Teaching Philosophy: Liberal Arts Education

My overall teaching philosophy reflects my having been steeped in the liberal arts in high school and college.  What I love about academia is the excitement of the discovery process—whether it is discovering a new poem, or sculpture, or conceptual framework, or empirical association—and the joy of sharing discoveries with others.  I believe that discovery and dissemination go hand in hand, and they co-occur in all contexts where learning might take place:  the lab, the studio, the seminar room, the performance space, the internship placement, the clinic, the lecture hall—and beyond.  As an educator I am privileged to participate in and facilitate this developmental process.

A liberal arts education is both a private and a public good.  Individuals receiving a liberal arts education benefit by being enlightened and developing skills that have economic value.  But the value goes beyond the individual student’s personal and professional development.  Citizens with a liberal arts education are better prepared to serve—to have a meaningful impact on the world around them.  They understand how to investigate an issue, how to see others’ points of views, how knowledge develops in a particular cultural and historical context, how to integrate information from diverse sources, how to communicate articulately, and how to develop and apply solutions effectively in a wide variety of situations.  Prepared to be citizens of the world, they are well-informed, flexible, and open to the new perspectives and situations they are likely to encounter in an increasingly interconnected world. 

Providing a liberal arts education in the twenty-first century must honor the traditional core of the liberal arts while incorporating experiences that ensure students are prepared for the world in which they will live.  It is an honor for us as faculty to assume responsibility for contributing to the public good in this way.  I view my task as an administrator to work toward making it possible for faculty, staff and students to do the best job they can of creating, sharing, integrating, and applying knowledge—for their own personal and professional growth and for the good of the world around them.  This is particularly critical as we face the major challenges of this century:  Environmental sustainability; rapid social and cultural shifts leading to political instability and conflict; the growing risk of pandemics; the widening gap between rich and poor—locally and globally; and moral and ethical dilemmas that arise with advances in technology, especially in health care.  Liberal arts education will be one key component as we face these challenges.