More work to do

The new academic year is underway and so too is the annual assault on the liberal arts and humanities. At a very recent Governor’s Conference on Postsecondary Education the Governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky urged his fellow chief executives to approach their state university leaders and insist that they, “Find entire parts of your campus … that don’t need to be there. Either physically as programs, degrees that you’re offering, buildings that … shouldn’t be there because you’re maintaining something that’s not an asset of any value, that’s not helping to produce that 21st-century educated work force.” Sadly, such views are pervasive and widely held. I’ve given up counting the number of individuals I’ve encountered who smile wryly when I tell them about my history background.

At the same time, however, as recent events have clearly demonstrated (the revolting events in Charlottesville, the ongoing debates over sites of memory and the commemoration of the nation’s past, the ominous clouds on the global horizon, the onslaught of a natural world thrown out of kilter, etc., I would argue that a strong foundation in the humanities, arts and sciences are more important than ever. Absolutely we want to assist our students in preparing for the world of work. But even more than that, we want to prepare them to be successful in life and to be comfortable in the wider world into which they will be stepping.

Watching my own daughter’s recent experiences with the job market have only reinforced this belief. A double history and anthropology major as a undergrad (the apple did not fall far from the tree), she went on to earn a Master’s degree from the University of Chicago in Latin American Studies. Her familiarity with diverse methodological approaches to problems, her comfort with the ambiguity of the liberal arts where answers are not necessarily definitive, her strong communications skills, her analytical acumen, and her language skills make her a much in demand quantity. She has had no shortage of interviews and/or job opportunities. Why? Because the skill set that she possesses is well suited to the needs of today’s global world of work and they position her to operate in a more creative and less rigid manner than many others.

Though I have said it many times before, it bears restating—I am extremely proud of the transformative education provided by the College of Arts, Sciences, and Letters and have no qualms about stating very plainly that this is a part of the University of Michigan-Dearborn (and this is true of any other university) that absolutely “needs to be there.” There are lots of great things happening in CASL and I look forward to sharing them with you throughout the year.