ACTA’s Jonathan Pidluzny and Nathaniel Urban interview George Harne, Executive Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences at the University of St. Thomas in Texas. “Liberal education is almost like becoming a conductor in training,” Dr. Harne says. “The goal is to be able to get a vision of an integrated whole, to know the natures of things, the essences of things, and then to know their objective relations with one another. . . Being liberally educated also means as you continue to learn, being able to integrate that new knowledge into the symphony of knowing.”
Boston University has suspended admissions to humanities and social science Ph.D. programs for next year after agreeing to a new graduate student workers union contract with massive pay increases.
ACTA presented our 19th annual Philip Merrill Award for Outstanding Contributions to Liberal Arts Education to Nadine Strossen, John Marshall Harlan II Professor of Law Emerita at New York Law School and the first female president of the American Civil Liberties Union.
It started in 2017, before which many Purdue graduates went their entire academic career having never set foot in a literature or history class, Dr. Melinda Zook recalls. Now, they all do.
Launched in 1995, we are the only organization that works with alumni, donors, trustees, and education leaders across the United States to support liberal arts education, uphold high academic standards, safeguard the free exchange of ideas on campus, and ensure that the next generation receives an intellectually rich, high-quality college education at an affordable price.
Discover MoreSign up to receive updates on the most pressing issues facing our college campuses.