Why don’t NC politicians see the value in a liberal arts education?

Many people see pros and cons to a liberal arts education but most would generally agree that appropriate funding for public universities is necessary for a state to have a skilled workforce.

In early December, Florida state Senator Joe Negron was crowned president of the Florida Senate. His immediate promise was to upgrade Florida’s public universities and make them “next level,” like Virginia’s and North Carolina’s. Negron is a Republican.

He said wherever sustainable economic development and high-wage jobs are seen, excellent universities are also found. Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill? Northern Virginia?

Negron kept his word and proposed Florida spend $1 billion to invest in the state’s higher education institutions. This includes bettering university faculty as well as Florida’s graduate schools.

But in 2013, NC Governor Pat McCrory criticized the liberal arts education and joked about gender studies courses at Carolina.

Map of the Research Triangle

He said: “If you want to take gender studies, that’s fine, go to a private school and take it. But I don’t want to subsidize that if that’s not going to get someone a job.”

A liberal arts education, however, has a lot more value than what Gov. McCrory reflected in his comments.

I’m currently double-majoring in one of UNC’s professional schools as well as receiving a liberal arts education in the College of Arts and Sciences. I am majoring in the latter because I believe a liberal education “teaches you how to think.”

In an article from 2014, Fareed Zakaria best described what the value of a liberal education is: “A liberal education – as best defined by Cardinal Newman in 1854 – is a ‘broad exposure to the outlines of knowledge’ for its own sake, rather than to acquire skills to practice a trade or do a job. There were critics even then, the 19th century, who asked, Newman tells us, ‘To what then does it lead? Where does it end? How does it profit?’ Or as the president of Yale, the late Bart Giamatti asked in one of his beautiful lectures, ‘what is the earthly use of a liberal education?'”

A liberal arts education can prepare you to tackle all sorts of careers, whether it’s working in government, foreign relations or continuing your education in pursuit of say, a law degree or a master’s.

Zakaria said: “I know I’m supposed to say that a liberal education teaches you to think, but thinking and writing are inextricably intertwined. I could point out that a degree in art history or anthropology often requires the serious study of several languages and cultures, an ability to work in foreign countries, an eye for aesthetics, and a commitment to hard work – all of which might be useful in any number of professions in today’s globalized age.”

In order for North Carolina universities to remain great, we should continue to make public universities a priority by not severely limiting their funding.

Although both Florida and North Carolina’s state legislatures are majority Republican, Florida seems to be the only one that appreciates the importance of greater funding for public institutions. And Florida’s public universities are not ranked nearly as high as North Carolina’s.

Peter St. Onge wrote for the Charlotte Observer: “Great universities don’t try to limit the paths their students can take. Great universities encourage students to explore where they can be their best. That’s how a state attracts and keeps a diversity of talent, which attracts a diversity of business, which builds a strong, lasting reputation.”

I hope as North Carolinians we don’t take our great public universities for granted. Sometimes you only appreciate something until you realize you no longer have it, but by then, it might already be too late.

Our goal should always be to keep improving the UNC system and to continue to be a role model for other states.