THE
FACULTY
SENATE
Senate
Document Number 0309F
Date
of Senate Approval 05/07/09
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Statement
of Faculty Senate Action:
Vision:
UNC Asheville students,
within a diverse and inclusive community, experience liberal arts education at
its best.
UNC Asheville is distinctive
in the UNC system as its designated liberal arts university. Our practice of the liberal arts emphasizes
the centrality of learning and discovery through exemplary teaching, innovative
scholarship, creative expression, co-curricular activities, and engaged
service. Small by choice, and primarily
undergraduate, UNC Asheville delivers a liberal arts education characterized by
high quality student-faculty interaction.
Liberal arts education was once available only to a few. We offer this challenging educational experience
to all promising students who are committed to liberal learning and personal
growth.
Our educational approach
emphasizes life skills including critical thinking, clear and thoughtful
expression, and honest and open inquiry.
Students undertake concentrated study in one area while simultaneously
developing an understanding of the connections among disciplines. We encourage students to clarify, develop,
and live their own values while respecting the views and beliefs of
others. In addition, we cultivate an
understanding of the dimensions of human diversity while recognizing the common
humanity of all. Taken together, these
skills and attributes enable our graduates to be lifelong learners and to lead
successful, flourishing lives as leaders and contributors to their communities.
At UNC Asheville, we respond
to the conditions and concerns of the contemporary world both as individuals
and as a university. We incorporate
economic, social, and environmental sustainability into our institutional
practices and curriculum. Through a range of associated centers and
initiatives, we fulfill our public responsibility to address the needs of the
community through the liberal arts. We develop a commitment to continuing
service characterized by an informed, responsible, and creative engagement with
the