The Pennsylvania Consortium for the Liberal Arts (PCLA) is excited to announce that the fall period for submitting Opportunity Grant proposals is open. We will be accepting proposal submissions through 11:59pm on Monday, November 6th.

The Opportunity Grant is an internal PCLA funding opportunity that a collaborative team from at least two PCLA institutions may apply for. Opportunity Grant funding may only directly benefit PCLA institutions. These funds are intended to be an avenue for PCLA Cohorts, and other interested groups from the consortium, to receive seed money for promising activities and programs that address one, or more, of the following principles:

  • Cost savings
  • Sharing of best practices
  • Growing consortial and institutional visibility
  • Addressing issues and concerns that would benefit from group activity
  • Advancing the "Liberal Arts" model nationally
  • Fostering intellectual discussion across consortium campuses
  • Increasing operational efficiencies

Previous awards have provided for a comprehensive on-site training of New York University’s “Faith Zone” curriculum for Religious Life Leaders and students, a risk management workshop for Off-Campus Study directors, a conference on Information Literacy Standards for librarians (which led to an interview of the keynote speaker being published in Reference Services Review), and more.

For more information about, and application instructions for, the Opportunity Grant click here or copy and paste www.pcla.info/opp-grant into your web browser.

Please don’t hesitate to email the consortium program coordinator, Robert Diggs, with any questions. The PCLA office may also be reached by calling 717-358-5992.

The Pennsylvania Consortium for the Liberal Arts (PCLA), founded in 2014, is a consortium of eleven small liberal arts colleges across the commonwealth of Pennsylvania (Bryn Mawr, Dickinson, Franklin & Marshall, Gettysburg, Haverford, Juniata, Lafayette, Muhlenberg, Swarthmore, Ursinus, and Washington & Jefferson Colleges.) We strive to find areas of collaboration across our members that enhance the core principles of the liberal arts experience provided to the ~20,000 students that our institutions serve.

The PCLA is governed by the eleven member Board of Presidents, which is in turn led by a four person executive committee. The daily administration of PCLA activities is guided by the executive director, assisted by the program coordinator. The PCLA office is hosted by Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, PA with employment and financial services provided by Washington & Jefferson College in Washington, PA.