About the Public Life Project

 

Coffman student union lawn.

 

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