To Data or Not To Data: Capturing the Humanities in Motion
Originally posted on the Academy Data Forum of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, Oct. 2nd, 2015 When the Humanities Indicators project began, its goal was to provide systematic and coordinated, reliable and usable data on the…
Counting (on) Success: Does an Education in the Humanities Count in Today’s Day and Age?
(originally posted in The Huffington Post, Aug. 19th, 2015) The Humanities have had an especially challenging time in recent years defending the value of their education to students and parents, to policymakers and politicians. The press has left…
The Greatest Innovators of the Twenty-First Century Will Address Human Needs
One of “the most significant survey related to innovation was conducted in 2011 by GE, which interviewed a thousand senior business executives in twelve countries. They found that ‘95% of…
Debunking Two Common Myths About a Degree in the Arts/Humanities
Myth #1: A degree in the arts/humanities will lead to unemployment. Truth: According to a study conducted by Georgetown University in 2013, overall unemployment rates for recent college graduates ranges from 4.8-14.7 depending on major. Information systems majors…
“Reaching For That Which Is Not Me”
“I think of what language is and does and can do,” said Smith in an interview prior to her dynamic, performance-style lecture featuring portrayals of various people she’s interviewed as…
How Music Led to the Creation of Google
On November 18th, 2014, Fortune published an article on Larry Page, co-founder of Google, titled “How music education influenced Larry Page.” Here is an extract from the article: “As Google…
NY6Think Tank Fellow Launches Exciting Instagram Project
Student Fellow, Miri Reinhold (Colgate University) has launched her new Instagram feed for her project titled “Humans of the Humanities.” Mission: “Think the humanities aren’t a practical academic pursuit? Think you’ll get nowhere with a degree in arts…
On the Edge of Unemployment and the (Liberal) Arts: The Arts Edge Program at James Cook University in Queensland, Australia
Despite being one of the centers of Australian tourism, with its proximity to the Great Barrier Reef and the World Heritage listed Daintree Rainforest area, the vicinity around the Cairns campus at James Cook University, in Queensland, Australia,…
Employers Care About How Well You Talk and Think
The usual sneers about whether Aristotle is going to “come in handy on the job” are so utterly misguided. “After college,” says a young woman who dropped out after all…
Do You Know What To Do with the Future?
If Thomas Friedman is right, if the future belongs to those who can invent new jobs and industries rather than staffing existing ones, then it belongs to people with a…
Businesses Find the Right Intellectual Wattage in Students of the Humanities
Business leaders around the world have told me that they despair of finding people who can help them solve wicked problems — or even get their heads around them. It’s…
Why Employers Seek Students with Liberal Arts Degrees
Students, listen up! In his book Excellent Sheep, William Deresiewicz explains why liberal arts graduates are so highly valued by employers. He says that the liberal arts are not just…
The hottest job skill is…
The Army, NYPD and State Department can’t get enough workers with this job skill. Neither can Fortune 500 companies, hospitals, local courts and schools. What is it? Fluency in a…
The Value of a Humanities Degree: Six Students’ Views
As the cost of an undergraduate education soars, does it make sense to invest one’s future in the humanities? Does a humanities degree pay off, one way or another? Three…
STEM and the Humanities: a False Dichotomy
Testifying before Congress a year ago, Hunter Rawlings, President of the Association of American Universities, noted that a survey of employers by his association indicated that 73% rejected the trend towards…
Looking For a Job? Cash in on the Humanities
When you think “job opportunity,” you probably think technology, science, and business. You may think that a professional degree is a singular path to your success. Think again. In this economic situation in which no job is assured,…
Executives Say the 21st Century Needs More Skilled Workers
“As the U.S. economy begins to show signs of improvement, executives say they need a workforce fully equipped with skills beyond just the basics of reading, writing and arithmetic (the…
A Reason to Major in the Humanities
“Daniel Jelski, a chemistry professor at the State University of New York at New Paltz and previous dean of New Paltz’s School of Science & Engineering, argues in a New…
Higher Education Misconceived
. . . “A second misconception by policymakers is that the only important benefit from a college education is the opportunity that it gives graduates to find a middle-class job…
Lessons from the Humanities and Social Sciences
“Surveys conducted this year for the national Commission on the Humanities and Social Sciences confirmed that most U.S. employers are looking for these broad-based benefits of a liberal arts education…
The Art World the Millennial Way
Food for Thought: What Does “Service” and “Leadership” Mean to You?
Pursuing a New Perspective in Medicine
The Place of the Smartphone at the Desk and Dinner Table
The Place of the Smartphone at the Desk and Dinner Table