President’s Letter

November 2012

I am very honored to serve as president of the AGLSP. Over the years, I’ve found the Association’s members to be some of the most dedicated, hardworking, and interesting people I’ve had the pleasure to meet. Although we come from many diverse backgrounds and institutions, we are united in our belief that an interdisciplinary graduate education creates the critical and creative thinking so necessary for making sense of the world today.

Some of the initiatives the Board will be working on in the coming year include creating a special category of membership for students, the possibility of an honor society, and increasing our membership. If you have thoughts about these initiatives—or thoughts about other issues we should be addressing—please let me know. The Board and I welcome any suggestions that will further the mission of AGLSP and Graduate Liberal Studies in general.

I also want to say a special thanks to Barbara Amen of Reed College who organized this year’s truly outstanding conference, as well as to our outgoing board members—Kathleen Forbes of UNC Greensboro, Sandy Welter of Skidmore College, and Past President David Gitomer of DePaul University.

We owe a special thanks to David because DePaul has offered to sponsor next year’s conference, which will be October 10-12 in Chicago. Each year, many of our members affirm the value of the annual conference for the ways it helps them deal with the challenges and opportunities that come with administering a GLS program. I hope I will see you next year in Chicago.

Sincerely,

Bob Smither
President
Association of Graduate Liberal Studies Programs