By John A. NunesA Wall Street Journal article recently reported that one-fifth of Americans has a job that did not exist in the year 2000. In fact, some of us may not even know what some of these new job titles mean. Take, for example, knowledge architect — which has nothing to do with blueprints; conversation designer — which has nothing to do with talking; and orchestration engineer — which has nothing to do with musical instruments.
While we are equipping students for today’s professions, the faith-based liberal arts education we provide at California Lutheran University offers much more than workforce preparation: It prepares students for life in the world, both now and in the future.
“Dum inter homines sumus, colamus humanitatem.” — Seneca
“As long as we are among humans, let us cultivate humanity, our humanness.”
Despite our world’s political twists and economic turns, the liberal arts represent those parts of learning that are permanent. As the educator Mortimer Adler described, they are “the universal and abiding principles, the fundamental ideas and insights, the controlling canons of procedure or method, all of which are determined by the faculties of humans as inquirer or learner.”
One of our most respected professors, a chemist, Kristine Butcher, PhD, shared with me a fundamental belief with which I concur: Cal Lutheran’s brand of education fosters an intellectual curiosity driving students to ask questions about the physical world. When guided by instruction to recognize patterns and form predictive models, they instinctively delve into how the natural world works and humanity’s role within it.
In Lutheran academic communities, we believe that God is the giver of reason, which enables us to ask questions such as: Who am I? Where have I come from and where am I going? Why is there evil and what should I be doing about it?
History says, Don’t hope
On this side of the grave.
But then, once in a lifetime
The longed-for tidal wave
Of justice can rise up,
And hope and history rhyme.
— Seamus Heaney
I believe more than ever that the world needs a faith-based, human-centered approach to education. To have a future, humankind must focus on what humanizes us, permitting us to have an integrated, humane and hope-full worldview.
Getting a job to make a living is good. Forming character and developing a mind is better. In a world that seems topsy-turvy with upheaval, the future will belong to those who can anticipate what the professions will be. Our students get this in a well-rounded education that prioritizes critical thinking, ethical philosophizing, business strategizing, collegial problem-solving, team playing, chapel praying, people serving, praise singing, community building, neighbor regarding, mystery seeking and wonderment enjoying.
John A. Nunes
President
