Since the 2017–18 academic year, the Aydelotte Foundation offers courses that bring students into contact with the foundation’s major interests, such as:
- The past, present, and possible future of liberal arts education.
- The structure of contemporary academic institutions.
- The political economy that undergirds higher education.
- Public struggles over the meanings and uses of education and scholarship.
This has evolved into a first-year seminar, “Why College?”, which is taught annually in the spring. The Aydelotte Foundation has also supported a Tri-Co Philly course, entitled “University City,” and courses associated with Linda Huber, the Aydelotte Technology and Social Justice Fellow, such as “Tech, Money, Power: Critical Perspectives on Computing and Capitalism” offered in Fall 2025 and “Design Justice: Towards Design & Computing for the Public Good” in Fall 2026.
We are also offering Curricular Grants to support Swarthmore faculty developing assignments, projects, or entire courses that include research, writing, discussion, and reflection on topics related to the history, present, and future of liberal arts and/or higher education. Applications are rolling and will continue to be evaluated monthly until we reach the annual budget’s limit.
Courses and the curriculum as a whole are also at the heart of our mission, and we continue to look for opportunities to connect with and draw new understanding from the academic program at Swarthmore and elsewhere.
