.svg)
The Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges advances the aims of its member institutions and drives awareness of the value of high-quality, public liberal arts education in a student-centered, residential environment.
Established in 1987 and now consisting of 30 colleges and universities in 28 states and 1 Canadian province, COPLAC represents a distinguished sector in higher education. Some campuses have received designation from their state legislatures or public university systems as the state’s public liberal arts college or the public honors college for the liberal arts. Others have carved out a less formal but no less visible role as such in their states or province.
COPLAC serves both external and internal constituencies. It communicates to state and federal policy makers the vital importance and benefits of providing students with comprehensive public higher education in the liberal arts and sciences. It collaborates with major national higher education organizations like the Association of American Colleges and Universities to advance the aims of liberal learning in a global society.
COPLAC enjoys an organizational and administrative structure that facilitates member collaborations, including multi-campus faculty and student research projects, professional development opportunities for faculty and professional staff, and enhanced information sharing through its interactive web portal. COPLAC has developed regional undergraduate research conferences and a web-based platform for outstanding scholarship at the undergraduate level. COPLAC campuses have started to share online courses across the disciplines to increase curricular opportunities for students. Students who enroll at a COPLAC institution are now directly engaged in the wider mission of public liberal arts education, the best preparation for a meaningful life and professional career.
The Governing Board of COPLAC consists of the 30 Presidents/Chancellors or their designees. The Board elects a president of the organization for a two-year term and the full board meets on a semi-annual basis. The Board also elects an Executive Committee whose members oversee the administrative work of the Director of COPLAC.
The COPLAC office is located on the campus of the University of North Carolina Asheville. The staff works actively with member institutions to improve the quality of liberal arts and sciences education on member campuses.
.svg)
Meet our team
Jeanine Went
Executive Director
Dr. Went brings extensive experience in higher education leadership, multi-campus collaboration, and strategic initiatives to COPLAC. As the founding director of the Higher Education Consortium of Central Massachusetts (HECCMA) for 11 years, she assembled 55 communities of practice, managed consortial programming, and oversaw cross-registration, bidding, and procurement processes. Dr. Went also built strong relationships with elected officials, forged key partnerships with city offices, the state emergency management association, and regional nonprofits, and secured grant funding to develop HECCMA’s strategic plan. Her leadership enhanced collaboration and strengthened ties across HECCMA’s 11 member institutions.
went@coplac.org
828.350.4590
220 Campus Drive, CPO 1100, Asheville North Carolina 28804
Claire Bailey
Program Manager
Claire is a native of Asheville, NC and joined the COPLAC team in 2013. She has a bachelor's degree in Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management from North Carolina State University and a master's degree in Library and Information Studies from University of North Carolina Greensboro. She is currently pursuing a graduate certificate in Nonprofit Management, and serves on the board of two local nonprofit organizations.
bailey@coplac.org
828.258.7879
220 Campus Drive, CPO 1100, Asheville North Carolina 28804
Priscilla Alpizar Vargas
Web Developer
Priscilla joined COPLAC as a web developer since 2025, and she is an experienced designer, video editor, and programmer. She is a 2026 UNCA undergraduate, pursuing a bachelor's degree in New Media and Art.
dev@coplac.org
COPLAC Committees and Board
.svg)
Executive Director’s Welcome
In this time of political unrest, distrust, misinformation, and disinformation, it is more important than ever in our lifetime for individuals to have and/or develop critical thinking skills. A liberal arts education challenges us to think critically about the issues that surround us, encouraging us to consider conflicting positions and integrate multiple perspectives. This knowledge helps us to navigate challenges, appreciate multiple viewpoints, and become more flexible in our thinking. COPLAC members enhance this kind of educational experience through collaboration and interrelated knowledge.
COPLAC fosters a community where members can connect across institutions, disciplines, and regions. The organization brings together students, faculty, and staff through collaborative activities and specialized cohorts, allowing for rich, interdisciplinary dialogue. Whether through regional student research conferences, faculty development institutes, leadership cohorts, or the electronic student journal Metamorphosis, COPLAC provides platforms that encourage and celebrate the shared exploration of ideas.
Read More...Why a Liberal Arts Education?
The liberal arts tradition emphasizes community. Ancient Romans brought together a word-based sequence of knowledge (grammar, logic, and rhetoric) with a numbers-based sequence (mathematics, geometry, music, and astronomy). Together with an eighth area – the love of knowledge (philosophy) – these formed the artes liberales, the art of free people, the art of a citizen in public life.
So why is a 2000-year old tradition for free people relevant to you now?
Because working with those eight areas and their contemporary descendants (the humanities and sciences) stresses looking at issues, and considering opportunities, and thinking about solutions from multiple perspectives. Working with multiple perspectives asks you, and asks the college where you study, to be supple. Be flexible. Be agile. Studying multiple areas of knowledge, rather than centering on just one area, invites you to be deeply curious. It invites you to be more, not less. It invites you to slow down, listen to different voices, and have the courage to make connections.
Read More...
