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| Posted 06.16.06 |
Bennet Attends Forum on Education, Democracy
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 The
Association of American Colleges and Universities invited Wesleyan President
Doug Bennet to attend a forum June 22-23 in Strasbourg, France.
The forum, titled "The Responsibility of Higher Education for a Democratic
Culture: Citizenship, Human Rights, and Civic Responsibility," was held
at the Council of Europe headquarters. The council co-sponsored the
forum.
Bennet was one of 300 higher education leaders, policy makers and public
authorities from North America and Europe to attend.
"For this select group, we chose President Bennet because we thought he
would be especially effective representing United States higher education
and he would likely use his influence to help underscore the importance of
educating students to be informed, empowered and responsible local and
global citizens after they graduate," says Carol Geary Schneider, president
of the AAC&U.
In addition to 12 years as Wesleyan's president, Bennet has served as U.S.
assistant secretary of state for international organizational affairs, as
president of National Public Radio, and as head of the Agency for
International Development and as Assistant Secretary of State for
Congressional Relations..
The forum addressed a number of key issues including fostering democratic
cultures; social cohesion and intercultural dialog; promoting human rights
and democratic citizenship; teaching, research and engagement; building
sustainable democratic communities; and knowledge, actions and civic
responsibility.
“These issues are essential in terms of how we approach liberal education
now and in the future,” said Bennet. "Our goal must be to enable students to
become thoughtful innovators and conscientious global citizens who can
engage the world around them and make it better."
The forum explored the responsibility of higher education for advancing
sustainable democratic culture and invited participants to discuss a
declaration and practical follow-up activities. |
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| By Olivia Bartlett, Wesleyan
Connection editor and David Pesci, director of Media Relations |
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