Skidmore College: Why It Matters - page 8-9

ever before present their research at national professional conferences and win Fulbrights
and other prestigious honors.
The Scribner Seminars—the core of our First-Year Experience (FYE), which offers an
array of nearly 50 interdisciplinary courses each year—exemplify our commitment to ex-
cellence in teaching. The FYE helps set the tone for our students’ entire college career.
There aren’t many colleges or universities that could support such an effort, and I’m in-
credibly proud of the way our professors have embraced this opportunity.
Above all, our teaching continues to evolve. We have made a major effort to develop
and diversify our faculty and strengthen mentoring programs for effective pedagogy. Our
faculty includes a MacArthur “genius grant” recipient (who also is an alumna), along with
professors who have received Peabody and Pulitzer prizes. Our professors are always ask-
ing: What do we need to do for our students tomorrow that we’re not doing today?
Above all, our teaching
continues to evolve. We have
made a major effort to
develop and diversify our
faculty and strengthen
faculty mentoring programs.
WHAT’S DIFFERENT NOW?
•••
WE’VE ALL COME TO UNDERSTAND THAT WE HAVE SOME-
THING QUITE EXTRAORDINARY HERE.
We speak with pride about our
robust and finely balanced liberal arts curriculum. Programs such as Studio Art, English,
and Health and Exercise Sciences can compete with those at any comparable school in
the country. We have dramatically strengthened the physical and life sciences. And we
have fully embraced programs that offer students curricular options such as Management
and Business, Social Work, Education Studies, and Arts Management—programs not often
found at our competitor institutions.
The Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery has set a new standard
for integrating exhibition and teaching. And we now have the spectacular Arthur Zankel
Music Center, an extraordinary space for teaching, performance, and presentation. We’ve
built terrific new apartments—Northwoods and now Sussman Village—that extend our ca-
pacity to create a true residential learning community. We’ve turned our old-style cafeteria
into an award-winning, healthy, and cost-effective dining venue, and we’ve invested in our
athletics facilities and programs, recognizing the contributions they make toward achieving
the classical ideal of a healthy body and mind.
Today, our student body better reflects the contemporary world. More than 20 percent
of our students are domestic students of color; nearly 10 percent are international students.
And by all measures, our student body is even more talented and accomplished than ever
before. Our first-to-second-year retention ranks among the best in the country. Our gradu-
ation rates have improved markedly, and the positive trend continues. More students than
WHY IT MATTERS
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WHY IT MATTERS
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