The Council on Liberal Education has oversight responsibilities for the University of Minnesota Liberal Education Curriculum for all undergraduate students on the Twin Cities campus.
The Council on Liberal Education is composed of faculty and student representatives (both undergraduate and graduate/professional); members of the academic staff may also be appointed. The Council is charged to:
- review and approve or disapprove all proposals for courses designated for the Diversified Core and Designated Themes of Liberal Education Curriculum.
- formulate the procedures for 1) proposing courses to be added to, and 2) deleting courses from, the Diversified Core and Designated Themes of Liberal Education Curriculum.
- establish and regularly review the criteria for courses which will be considered for designation for the Diversified Core and Designated Themes of Liberal Education Curriculum.
- regularly review for their effectiveness the liberal education requirements.
- advise the Provost on implementation of recommendations concerning liberal education requirements.
- foster continuing discussion among the faculty about issues of liberal and undergraduate education.
- recommend to the Faculty Consultative Committee such actions or policies it deems appropriate.
Members
Chair
Kathryn Pearson
Political Science│ [email protected] │ Term: 2014-2019, 2020-present (chair)
Faculty Representatives
Tom Fisher
Metropolitan Design │ [email protected] │ Term: 2020-present
Gayle Golden
Journalism │ [email protected] │ Term: 2020-present
Amy Lee
Writing │ [email protected] │ Term: 2021-present
Peter Mercer-Taylor
Music │ [email protected] │ Term: 2011, 2012-2014, 2020-present
Michael Minta
Political Science │ [email protected] │ Term: 2020-present
Duane Nykamp
Mathematics | [email protected] | Term 2023-present
Melissa Palmer
Animal Science │ [email protected] │ Term: 2016-present
Emily Pelton
Chemistry | [email protected] | Term 2023-present
Jole Shackelford
History of Medicine │ [email protected] │ Term: 2013-present
Sue Staats
Curriculum and Instruction | [email protected] | Term 2023-present
Deena Wassenberg
Biology Teaching and Learning │ [email protected] │ Term: 2015-present
Staff
Katie Russell
Undergraduate Education │ [email protected]
Berne Christiansen
Undergraduate Education │ [email protected]
Leslie Schiff
Associate Dean for the University Curriculum │ [email protected]
Meeting Schedule
CLE has paused regular review of LE courses in advance of the Faculty Senate's consideration of the proposed Core Curriculum in Spring 2025. Council members may review courses on an ad-hoc basis where curricular circumstances warrant, e.g. Freshman Seminars. If you have questions about the pause or the status of a course, contact Berne Christiansen, [email protected].