Liberal Education and the Professions

by Carol Geary Schneider, in Liberal Education (Spring 2004)

AAC&U President Carol Geary Schneider introduces the spring issue of Liberal Education by reflecting on the relationship between liberal education and the professions. In her President's Message, she argues that the academy's tendency to define the liberal arts and sciences as "a separate sphere of endeavor" from the professions has created two major problems: First, it lends credence to the widespread assumption "that the liberal arts are 'ornamental' rather than essential to the lives we lead," and second, it belies the recent convergence of opinion "around a commonly valued set of liberal education capacities or outcomes." This convergence, she notes, is vividly documented in Taking Responsibility for the Quality of the Baccalaureate Degree, an AAC&U report which calls new attention to the educational outcomes endorsed by accreditors, liberal education advocates, and professional groups alike.

Schneider calls upon the academy to recognize these intersections and put an end to the "artificial choices" imposed upon students. By "envisioning liberal education in terms of capacities or 'practices'" instead of limiting it to the mastery of subject matter, she argues, the academy can clearly demonstrate how such an education "add[s] rich value to all our endeavors, including the world of work."

Excerpts from Liberal Education, including the complete text of Carol Geary Schneider's President's Message, are available on AAC&U's Web site.