Liberal education has been, since the creation of the republic, America's "signature" higher learning curriculum. There have been three enduring purposes for a liberal education: (1) developing the powers of the mind; (2) cultivating an examined sense of responsibility to self and others; and (3) acquiring empowering knowledge--the kind…

This year marks the 15th year of a program called "Professors as Writers" at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. The first meeting was a half-day workshop at the end of a spring semester to help faculty launch the writing they wanted to do over the summer. The program has grown over the years and now includes monthly retreats, as…