Amherst College Reunion 2024: Perspectives on the Future of Higher Education

Three members of the Class of 1989 who have devoted their careers to higher education and have witnessed great changes in the value placed on the liberal arts in a college education lead an interactive discussion about the role of the liberal arts in the 21st century and the call for universities to align their degree programs with specialized workforce preparation. What are opportunities to integrate liberal arts into professional programs? How might a liberal arts education begin to look different, given the various pressures facing colleges and universities? What are places of advocacy for the liberal arts? How can we more effectively articulate and champion the value of the liberal arts in today’s divided society? There will be opportunities for you to share your own reflections on how your Amherst liberal arts education has prepared you professionally and how you might advocate for the importance of sustaining strong liberal arts learning in a wide variety of institutions and degree programs. Featuring Emily Todd ’89, Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences, Eastern Connecticut State University; Francesca B. Purcell ’89, Faculty Co-Chair of the Higher Education Concentration, Faculty Co-Chair of the Online Master’s in Education and Senior Lecturer on Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education; and Karin Chang ’89, Associate Director and Associate Research Professor of Education, Social Work and Psychological Sciences at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Presented by the Class of 1989.