About the Public Life Project

Public life in the United States today is fractured and often even toxic. Individuals and communities find it difficult, if not impossible to connect across political, religious, and regional lines. And these differences have made their way onto campuses across the country, presenting new challenges for student life, classroom learning, and vibrant intellectual exchange. We believe that a strong liberal arts education can help to address these challenges head-on.

CLA’s ten core competencies prepare our undergraduates for meaningful careers as well as public and private lives. They formalize what has been at the heart of the liberal arts curriculum for decades. The Public Life Project will provide specific experiences for students to intentionally develop the competencies that are needed most to create a just, equitable and antiracist society -- such as Active Citizenship and Community Engagement, Engaging Diversity, and Oral and Written Communication.

The courses, co-curricular experiences, teaching workshops, research, and public events of The Public Life Project Initiative come together in service of enriching the student experience at the University of Minnesota’s College of Liberal Arts. And that student experience provides the knowledge and habits for a life of learning and public service.

Leadership

Contact	Email
Doug Hartmann, director Professor and chair, Department of Sociology	hartm021@umn.edu
Ruthvin Gardiner Research assistant and graduate student, Humphery School of Public Affairs	gardi107@umn.edu
Mathew Krelitz Undergraduate research assistant, Department of Sociology	kreli020@umn.edu

Affiliated Faculty

Contact	Email
Elisia Cohen Professor and director, Hubbard School of Journalism & Mass Communication	ecohen@umn.edu
Paul Goren Professor and chair, Department of Political Science	pgoren@umn.edu
Ron Greene Professor and chair, Department of Communication Studies	green179@umn.edu
Karen Ho Professor, Department of Anthropology	karenho@umn.edu
Kathleen Hull Professor, Department of Sociology	hull@umn.edu
William P. Jones Beverly and Richard Fink Professor, Department of History	wpjones@umn.edu
Ascan Koerner Associate dean for undergraduate education and professor, Department of Communication Studies	koern011@umn.edu
Howard Lavine Associate dean for social sciences and Arleen C. Carlson Professor, Department of Political Science	lavine@umn.edu
Josephine Lee Professor, Department of English	jolee@umn.edu
Christopher Phelan Professor and chair, Department of Economics	cphelan@umn.edu
Valerie Tiberius Professor, Department of Philosophy	tiberius@umn.edu