President Wood's Newspaper Column

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Real World Problems are not Disciplined Based
Dr. Gerald E. Wood, Ed.D. President
(Published in The Crescent-News, February 10, 2008)

What should be the primary purpose of a college or university today?  I suggest first and foremost the purpose should be to prepare students for the challenges they will face in the twenty-first century.  However, how that preparation is done presents faculty, administrators, trustees, legislators with an incredibly complex challenge.  In fact, given the traditional structures of colleges and universities and the new emphasis on close scrutiny and accountability from the point of view of divergent sources outside of higher education, for many skeptics it is a Herculean task. 

An institution of higher education whether it be a small liberal arts centered institution, a community college or a university, must with the greatest of intentionality develop the academic program,  student life, and all other aspects of the college by first addressing how we can best prepare students for the challenges of the time in which they live. 

In this day and age the most common question asked of students is, “So, what is your major?”   This assumes that their major defines the direction for their working lives and therefore is the most significant question.  The major, or academic discipline, is important and for an undergraduate may very well set them on a particular course but it is only a piece of the puzzle.   In the liberal arts tradition I strongly support the model where students gain a broad array of knowledge across the spectrum of disciplines to inform their decision-making and to expose them to the greater world.  Yet, simply taking a broad array of classes or studying in a specific discipline are not adequate to prepare students for facing the real world of today.

Yet, as I have heard a college graduate or student at some point say that they haven’t used much of the stuff from their education.  Some will conclude that knowledge must not be relevant to their lives or their world.  I conclude they were not engaged with their learning experience in a way that they clearly understood how that knowledge equates with the challenges before them.  Once more, they are woefully disadvantaged for it. 
 
While a doctoral student at Emory University I was privileged to attend a weekly roundtable sponsored by the internationally famous Center for Faith Development directed by Dr. James Fowler.  A prominent faculty member from such diverse disciplines as neurobiology to social history, from ethics to engineering was invited to dialogue around a topic relevant to the real world.  I was simply amazed to witness week after week how awestruck these experts were to meet other brilliant minds from different disciplines interested in the same topics in which they were engaged.  “This is the first time I have talked with colleagues that aren’t in my area.”  What is wrong with this picture?  The challenges we face today must be approached from multiple points of view.  The problems are complex, and they require complex interdisciplinary approaches to be of benefit.  It just makes good sense, doesn’t it?    

Business has discovered that to be competitive in a knowledge-based economy, departments within the company or corporation cannot simply do their own thing.  There was a time in the twentieth century when each area could function in its own silo and the end product of all silos working would result in something good. Companies now realize in the 21st century the most productive work is done with cooperation across departments, work teams tackling a project together bringing varying expertise in play to create a solution.

Institutions of higher education, if they are to fulfill the primary purpose I suggest, must “de-silo” just as business has done.   Students today must learn to interact with faculty and students from across disciplines, and attack complex real world problems with this collective knowledge and collaboration.   When this is done their education becomes immediately relevant to the world around them and prepares them with a broad knowledge base that is a powerful tool for success, service to community and personal fulfillment in the future.  A freshmen course on Global Civilization comes absolutely alive when students at Defiance College, for example, then use its content to understand the cultural differences and similarities of the woman they are working with at the Family Justice Center in Northwest Ohio or the garment district in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.  When students and faculty study for a year in interdisciplinary learning communities about the country or site they will travel to engage in real world problems they are uniquely prepared to face the challenges that will be thrown at them in the rest of their adult life. 

Whether it’s engaging students in service research like at Defiance College or a myriad of other initiatives elsewhere the discipline and departmental silos must be linked to use knowledge in a relevant way to address the challenges of the student’s world of the now and even the tomorrow.