ILiADS Key Values

Process-Oriented Project Development

Project teams are central to ILiADS’ unique structure. The loose template for the week centers retreat-like, focused team time, allowing space for hands-on exploration and open inquiry. We champion the process of project development as the site of considerable learning which contributes broadly to the capacity of future projects, and ultimately to the community’s shared knowledge.

Reciprocal Partnerships

Centering liberal arts ideals, we strongly value participation from collegiate scholars in various roles including, but not limited to: undergraduates, post-baccalaureate and post-doctoral fellows, graduate students, faculty, administrators, staff, librarians, and technicians. Our emphasis on reciprocal relationships seeks to provide all members 一with specific emphasis on emerging scholars and undergraduate students一opportunities for equal contribution to project teams and to the community as a whole through participation on panels, facilitation of pop-up sessions, liaising, and professional development. We acknowledge the value of intentionally including undergraduates for their unique perspectives and we are committed to illuminating the often-unrecognized labor that underlies the projects. Recognizing that hierarchical positions permeate institutional systems, we seek to push against this structure and instead try to model a more equal, reciprocal, and respectful team dynamic.

Undergraduate Experiential Learning

By inviting undergraduates to meaningfully participate, we hope that ILiADS empowers students to engage deeply in “learning by doing,” gain confidence in their own voices, and understand scholarship as a form of conversation. ILiADS can also serve as a unique professional development opportunity for undergraduate attendees, as they have the space to network not only with other undergraduates, but also with professionals in many different roles across institutions.

Curated Expertise and Responsive Networks

ILiADS centers the needs of the community during the week by creating a structure that responds to the particular needs of the cohort. Unique to ILiADS, liaisons are matched with a project based on their expertise. They share teams’ progress with the other liaisons throughout the week and connect the project teams with additional needed expertise as the projects evolve. This flexible structure allows for spontaneous collaboration, as liaisons help build connections within and among teams and individuals or groups propose pop-up sessions in response to shared interest and overlapping questions.

Openness of Community

As an organization, ILiADS is committed to fostering a welcoming, inclusive, and open environment that engages regularly in self-reflective assessment. As part of that assessment process, we continuously strive to better provide equal opportunities for attending the institute and we make every effort to provide appropriate accommodations. We value diversity in all forms and acknowledge that multiple ways of knowing and multiple perspectives enrich the work of the community.