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Even though the 2012 NAICU Annual Meeting is history, you can continue to benefit and learn from the many presentations and speeches that were offered, and are now available on line.
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Liberal Arts/Humanities
The liberal arts: Back to basics
Pittsburgh, Pa., Tribune-Review - Editorial
February 4, 2012A new survey should prompt renewed focus on a fundamental higher-education truth: The skills that liberal-arts studies instill - critical thinking, logical reasoning, clear writing - are crucial for success. Those who have such "general skills" can better adapt to various jobs and life challenges - an edge over those who don't. That's a result of both those skills and the self-discipline needed to master them.
Why a Liberal Arts Education Matters
New York Times - India Ink Blog
February 1, 2012Well, what is it going to be: engineering, medicine or commerce? Most 12th-grade students in India are faced with this question, as they struggle to fit themselves into one of a few narrowly defined boxes. Heaven forbid someone might enjoy reading both Newton's laws and Plato's dialogues! Plato is clearly a waste of time with no practical, remunerative value. Or is it?
The Liberal Arts as Guideposts in the 21st Century
Chronicle of Higher Education - Opinion Piece
January 29, 2012It would be wrong to assume that because it has such ancient roots, this kind of education is outdated, stale, fusty, or irrelevant. In fact, quite the contrary. A liberal-arts education, which Louis Menand defined in The Marketplace of Ideas as "a background mentality, a way of thinking, a kind of intellectual DNA that informs work in every specialized area of inquiry," lends itself particularly well to contemporary high-tech methods of imparting knowledge.
Liberal arts education lends an edge in down economy
USA Today
January 25, 2012Recent college graduates who as seniors scored highest on a standardized test to measure how well they think, reason and write - skills most associated with a liberal arts education - were far more likely to be better off financially than those who scored lowest, says the Social Science Research Council, an independent organization. It found that students who had mastered the ability to think critically, reason analytically and write effectively by their senior year were three times less likely to be unemployed than those who hadn't; half as likely to be living with their parents; and far less likely to have amassed credit card debt (37% vs. 51%).
Sundance 2012: Josh Radnor's 'Liberal Arts' gets ovation at premiere
Los Angeles Times
January 22, 2012Standing ovations are rare at the Sundance Film Festival, but "Liberal Arts" got one here on Sunday. The film, directed, written by and starring "How I Met Your Mother" lead Josh Radnor, came to the festival with a low profile. Radnor plays Jesse, a thirtysomething pining for his days at Kenyon College (which the actor actually attended). While visiting an old professor at Kenyon, Jesse meets Zibby (Elizabeth Olsen), a bubbly, idealistic sophomore. While Zibby is thrilled to be embarking on a romance with an older guy, Jesse's unease over the age difference begins to complicate things.
The college racket
New York Post - Column
January 19, 2012Humanities courses in liberal arts colleges have replaced the canon of Western civilization with course offerings in gay scholarship, feminism, race studies and the like - all aimed to show our benighted past and to condition us to a more tolerant future. Students have fled such courses in droves to pursue technical or professional skills in colleges that now award most of their degrees outside the liberal arts. Their parents - and increasingly the students themselves, through loans - are left footing the bill for degrees that neither pay off in the marketplace nor enrich the intellectual lives of those on whom they are conferred.
A Liberal Arts Education
WNPR, Hartford, Conn.
January 17, 2012It used to be that a new college graduate could walk off the campus and into a job, but that's not happening right now and, new graduates are finding it increasingly difficult to find work against the background of mounting debt. As a result, many top administrators are taking a hard look at the liberal arts model to see if it still fits the job market of tomorrow. College presidents from the Annapolis Group - a consortium of liberal arts colleges - and faculty from Trinity College and George Mason University join us to discuss the value of the liberal arts in education.
Liberal Arts Degrees: An Asset At Some Companies
NPR - All Things Considered
January 16, 2012Technology training and know-how only get you so far in this economy. It turns out many employers now are looking for workers with a broader set of skills. Packaged food giant ConAgra's IT internship program, for example, values a degree in journalism or biology as much as one in computer science. The trend is putting a crimp in the conventional theory that specialization in higher education pays.
Top Careers For Arts Majors
Investopedia
January 16, 2012One side to an ever-persisting debate tells us that humanities, English, history and anthropology degrees have low ROI, leading to careers with minimal financial yield. Believing in this assumption, ambitious students may feel inclined to pursue technical degrees with rigid curricula. Still, even technical businesses need intelligent non-technical people to thrive and survive. More importantly, we need intermediaries who can learn on the fly to connect technical concepts with key business units. In many ways, these are areas where the liberal arts niche can thrive and contribute tangible economic value.
How business killed the college experience
Deseret News, Salt Lake City, Utah - Opinion Piece
January 10, 2012The liberal arts used to be the foundation of the college education. The idea behind getting a college education was not to make money in the end. It was not to have a career. The idea was to develop a student into a whole person, someone who could draw together the connections from art, literature, music, history, politics and science. It was only after World War II with advent of the G.I. bill that colleges began to lure students with the concept that going to college could earn them more money. Hence the skill-based majors were born.
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