About CLAC

The Consortium of Liberal Arts Colleges (CLAC) is an organization comprised of many of the top liberal arts colleges in the United States. The group evolved from meetings of college presidents in 1985 and 1986 at Oberlin College; a brief history of the Consortium has been compiled. CLAC has focused on the uses of computing and related technologies in the service of the liberal arts mission. Academic computing, administrative computing, library automation, web services, telecommunications, and campus-wide networking all fall within the scope of the Consortium's interest.

The Consortium is chartered to explore and promote the use of information technology and to serve as a forum for the exchange of ideas among its members. CLAC activities include an annual conference, co-sponsorship of sessions with other groups such as EDUCAUSE, electronic data-sharing, hardware and software grant distributions, volume-discount negotiations with computer vendors, collaborative software development projects, multi-campus hardware and software testing, and representation of the interests of liberal-arts institutions on information-technology issues at the national level when appropriate. CLAC also provides referrals for colleges that seek qualified consultants in all areas of uses of information technology in liberal arts environments.

The Consortium is a not-for-profit organization incorporated in the State of Oregon in 1993. CLAC is administered by a governing Board of Directors of six institutional-member representatives elected by the members and is advised by an Advisory Board of six institutional-member presidents. Membership is currently limited to sixty-two institutions, and new members may be invited to join only if the number of current members falls below the designated limit.

There are currently sixty-two members of the Consortium (Google Map of CLAC Institutions).