Todd Breyfogle, Director of Seminars at The Aspen Institute and Chair of the American Academy for Liberal Education (AALE) served as a keynote speaker at the first Alliance for Liberal Learning Conference (ALL) held in Chicago November 6-7, 2015. Breyfogle has served on the AALE Board of Trustees since 2009 and was elected Chair in 2013. The ALL conference brought together representatives from educational organizations, schools and colleges with formal great books and core texts curricula, residential and travel learning programs, and degree-granting and non-degree granting programs, who share a common interest in the value of lifelong liberal education. Breyfogle’s presentation, entitled Navigating the Contours of Complexity, addressed the contemporary relevance of liberal learning in clarifying professional and personal priorities as part of a lifelong journey of learning.
The Alliance for Liberal Learning was founded in 2014/2015 when representatives working in discussion-based liberal education met in Chicago to discuss common challenges and opportunities. The mission of the new initiative (www.allianceforliberallearning.org) is to increase public awareness, understanding and appreciation for lifelong liberal education through enhanced collaborations.