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<p><a href="https://rochesterbeacon.com/2019/04/05/looking-for-career-preparation-consider-the-liberal-arts/">https://rochesterbeacon.com/2019/04/05/looking-for-career-preparation-consider-the-liberal-arts/</a>​</p>
<p>In 1954, Albert Einstein wrote, "The great moral teachers of humanity were, in a way, artistic geniuses in the art of living."</p>
<p>We find these exemplars in areas like philosophy, history, literature and the arts. These disciplines--each housed in the liberal arts--teach a way of "seeing" human experience that Einstein celebrates. Ironically, in an effort to strengthen students' prospects for success, particularly in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), the trend in higher education has been to marginalize the arts, humanities, and social sciences.</p>
<p>This marginalization has been discussed in higher ed circles for decades. Last year the University of Wisconsin at Stevens Point announced that it would <a href="https://www.chronicle.com/article/U-of-Wisconsin-at-Stevens/242745">cut 13 majors</a> (primarily in the liberal arts), including American studies, art, English, French, German, history, music literature, philosophy, political science, sociology and Spanish, although it has since walked that number back to six. Its goal? To mitigate a $4.5 million deficit and make room for 16 new programs "in areas with high-demand career paths."</p>
<p>There are countless reasons to study the liberal arts that have nothing to do with career preparation. We embrace their disciplines because they enhance our capacity to think critically, cultivate a deeper understanding of the human condition, enrich our collective culture and understand the social forces that shape our democracy. Still, we must not ignore or undervalue the profound connections between these areas of study and workforce development, particularly as they apply to jobs in STEM.</p>
<p>In a March 21, 2018, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/wisconsin-is-trying-to-segregate-higher-education-into-the-haves-and-have-nots/2018/03/21/8cd67ac0-2886-11e8-b79d-f3d931db7f68_story.html?noredirect=on&amp;utm_term=.8bd250376441">Washington Post op-ed</a>, Paula Krebs, executive director of the Modern Language Association, argues that UWSP's decision represents our culture's ongoing attempts to "segregate higher education into the haves and have nots."</p>
<p>As a community college dean of liberal arts, I find Krebs' argument compelling. Community colleges are access-oriented institutions that excel at educating nontraditional, underserved, and underrepresented student populations that have struggled historically to succeed at universities and liberal arts colleges. Given their myriad challenges, which often include limited financial resources, such students consistently receive the message that to achieve professional and personal success they should major in career-oriented academic programs, those with clear connections to labor market demands. We have seen as much in the exponential growth of STEM and health studies majors since the Great Recession.</p>
<p>In the context of workforce development, liberal arts programs and courses are often overlooked except for their capacity to instill students with the "soft skills" related to effective communication, analytical thought, and adaptability. I am reminded of this each time I encounter students at a college open house event and learn that, despite their passion for photography, languages, or social justice, they've decided to forgo majoring in a liberal arts discipline for fear that it will not lead to gainful employment in the current, tech-driven labor market. And yet, the modern tech boom is replete with stories of startup founders, presidents and CEOs who studied the liberal arts--from LinkedIn founder <a href="https://www.reidhoffman.org/about/">Reid Hoffman</a>, who completed a master's degree in philosophy at Oxford, to <a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/ben-silbermann/#c1a58a3644da">Ben Silbermann</a>, who earned a degree in political science before earning billions as the founder of Pinterest.</p>
<p>Rochester's labor market has been largely defined by the science and tech industry for well over a century, most recently within in the areas of medical science and health care. At Monroe Community College, we have forged partnerships that bring together our STEM and health science faculty and students with regional employers in these fields, and rightly so.</p>
<p>The logical next step is to articulate more thoroughly to such employers both the intrinsic and instrumental value of the liberal arts. Of the more than 38,000 jobs at the University of Rochester Medical Center and Rochester Regional Health, many require less medical or technical training than they do the capacity for close reading and textual analysis, effective written and verbal communication, problem solving, empathy and cultural competence. And for those positions that do necessitate medical and/or technical training, be it locally or among the many thousands of open STEM jobs throughout the state we want them filled by individuals who possess these abilities, lest our doctors, engineers, environmental scientists, and pharmacologists influence our world with a very limited understanding of the human condition. As educators, we therefore have a responsibility to ensure that our future STEM and health care workers have meaningful engagement with the liberal arts during and after their college careers.</p>
<p>On May 1, the <a href="https://sites.monroecc.edu/humanities/">MCC Institute for the Humanities</a> will bring together a panel of experts from higher education and the tech industry to raise the profile of the liberal arts by demonstrating the various ways they intersect with STEM education and industry. Please <a href="https://www.monroecc.edu/events/mcc-institute-for-the-humanities-presents/">register online</a> for this event.</p>
<p>Now, more than ever, it is vital that liberal arts educators engage our communities' employers, parents, and students--as well as our colleagues in STEM--in meaningful conversation. With any luck, we just might hear one another.</p>
<p><i>Michael Jacobs is dean of humanities and social sciences, and director of the Institute for the Humanities, at Monroe Community College.</i></p>

