Olivia Ingle
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Butler University’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (LAS) continued its dean search this week, bringing two more candidates to campus.
The second candidate, Lynn Pardie, spoke in the Pharmacy Building Friday about the role of a liberal arts education for today’s student.
Pardie, who holds a doctorate degree in psychology, is currently the associate vice chancellor for graduate education and research at the University of Illinois, Springfield.
She discussed the importance of a liberal arts education for students, the conditions and trends that affect students and the effects that a liberal arts education has on students.
“It is important for students to be able to comprehend experiences and to enjoy life to its fullest,” Pardie said, “to actualize their potentials, to relate well to others, to engage in meaningful and satisfying activities, to exercise their talents and to earn money in quantities sufficient to not only survive, but to thrive.”
She said some conditions and trends that are likely to affect students are economic security, globalization and the competition of the job market.
“As a nation, we have largely assumed that America would always be a world leader in education and in innovation, and that it would always be economically competitive,” Pardie said. “Our confidence in those assumptions has been shaken dramatically in recent years.”
She said that a quality education must include the development of informational literacy grounded in critical thinking. Students must cultivate a sense of responsibility and ethical integrity in relationships.
Pardie said that today’s students cannot expect to have just one career in a lifetime, and they should be prepared to interact in a lot of different situations.
“Liberal education is a philosophy grounded in content and process guidelines that can be adapted to the mission, values and unique strengths of different colleges and universities,” Pardie said.
She said students need a broad range of knowledge to help guide them forward.
“I can think of no greater gift to our students or no greater measure of satisfaction in life than having hope and courage to look closely, listen carefully and inquire ideas,” Pardie said. “That is my goal of a liberal education.”
Similar to Pardie, the third candidate for the LAS dean position, Jay Howard, spoke in the Pharmacy Building Tuesday about the role of a liberal arts education for today’s student.
Howard, who holds a doctorate degree in sociology, is currently the vice chancellor for the University of Notre Dame.
He said the important factors of an education are knowledge, motivation, diverse and engaged citizens and an ever-changing world. A liberal arts education teaches students how to think critically, teaches them how to learn by grappling with big picture issues and prepares them well for leadership roles.
Howard said Butler has recently had some problems involving turnover and cynicism.
“As a new dean, one way to build trust is to communicate and share information,” Howard said. “I’m not afraid of criticism, I appreciate it. The dean needs to be open and visible to faculty.”
He said, as dean, he would be open to faculty by advocating for them, but also by reporting to the upper administration.
He plans to use the student course evaluations to ask students the “right” questions and to receive feedback that can help evaluate faculty.
“I don’t have a burning agenda,” Howard said. “I think there’s room to be excellent in different ways. Perhaps a better way to start is not to start a lot of new initiatives, because you’ve got a new provost who has plenty of new initiatives.”
He said creative thinking as well as critical thinking are key characteristics of an effective dean.
“You’ve got to be somewhat thick-skinned as a dean,” Howard said.
He said with his daughter being a junior at Butler, he knows what it takes to get a quality liberal arts education.
“I’m putting my money where my mouth is,” he said.
The fourth candidate, Richard Collins, will be visiting campus Monday from 3 to 4:30 p.m. in Gallahue Room 108 and Tuesday 2 to 3:30 p.m. in Pharmary Room 156. All are welcome to attend.
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