Walking the Walk
My dear friends & colleagues,
Ours is a history of firsts. We were the first institution of higher education in Texas, home to the first Rhodes Scholar in Texas, and the first in the nation to honor alumni with a homecoming celebration. This tradition of firsts continues as we create new and dynamic educational experiences for today’s young hearts and minds, built on a foundation of strength from our past.
My dear friends & colleagues,
Ours is a history of firsts. We are the first institution of higher education in Texas, home to the first Rhodes Scholar in Texas, and the first in the nation to honor alumni with a homecoming celebration. This tradition of firsts continues as we create new and dynamic educational experiences for today’s young hearts and minds, built on a foundation of strength from our past.
In a recent article I was asked to write for The Huffington Post, I challenged educators to forgo some portion of the content of their current curriculum and instead invest that time in teaching the practices of making meaning, attaining a deeper understanding, and amplifying students’ natural curiosity. It’s a challenge that those of us at Southwestern embrace every day. We have fully committed ourselves to an inquiry-based, interconnected curriculum. Yet philosophical ideas, no matter how strategic or insightful, must at some point inspire action—and this is where the fun truly begins.
Implementing this innovation requires a change in our curriculum, a change in how we teach, even physical changes to our classrooms and campus. It requires the suspension of certain habits and routines that have been a part of a student’s learning experience through twelve long years of primary and secondary education. Perhaps hardest of all, it necessitates a change in the very culture of the institution itself. The colloquial term is “walking the walk,” and you can see that the terrain is challenging—but you know the view from the top will be breathtaking.
Perhaps no other university is better suited to lead this transformation. We are small and wise, therefore open and adaptive; we have an alignment of faculty, staff, and students and a desire at the board level to constantly question the status quo. We are arriving at this juncture at a time when a liberal arts education is growing in relevance as innovation and change become marketplace requirements and technology continues to open up new avenues for conceptual and creative thinking.
We invite you to join us as we walk this walk. We wish to share our journey in the hope that other institutions will learn from our trailblazing success as well as our inevitable missteps along the way. Climb with us as we apply 176 years of knowledge, wisdom, and change to creating a new and more meaningful higher education model for the future world.
Edward Burger
President and Professor
Southwestern University
Georgetown, Texas
Inquiry-based learning
brought to life
The concept of inquiry-based learning is something we’ve all experienced. As a child we would ask questions in order to better understand and make sense of our world. It is human nature to wonder, and in doing so we are constantly thinking in order to make meaning.
With traditional teaching methods, a professor passes information from a textbook to the student in a step-by-step process. Success is measured by the student’s ability to recite this information back with an emphasis on producing one correct answer. As a consequence, much of that information is never retained.
Inquiry-based learning is more dynamic and actively engages students in their own learning. It starts with a question, puzzle, or scenario, and in doing so captures a student’s natural curiosity.
Working together, students learn not just from a lecture, but through their own collective investigation, often creating new answers, as well as new questions, and new knowledge along the way.
At Southwestern, we are designing and implementing an intellectual experience that greatly enhances a student’s ability to understand, interpret and evaluate ideas and information, and our interconnected curriculum affords students an expanded perspective from which to explore.
Paideia Portrait
LAST YEAR’S KING CREATIVITY WINNER KELSEY BAKER ’16, IN COLLABORATION WITH COMPUTER SCIENCE MAJOR CHRISTINE HARBOUR ’16, EXPLORED THE BOUNDARIES WHERE MATHEMATICS CONNECTS WITH ART IN HER ENORMOUS PIECE (SEEN HERE IN BACKGROUND) ENTITLED “1/4 BLOOM.”
LAST YEAR’S KING CREATIVITY WINNER KELSEY BAKER ’16, IN COLLABORATION WITH COMPUTER SCIENCE MAJOR CHRISTINE HARBOUR ’16, EXPLORED THE BOUNDARIES WHERE MATHEMATICS CONNECTS WITH ART IN HER ENORMOUS PIECE (SEEN HERE IN BACKGROUND) ENTITLED “1/4 BLOOM.”
