Definition discord

Rarely has a meeting of business leaders, members of government, educators and administrators ever produced anything but a bunch of hot air, contention and irresolute commitments. The July 17 roundtable discussion featuring all of the above members of society shockingly, though, displayed a lot of agreement and constructive discussion. What began as an uninspired recitation of a plan for educational and economic success developed into a vibrant and surprisingly positive discourse that, beyond a shadow of a doubt, established the value of a strong, well-rounded education marked by a strong liberal arts presence.

After senior and Theatre major Betsy Yeary made her daring and impassioned argument for the strong presence of the liberal arts in quality education, the other panelists of the roundtable discussion hastened to declare their similar support for the liberal arts. This shared assertion is nothing to be taken lightly.

As a result, supporters of the liberal arts here at UT could only wait and hope that the strong showcase of support would be realized by the UT administration, squashing any possibility of a STEMM focused education monopolizing increasingly tight funds.

Thus far, the signals have been fairly positive. The 2008 annual budget reported not only a 0 percent change in the College of Arts and Sciences funding, but also a 1 percent reallocation of administration funds to academic initiatives. In addition, UT President Lloyd Jacobs even said that liberal arts disciplines are being considered for UT's centers of excellence. While neither signs are monumental, taken together they seem to counter claims that administrators are determined to destroy the liberal arts here at UT as quickly as possible.

The real challenge is not to stop a malicious administration, but to simply make sure that all university stakeholders agree on and implement a shared vision of strong liberal arts. We must remember that the success of this process requires a stable dialogue free of polarized typifications unsupported by and unconcerned with the facts.