MEMORANDUM
FOR: The Wesleyan Board of Trustees
FROM: Douglas J. Bennet
DATE: April 2, 1997
SUBJECT: Wesleyan Education for the Twenty-First Century
A final text of Wesleyan's academic plan is attached. I am deeply indebted to the entire faculty, to you, and to all members of the Wesleyan community who have shaped this plan.
"Wesleyan Education for the Twenty-First Century" provides us with a powerful definition of liberal education tuned to an era of rapid change. It anchors our vision of liberal education in essential capabilities and establishes the principles on which we will make ongoing curricular choices. It affirms the value of scholarship and teaching in a residential community and confirms that knowing how to learn is the most durable legacy of a Wesleyan education. It focuses our immediate attention on assuring that every Wesleyan student can make the best use of the first two years of undergraduate education.
This statement is by Wesleyan and about Wesleyan. It states our commitments as an independent learning community. At the same time, we hope both the process we have undertaken and our findings will be useful to educators elsewhere.