The Center for Advancing Faculty Excellence,
Difficult Dialogues Initiative & Seawolf Debate Program
invite you to a public debate, faculty forum, and discussion:
“UAA should prioritize workforce development
over a liberal arts education.”
Thursday, November 12, 2015 7-9 pm
UAA/APU CONSORTIUM LIBRARY RM 307
Free of charge and open to the public
featuring the award-winning UAA Seawolf Debate Program,
a faculty response panel, and a facilitated public discussion.
With UAA faculty panelists:
Dan Kline, English
LuAnn Piccard, Engineering
Landry Signe, Political Science
The media contains numerous reports of U.S. jobs going unfilled, or being outsourced to distant lands, because too few American workers have the requisite skills to perform them well. In Alaska, with the fiscal crisis expected to last into the forseeable future, and with student debt rising, the pressure on students to have highly marketable skills is on the increase (and jobs may be on the decrease). More than two dozen Japanese universities are reducing or eliminating academic programs in the humanities and social sciences, following a dictum from Tokyo to focus on disciplines that “better meet society’s needs.” But don’t we need citizens capable of navigating their way through the complex social and political challenges we face, using skills and perspectives provided by a well-rounded liberal arts education? Join us for this important discussion.
This event is part of a series sponsored by the UAA Center for Advancing Faculty Excellence since 2003 to offer the UAA and Anchorage communities access to university resources as a basis for discussions of policies and issues affecting its future.
For information: eroderick@uaa.alaska.edu or 786-4605
UA Workforce Development News 