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MCC Daily Tribune

Dean Jacobs publishes Op-Ed "Looking for career preparation? Consider the liberal arts" in Rochester Beacon

On April 5, 2019, Dean Michael Jacobs published an Op-Ed in Rochester Beacon titled, "Looking for career preparation? Consider the liberal arts."

https://rochesterbeacon.com/2019/04/05/looking-for-career-preparation-consider-the-liberal-arts/

In 1954, Albert Einstein wrote, "The great moral teachers of humanity were, in a way, artistic geniuses in the art of living."

We find these exemplars in areas like philosophy, history, literature and the arts. These disciplines--each housed in the liberal arts--teach a way of "seeing" human experience that Einstein celebrates. Ironically, in an effort to strengthen students' prospects for success, particularly in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), the trend in higher education has been to marginalize the arts, humanities, and social sciences.

This marginalization has been discussed in higher ed circles for decades. Last year the University of Wisconsin at Stevens Point announced that it would cut 13 majors (primarily in the liberal arts), including American studies, art, English, French, German, history, music literature, philosophy, political science, sociology and Spanish, although it has since walked that number back to six. Its goal? To mitigate a $4.5 million deficit and make room for 16 new programs "in areas with high-demand career paths."

There are countless reasons to study the liberal arts that have nothing to do with career preparation. We embrace their disciplines because they enhance our capacity to think critically, cultivate a deeper understanding of the human condition, enrich our collective culture and understand the social forces that shape our democracy. Still, we must not ignore or undervalue the profound connections between these areas of study and workforce development, particularly as they apply to jobs in STEM.

In a March 21, 2018, Washington Post op-ed, Paula Krebs, executive director of the Modern Language Association, argues that UWSP's decision represents our culture's ongoing attempts to "segregate higher education into the haves and have nots."

As a community college dean of liberal arts, I find Krebs' argument compelling. Community colleges are access-oriented institutions that excel at educating nontraditional, underserved, and underrepresented student populations that have struggled historically to succeed at universities and liberal arts colleges. Given their myriad challenges, which often include limited financial resources, such students consistently receive the message that to achieve professional and personal success they should major in career-oriented academic programs, those with clear connections to labor market demands. We have seen as much in the exponential growth of STEM and health studies majors since the Great Recession.

In the context of workforce development, liberal arts programs and courses are often overlooked except for their capacity to instill students with the "soft skills" related to effective communication, analytical thought, and adaptability. I am reminded of this each time I encounter students at a college open house event and learn that, despite their passion for photography, languages, or social justice, they've decided to forgo majoring in a liberal arts discipline for fear that it will not lead to gainful employment in the current, tech-driven labor market. And yet, the modern tech boom is replete with stories of startup founders, presidents and CEOs who studied the liberal arts--from LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman, who completed a master's degree in philosophy at Oxford, to Ben Silbermann, who earned a degree in political science before earning billions as the founder of Pinterest.

Rochester's labor market has been largely defined by the science and tech industry for well over a century, most recently within in the areas of medical science and health care. At Monroe Community College, we have forged partnerships that bring together our STEM and health science faculty and students with regional employers in these fields, and rightly so.

The logical next step is to articulate more thoroughly to such employers both the intrinsic and instrumental value of the liberal arts. Of the more than 38,000 jobs at the University of Rochester Medical Center and Rochester Regional Health, many require less medical or technical training than they do the capacity for close reading and textual analysis, effective written and verbal communication, problem solving, empathy and cultural competence. And for those positions that do necessitate medical and/or technical training, be it locally or among the many thousands of open STEM jobs throughout the state we want them filled by individuals who possess these abilities, lest our doctors, engineers, environmental scientists, and pharmacologists influence our world with a very limited understanding of the human condition. As educators, we therefore have a responsibility to ensure that our future STEM and health care workers have meaningful engagement with the liberal arts during and after their college careers.

On May 1, the MCC Institute for the Humanities will bring together a panel of experts from higher education and the tech industry to raise the profile of the liberal arts by demonstrating the various ways they intersect with STEM education and industry. Please register online for this event.

Now, more than ever, it is vital that liberal arts educators engage our communities' employers, parents, and students--as well as our colleagues in STEM--in meaningful conversation. With any luck, we just might hear one another.

Michael Jacobs is dean of humanities and social sciences, and director of the Institute for the Humanities, at Monroe Community College.

Michael Jacobs
Anthrop/History/Poli. Science/Sociology; ESOL/TRS
04/11/2019