Since the 2017–18 academic year, the Aydelotte Foundation’s directors have co-taught a course that brings 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 which was taught in the spring of 2021 and 2022 (past syllabi available below) and will be taught again in the spring of 2023 semester.
We are also offering 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.