News

Press Release

New York, NY (January 29, 2008) - The Teagle Foundation today announced eight new grants totaling over $1 million to fund collaborative projects involving over 35 colleges, universities and other institutions. Much of the funding will further the goals of the Foundation's Outcomes and Assessment initiative, which seeks to enrich students' educational experience on the basis of knowledge gained through systematic assessment of undergraduate learning.

"These grants advance the Foundation's principal goal—to increase student engagement and learning in the liberal arts and sciences by encouraging a culture of inquiry and evidence on campuses throughout the country," said W. Robert Connor, president of The Teagle Foundation. "Faculty members can teach more effectively and students learn more deeply, we are convinced, when goals are clear and progress toward them is systematically assessed. This applies in fields as diverse as mathematics and the creative arts, and in large universities as well as in small colleges in Appalachia."

Included in the Outcomes and Assessment grants is a jointly-funded, previously announced grant with The Spencer Foundation in which the Teagle Foundation has committed $246,960 to Duke University for a multi-year study involving ten research universities to systematically strengthen undergraduate education at those institutions.

Outcomes and Assessment Grants

The Foundation's Outcomes and Assessment initiative is based on the belief that nothing has more potential to affect students' educational experiences as much as a sustained and systematic assessment of what they learn. The Initiative is designed to help teachers in the classroom develop better models of how students learn and how specific academic disciplines can measure student learning outcomes.

Appalachian College Association -- $300,000
Berea College, Bethany College and Emory & Henry College
"Focusing on Math and Quantitative Literacy at ACA Colleges"

Association of American Colleges and Universities -- $100,000
"Planning Grant to Develop a Summer Institute for Assessment of Student Learning at the Departmental Level

Council for Aid to Education -- $80,000
"Collegiate Learning Assessment (CLA) in the Classroom"

Duke University -- $246,960
"Fostering a Culture of Experimentation and Evidence for Undergraduate Education at Research Universities"

Northwestern University -- $215,899
"A Longitudinal Study of Critical Thinking and Postformal Reasoning: Assessing Undergraduate Outcomes Within Disciplinary Contexts"

Vanderbilt University -- $194,724
"Double Majors and Creativity: Influences, Interactions, and Impacts"

College-Community Connections Grants

In addition, two grants will extend the Teagle Foundation's College-Community Connections initiative, which awards grants to New York City community service organizations in order to build closer ties with area colleges and universities, thus helping young people become better prepared for—and successful—in higher education.

Columbia University, to partner with Double Discovery Center -- $16,678

New School University (Eugene Lang College), to partner with East Side House Settlement -- $25,000

The Teagle Foundation has funded 45 grants as part of its Outcomes and Assessment initiative—totaling almost $7 million—and has involved over 100 institutions around the country.

Please visit www.teaglefoundation.org to read detailed descriptions for these projects as well as for more information on the Foundation and all its programs.

About the Teagle Foundation
The Teagle Foundation is committed to providing intellectual and financial leadership in the effort to promote and strengthen liberal education.

Contact information:

Teagle Contact:
Donna Heiland
212-373-1972