EDUCATION GUIDE
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SUPPLEMENT TO THE FREE PRESS • SATURDAY, AUGUST 9, 2025
CANADIAN MENNONITE UNIVERSITY
It’s not just about acquiring knowledge; we’re inviting students into a wisdom tradition.” — Kenton Lobe, Teaching Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies, CMU University
CMU:
Learning at CMU is a highly interactive experience.
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A University Ahead of the Curve F or Canadian Mennonite University students, curiosity isn’t just encour- aged—it’s expected. Here, professors model what it means to be both learner and expert, inviting students to consider not just what we know, but how we come to know it—and what it means to use knowledge wisely. Ways of Knowing teaches students to recognize how different disciplines ask different kinds of questions. “Students aren’t often told that different kinds of BY SANDRA KOOP HARDER
Big universities aren’t for everyone.
texts require different ways of reading,” says Dr. Rachel Krause, Associate Professor of Biology. “We’re pulling back the curtain on the academic experience.” Teaching Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies Kenton Lobe explains it this way. “It’s not just about acquiring knowledge; we’re inviting students into a wisdom tradition—asking how knowledge should be used.” For students, this course represents both a planting and uprooting. “Just arriving at university already uproots them,” says Academic Dean Dr. Janet Brenneman. “Ways of Knowing helps them plant again with many tools for learning well throughout university studies—and all of life. This is a profound experience for first-year stu- dents. Students are invited to expect more—from their education, their community, and themselves.” The experience of taking Ways of Knowing greatly benefits students, she adds. “Graduates leave CMU career-ready, equipped with critical, creative, constructive thinking, adaptability, integrity, hands-on experience, and a network of con- nections that set them apart. It starts with innovative courses like Ways of Knowing—and extends to CMU’s signature Work-integrated Learning program built into all degrees,” says Brenneman.
This ethos drives Ways of Knowing, an innovative first-year course that pushes conventional ideas of what university learning is all about. Instead of limiting inquiry to common academic si- los, this course offers something unique: space to think deeply, broadly, and collaboratively with students from across all program areas. Students engage alongside one another in ways that defined universities in early times but is rarely encoun- tered anywhere these days. Each year, the course explores a provocative ques- tion like, “What are people for? What is hope? Who are our neighbours?” These questions are examined through multiple disciplines and across diverse ways of knowing. This first-year course brings students together across all programs, with professors from diverse academic areas designing the curriculum together each year. For example, academics in biology, business, theology, math, music, psychology, English, and peace studies choose source materials from the full range of their fields. Everyone comes together for monthly lectures, and each professor facilitates seminar classes and roundta- bles of 25 students.
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Expect more.
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