcasting ServiceThe Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
- Project Pericles' Strengthens CPSC Work with Local Communities - Hampshire CollegeHampshire CollegeHampshire College is a private liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1965 as an experiment in alternative education, in association with four other colleges in the Pioneer Valley: Amherst College, Smith College, Mount Holyoke College, and the University of Massachusetts...