Many students starting on the first day of their college experience at UW-Eau Claire have heard course and university goals mentioning the term “liberal education.” However, the definition of the term is not easily found.

Eau Claire’s new mission statement outlines what liberal education means and what sets Eau Claire apart from other colleges in the UW System and elsewhere.

The process began in May when the Eau Claire University Planning Committee proposed and designed a new mission statement for the university.

The statement then came before the University Senate where English Department Chair, Jack Bushnell, voiced his disapproval of its wording.

“The UPC’s proposed mission put almost all its emphasis on educating ‘tomorrow’s leaders’ and on ‘training’ students to serve the public good or be responsible citizens,” Bushnell said. “It sounded too much like an indoctrination.”

After hearing Bushnell’s ideas and alternative statement, the University Senate voted to send the proposal back to the UPC, this time with Bushnell as a consultant. Bushnell said he wanted the new statement to include the idea of “transformative liberal education.”

He said he wanted students to understand the excitement, exploration, and challenge of their own education.

The UPC incorporated a large portion of Bushnell’s ideas into their design before they presented it to the Student Senate a second time. Student Body Vice President Phil Rynish said the Student Senate passed the new proposal nearly unanimously in the spring of last semester. This fall, it went on to the University Senate for the second time, where it was also nearly unanimously voted in and became UW-Eau Claire’s new mission statement.

Bushnell said he knew UW-Eau Claire’s old mission needed to be changed.

“It did nothing to distinguish us as an institution,” he said. “It offered nothing aspirational and nothing inspirational. It was more or less a description of the place and not at all an expression of our vision of ourselves or of what we hoped to accomplish.”

As a student, junior Jessi Van Natta recognizes that liberal education is an important standard to UW-Eau Claire

“Our education is ever-changing,” she said. “With a liberal education, we are learning more about a multitude of subjects, and from that colorful education we are able to make connections.”

Rynish also had high regard for this idea.

“Liberal education allows students to explore all the university has to offer,” he said. “This allows people to be transformed through their college career into people who are ready to contribute to society in a very meaningful way.”