A Message from our President

In 2012, I became the director of the Ursuline Studies Program, a much-loved and venerated curriculum deeply rooted in Ursuline’s identity as a women-focused institution. However, the program had been in place since 1992, and my implicit mandate was to review and revise the curriculum to meet the College’s current needs.

And so it began . . .

I attended my first AGLS Constitute in Indianapolis, 2013. I was still wrapping my head around the complexities of our current curriculum and beginning to assemble a committee to oversee the reform process. And ALAKAZAM . . . just four short years later we were launching the Ursuline Core Curriculum!

All of that is to say, I understand well the challenges of the gen ed administrator (after my first go-around with the Curriculum Committee for the new Core proposal, the College President brought me a box of bandages after she heard how it went!)–but it’s my passion for and commitment to the value of general education that help me meet those challenges, and to focus on what matters most: our promise and commitment to our students through our gen ed program to prepare them well for (in the words of our mission) “lives of service, leadership, and professional excellence.” And I know you are looking at our AGLS community of liberal and general education scholar-practitioners because you share that passion and commitment. Here, you will find the insight, support, and guidance you need, no matter what your role is in your institution’s gen ed program. I cannot say enough about the amazing colleagues I have met through AGLS, many of whom I consider good friends as well.

AGLS offers a terrific range of opportunities to connect to the national gen ed community: virtual Live Chats,  the Gen Ed Anonymous Support Group, and, of course, the annual Constitute.  On this site you can access practical tools such as the Playbook and the Guide.  Finally, AGLS has a robust offering of awards, and ways to recognize your work. Welcome to our organization!

Mary Frances ‘Mimi’ Pipino
Interim Dean, School of Arts, Sciences and Professional Studies, Director Core Curriculum
Ursuline College
AGLS President  (2025-2027)