Institutes & Centers Gaede Institute for the Liberal Arts

With the growing complexity of real world problems there is an ever greater need for people who bring a range of perspectives to social issues, and who recognize that their education is connected to the whole of their lives: their community involvement, their political engagement, their spiritual development, as well as their profession. We hope you'll find the resources of the Gaede Institute helpful as together we seek to learn and teach for a complex world. 

The Gaede Institute for the Liberal Arts was established in 2000 with the goal of strengthening liberal arts education locally and nationally. The Institute hosts scholarly conversation on the present and future of the liberal arts, provides liberal arts opportunities to area communities outside the academy, promotes educational access for first-generation and underserved populations, and fosters interdisciplinary contact between faculty and students through extracurricular events on campus.

- Chris Hoeckley, Director 

Mission and Goals

The Gaede Institute for the Liberal Arts was established to promote the continued vitality of the liberal arts tradition in American higher education.

We seek to:

  • Sharpen the vision of a dynamic, contemporary liberal arts education rooted in a rich, diverse tradition;
  • Deepen understanding of the underlying commitments and values shaping liberal arts education;
  • Stimulate dialogue between all streams in the liberal arts tradition;
  • Strengthen the commitment of administrators, faculty, staff and students to the liberal arts vision;
  • Equip faculty to implement the liberal arts vision at their institutions;
  • Spread the message of the value of the liberal arts to students, parents, and the broader public; and
  • Bring faith into the conversation on liberal arts education.

Stan Gaede

In 2006, the institute was renamed to honor Stan Gaede, former provost (1996-2001) and president (2001-2006) of Westmont College, and one of the chief movers behind the creation of the Institute for the Liberal Arts. Since then, Stan has served as Scholar-in-Residence at Gordon College and President of the Christian College Consortium, where he has continued to advocate for education that serves and forms students as whole people.

Upcoming Lectures