Truman is participating in a new national initiative called the LEAP Employer-Educator Compact. Participating campuses and employers will work together through 2014 to showcase employer support for the aims and outcomes of a broad liberal education and to show how higher education is helping students connect college learning with work, citizenship and global challenges.
The compact was developed by the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) and by employers working with AAC&U. University President Troy Paino is a member of a special presidential leadership group within AAC&U called the LEAP Presidents’ Trust. Presidents’ Trust members and employers who work with them are the initial signatories to this ongoing national initiative to ensure that today’s students will be well-prepared for economic, civic and global challenges.
For its part in the Compact, Truman has already established partnerships with the Kansas City-based health care company Cerner, as well as Boeing, the world’s largest aerospace company. These partnerships are designed to underscore the economic value of liberal education and to provide students with more hands-on learning opportunities to connect their campus learning with real-world contexts and problems.
“I am excited to be a part of this new national effort bringing employers and educators together to ensure that all our students understand what it takes to succeed in today’s workplace and to partner on ways we can provide more opportunities for students to apply their learning in real-world settings,” said Paino. “We are particularly pleased to partner in this initiative with Cerner and Boeing.”
At a Compact forum in Washington, D.C., in April, AAC&U launched the new LEAP Employer-Educator Compact to make high-quality college learning a shared national priority. More than 250 college presidents and business and nonprofit leaders have signed on to the LEAP Employer-Educator Compact. They have pledged to work together to ensure that all college students—including those attending two-year and four-year, public and private institutions—have access to a high-quality liberal education that prepares them successfully for work, life and citizenship.
Extensive surveys and focus groups by the AAC&U have revealed that more than 75 percent of employers want more emphasis on five key areas including: critical thinking, complex problem-solving, written and oral communication, and applied knowledge in real-world settings. For a full list of LEAP Presidents’ Trust members and employers signing the compact, see aacu.org/leap/presidentstrust/compact. Information about AAC&U membership, programs and publications can be found at aacu.org.
