Awash in Data but a Drought in Understanding

“Drowning in information but starving for wisdom.” These are the words of E.O. Wilson that address the problem with today’s Information Age. In a recent NY Times article (April 16, 2015), Nicholas Kristof explains that a liberal arts education is what helps society sift through the flood of data to make sense of the world. Kristof writes, “Modern technology puts the world’s information at our fingertips, but what do we do with it? It takes strong critical thinking skills, and the perspective gained from studying a broad range of subjects, to use information wisely. It takes, in other words, a liberal education. Still, pundits, politicians, and the public at large can be skeptical about the merits of education that isn’t obviously vocational. So Kristof offers three reasons why liberal education is good for individuals and for society.

First, an education that includes studies in the arts and humanities is actually quite valuable in the job market. “A broad liberal arts education is a key pathway to success in the twenty-first-century economy,” according to Harvard labor economist Lawrence Katz, who notes that the economic return on pure technical skills is diminishing; the highest returns are now going to graduates who possess both technical, field-specific skills and “soft skills,” such as teamwork and written and oral communication. Another, equally important reason is that “we need people conversant with the humanities to help reach wise public policy decisions, even about the sciences,” Kristof says. Technology does not exist in a vacuum—technical innovations like digital communication and genetic modification bring with them new ethical dilemmas and philosophical issues to consider.

Finally, Kristof says, the arts and humanities offer lessons about human nature, about how to understand the world around us. “Wherever our careers lie, much of our happiness depends upon our interactions with those around us, and there’s some evidence that literature nurtures a richer emotional intelligence,” he says. “In short, it makes eminent sense to study coding and statistics today, but also history and literature.”

The Liberal Arts is the Workplace Trend for the Next Decade
Author Dan Schwabel writes that, “AI will automate technical skills and drive the demand for soft skills like creativity, communication and empathy. While there’s been such a focus on recruiting STEM over the past several years, those majors will continue to lose relevance, while liberal arts majors will become more valuable to companies moving forward.”
Click Here to read more about the Liberal Arts Comeback 

Experience limitless job opportunities with a liberal arts degree from Dominican College

Despite a social push towards specializations and the focus on getting a job after graduation, the liberal arts remain vital to a well-educated society. More than that, a liberal arts degree from Dominican college will increase your market value.   We focus on teaching you the skills employers want the most (communication skills, critical thinking, clear writing, problem solving, cultural understanding).  Private liberal arts colleges like Dominican  College have the power to meet one of the nation’s top priorities:
increasing the number of college graduates who have the skills that employers want.

Don’t believe me? Click here to read what employers look for.
You can also click here to see why understanding various cultures is important to a career such as investment banking.
Click here is read why experts believe that scientists need to trained in the arts, not just STEM programs.

What about power and leadership? Well, we have that covered too. Read about the role of the liberal arts in developing social power and in developing society’s leaders.   You can even find the reason (click here) why the high- tech computer industry sees a need to hire Liberal Arts majors — especially English majors.

Choosing Dominican College and its liberal arts core is an excellent choice to prepare you for the future.  Feel free to contact me with questions about the liberal arts requirements or about a program within the liberal arts disciplines.

Dr. Mark C. Meachem  is Associate Professor of Communication Studies and the Director of the Division of Arts and Sciences. If you have questions about the value of a Liberal Arts degree, Dr. Meachem can be reached at mark.meachem@duny.edu or (845) 848-4043