A Message from Dean Barrett

Election years raise the stakes of some of the most important issues we confront not just as Americans but as humans.  Reactions to last week’s election make clear that this year those stakes have been elevated to an unprecedented degree.  Questions related to understanding our place in the world at the individual, national, and environmental levels, tolerating and appreciating difference, communicating with respect and empathy, recognizing the importance of checks and balances in government, addressing inequities across the spectrum, managing and distributing resources, working within the political system to effect change, and, of course, engaging in civil discourse are being discussed on campuses, in workplaces, at homes, and in the media.  There has never been a clearer demonstration of the importance of the humanities and social sciences, those disciplines that provide space for challenging discussions about identity and knowledge, perspective and bias, individuals and institutions, self and community.  The liberal arts are continuously engaged with the enduring questions of what it means to be human, how we know what we know, and why we make decisions, that consciousness of self that enables us to understand and change ourselves and the world.

Our graduates know this well.  Recently, five alumni with degrees in Anthropology, Political Science, Psychology, Sociology, and Women’s Studies, returned to our campus to speak at the second iteration of “Classroom to Career,” a panel co-sponsored by LA&S and the Career Resource Center.  The panel aims to refute the prevailing sense – at least as reflected in the media — that liberal arts degrees don’t prepare students for careers.  (Apparently, there’s some confusion about what majors in the humanities will do with their degrees because the names of traditional majors don’t match job titles.  Go figure?)  The answer to the question of what they will do, of course, is just about anything they want.  The results of a survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers reveal that starting salaries are rising “significantly” for graduates with degrees in the liberal arts because employers are more interested in broad-based skills, such as communication and multicultural sensitivity, which can’t be taught in the workplace (“Hunting for Soft Skills Companies Scoop Up English Majors,” WSJ October 25, 2016).

The more interesting revelations from the panel were the alumni’s advocacy for general education and for choosing majors based on values and interest.  A few admitted that general education requirements may have seemed arbitrary and irrelevant during their first year, but all praised the breadth of their education, most noting that they would not have discovered the right major were it not for GE.  They exhorted students to take a wide variety of courses to find out where their passions lie.  They extolled the virtues of studying abroad, internships, and campus involvement, noting that those experiences allowed them to put into practice the skills they learned in their courses:  writing and speaking clearly and persuasively, thinking creatively, working collaboratively, acting with cultural sensitivity.  Yes, observed one panelist, the days of the 20-page papers may be over by the time you graduate, but employees write emails on a daily basis, memos marshalling evidence with the goal of persuading someone of something as well as longer reports that require research and organization.  Another panelist, an entrepreneur who has run his own business, argued vehemently that students need to become critical thinkers and communicators.  Employers can teach new hires the information specific to their industries, he argued, but they don’t have time to hone your writing, thinking, and presentation skills.

When the event was over, one participant thanked me for giving her the opportunity to articulate what was so valuable about her education.  She hadn’t, she noted, really thought about how pursuing the liberal arts would end up shaping her life.  That self-reflection turned out to be eye-opening. Unfortunately, the benefits of a liberal arts education are not apparent to everyone, and we’re not always effective ambassadors because those benefits seem self-evident to us.  There’s never been a better time to serve as ambassadors, reminding the public why the liberal arts are essential to democracy and humanity, and to use our tools to shape the world in which we want to live.