The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences is pleased to announce the creation of the Villanova Center for Liberal Education (VCLE), an innovative academic center dedicated to interdisciplinary teaching, research, and learning in the liberal arts for undergraduate students. The Center is a place where all Villanova students and faculty can join in the academic conversations that lie at the heart of an Augustinian university in the 21st century.

“The opening of the Center marks a turning point for the University, Now, for the first time in the University’s history, the liberal arts, which form the heart of Villanova’s academic mission, will be presented to our students in such a way as to enable them to see the interconnections between the many disciplines of the arts.”

John Doody, Ph.D.
Director of the Center,
Robert M. Birmingham Chair,
Associate Dean for the Core Curriculum, and Professor of Philosophy

Although Villanova is widely regarded as a top-tier comprehensive University, offering more than 30 master’s programs and several Ph.D. programs, its core enterprise remains the liberal education of undergraduate students. Thus, the creation of VCLE solidifies and demonstrates the University’s commitment to the importance of liberal education for all its students.

In today’s interconnected world, it is vitally important that students realize the importance of interdisciplinary study and the value of a liberal education. “The Villanova Center for Liberal Education takes a holistic and an innovative approach to the education of today’s college students, who through the program offerings of the Center, will be brought into an ongoing dialogue with some of the College’s finest teacher-scholars,” said the Rev. Kail C. Ellis, O.S.A., Ph.D., dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

“In addition to sponsoring workshops and academic conferences, promoting research, and disseminating publications, the Center will provide a valuable forum for faculty to contribute to their profession, inspire students to become more active and engaged participants in the learning process, and advance the importance of the liberal arts.”

An Extension of the Core Humanities Program

VCLE began as an extension of the Core Humanities Program, which in recent years has expanded from not only teaching the Augustine and Culture Seminar (the two-semester seminars that introduce all first-year students at Villanova to the humanities and the life of the mind), but also to other activities such as the sponsorship of faculty development workshops and scholarly conferences, and the publication of an academic journal (Expositions: An Interdisciplinary Journal in the Humanities) and a book series on the thought of St. Augustine (Augustine in Conversation: Tradition and Innovation).

“What in essence began as a freshman writing program has grown and evolved through the years into what is now a truly interdisciplinary center in the liberal arts, which serves the needs of both our students and faculty,” Dr. Doody said.

VCLE strives to fulfill the mission of the University by providing a collegial atmosphere where students can search for knowledge in open, intelligent, responsible, and mutually respectful interaction of varying points of view within a community comprised of student- and teacher-scholars. Furthermore, the Center also fulfills the mission of the College, which exists to provide an atmosphere of responsible learning to a varied group of students who will be called to intellectual, moral, and professional leadership.

For more information on the Villanova Center for Liberal Education, please contact John A. Doody, Ph.D., Director of the Center, at 610.519.7325.