Rice named home office for Association of Graduate Liberal Studies Programs

The national board of the Association of Graduate Liberal Studies Programs (AGLSP) has selected Rice University as the home office for its operations.

The Association of Graduate Liberal Studies Programs’ home office will be housed in Rice’s Anderson-Clarke Center, the home of the Glasscock School of Continuing Studies. Photo Brandon Martin

The AGLSP serves as the professional organization of academic programs providing graduate interdisciplinary education in the liberal arts and sciences for working adults. It includes more than 87 members in the United States and Canada who share a common interest in graduate-level liberal education that primarily serves adult, part-time students.

The home office of the AGLSP was most recently at the University of Oklahoma on a short-term basis, and official transition to Rice began July 1. The Graduate Liberal Studies (GLS) program at Rice’s Susanne M. Glasscock School of Continuing Studies will manage the association’s operations.

“The students, faculty and staff of the Master of Liberal Studies program at Rice have been among our most active AGLSP participants in recent years, and we welcome them as our new partners,” said Martha Banz, president of the AGLSP executive board. “We also offer our deep thanks to the University of Oklahoma for their work during the months of transition.”

Rebecca Sharp Sanchez, GLS administrative program director at Rice, will direct the home office transition and will continue to serve on the association’s national board of directors. “Our school is honored to serve within the greater AGLSP community, and we’re excited to partner with our university colleagues,” said Sharp Sanchez. “Collaboration strengthens every program and helps us meet the ultimate goal of building rich learning experiences for liberal studies students.”

Exploring liberal arts at a highly integrated level isn’t always possible in a career-focused education, according to Sharp Sanchez. The GLS program at Rice is tailored toward working adults, retirees and other nontraditional university students who wish to broaden their knowledge in fields they may not have studied previously. Both Master of Liberal Studies and Diploma in Liberal Studies degrees are available.

Kim Raptis has transitioned from the Rice Center for College Readiness program and will serve as the administrative manager for the national office. “I look forward to working with the institutional and individual members of the AGLSP,” Raptis said, “and also to having the opportunity to bring my program management experience to this valuable organization.”