This intellectual engagement includes both in-classroom and out-of-classroom learning with high-impact experiences such as internships, community-based learning, study abroad, and undergraduate research. These research opportunities extend well beyond the sciences to include the arts, humanities and social sciences. Learning through discovery continues for students who conduct research with faculty mentors in SCOPE (Summer Collaborative Opportunities and Experiences), our Inquiry Initiative’s summer research program. Southwestern University undergraduate students are not only conducting original research, but often have the opportunity to publish and present their work, as well.
Finally, through Paideia, we open up pathways to conceptual thinking as students and faculty explore connections between two or more seemingly divergent subjects. This process stimulates innovative, original thinking, and creative expression. Suddenly, a student’s deep knowledge of their chosen discipline, such as biology, business, or music, is greatly expanded and enhanced. Their ability to think conceptually through a variety of new perspectives allows their mind to venture into regions of thought or creative expression it could not otherwise go.
A Commitment in Stone
Phase 1
IN THE PHASE I WING OF THE SOUTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY SCIENCE CENTER YOU’LL FIND STATE-OF-THE-ART LABORATORIES AND EQUIPMENT, SUCH AS OUR NUCLEAR MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING INSTRUMENT AND CELL CULTURE LAB.
Phase 2
PHASE II WILL TRIPLE THE CENTER’S SIZE, HOUSING A MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTER SCIENCE LABORATORY, KINESIOLOGY RESEARCH LABORATORY, PRE-MEDICAL LEADERSHIP CENTER, AND MORE.
This commitment to inquiry-based, interconnected learning goes well beyond our curriculum. Nowhere is this fact more evident than in our new Science Center, which was designed and built with shared research spaces and collaborative learning studios where students can meet in small groups or one-on-one with faculty and staff. The classrooms themselves have been designed for small-group interaction, offering a modern way to bring the joy of inquiry-based learning and active student discovery to life.
Science of the 21st century is multidisciplinary, and as such, there are no siloed departments. This approach helps to build bridges between the science disciplines and gives our students experience working in a truly interdisciplinary environment.
Diversity is a Critical Element
At Southwestern, you’ll find a diverse community, as well as a true commitment to creating an inclusive environment that is equally welcoming to all. More than a third of Southwestern students come from underrepresented groups, but to us, diversity is more than just numbers.
We believe that diversity is an integral part of our enriched learning environment, and is an indispensable element of our Inquiry Initiative. Diversity expands our worldliness, enhances social development, increases our knowledge base, challenges us to engage with different ideas and perspectives, and better prepares Southwestern students for living in a global society.
Inquiry-based learning has been proven to support underrepresented student populations better, with better outcomes.
Inquiry-based career services
Even within Career Services, students are actively involved in their own dynamic journey of discovery. The professionals who make up our team attribute their national recognition and, more importantly, their students' success, to a boutique model of service, which favors a one-on-one, student-led process over large, generic workshops.
The award-winning staff of Southwestern’s Office of Career Services serves students and alumni year-round. The team is ranked Number 4 nationwide and Number 1 in Texas for bestcareer services by The Princeton Review. The office was also named the number one college career services in the U.S. by BestColleges.com. These rankings follow a long list of many other prestigious awards the office has earned over the past decade.
Through inquiry-based learning and inquiry-based career services, it’s no wonder Southwestern graduates are highly sought after by graduate programs and top employers alike.
Walk with us
Learning matters here
Changing Lives
In Good Company
Rigorous Academics
It’s Our Core Purpose
Making Connections
We wish to share our journey in the hope that other institutions will learn from both our trailblazing success as well as our inevitable missteps along the way. Please join us in the months and years to come as we continue to Think, Create, and Connect our way to a more modern and meaningful definition of higher education for the future.
Walk with us.