Dive Brief:
- Frederick M. Lawrence, former president of Brandeis University, argues for the value of a higher education that combines practical skills with liberal arts knowledge.
- Writing for the Huffington Post, Lawrence says students who graduate with a college degree are shown to outearn their peers, but beyond that, residential students develop a level of emotional intelligence from all the experiences that take place outside of classroom hours.
- Lawrence says small, liberal arts schools may not be equipped to give students the technical skills they need to get a high-paying first job, but a university education with a strong liberal arts foundation prepares students for that job and all of those that will follow it.
Dive Insight:
Lawrence’s argument comes from the belief that it is more important than ever to be able to articulate the value of higher education. All the studies that show students with college degrees go on to make more money over the course of their lifetimes and the evidence that the economy is shifting to require higher education for even basic positions is dwarfed, for some, by the struggles created by student debt.
Across the political spectrum, officials are demanding schools prove their merit as job-training centers, shuttling students directly to open positions in the workforce. But Lawrence is not the only one arguing it is about more than that first job. The idea that liberal arts educations prepare students for life is key, too.