Barry Mills
President Barry Mills was tapped for his insight for a National Public Radio segment that examines the value of a liberal arts education at a time in this country’s economic history when many of what NPR’s Tovia Smith describes as “elite private schools” are seen as “a more expensive — and less direct — path to landing a job.”
Mills talks about the College’s core mission — educating — and the results it has yielded.
President Mills–right on–EDUCATION is the core of the liberal arts cuririculum. I saw the TODAY show where their education analyst rated “liberal arts” as a field which was not in demand in our current economy and did not lead to financial return consistent with educational cost. The motto of my former father-in-law’s construction company in the 1950′s and 1960′s in Lewiston, Maine, read: “Our quality is remembered long after the price is forgotten.” From my perspective, that motto applies to a liberal arts education, today. I am now retired now after 28 years as an Army officer, 2 years at a major building supply vendor as a paint and home decor manager, and 10 years as a Department of Army Senior Analyst for the Army Board for Correction of Military Records. These are hardly liberal arts intensive jobs–EXCEPT they all required analytic thought, critical analysis, logic, persuasive writing, and oral presentations, all of which I learned and developed during my four years at Bowdoin. In retirement, I now reflect on my contribution to our Nation and our society which was made possible by my wonderful character building liberal arts education at Bowdoin whose cost I have long forgotten. Thank you Bowdoin! I would attend Bowdoin again regardless of cost.
Hugh Shaw ’65
Higher Education reform is key to the future of this country and there is no doubt about it. College needs to prepared students for actual jobs and no one can argue that an education steep in the classics or liberal arts will prepare the masses to meet the demands of the 21st century workforce. BUT not all liberal arts programs are created equal. Bowdoin (and its peers) stands leaps and bounds above the en-masse liberal arts colleges in this country. While most liberal arts colleges will need to revamp their philosophy to stay relevant, Bowdoin’s commitment to excellence will continue to shine. Those who criticize the liberal arts tradition fail to see the nuance in the quality of schools. As someone who works very closely with education reform, I can say that my 4 years at Bowdoin prepared me to tackle more than any science or engineering education would. Yes the world is changing and our education system needs to adapt in order to stay competitive but for a school like Bowdoin, that has always maintained a balance between a commitment to tradition while encouraging innovative and creative thinking, change is on our side. I can not be more proud of the education I received from Bowdoin and while I am advocating for a systematic overhaul of the higher education system of our country, schools like Bowdoin ARE the exception.