Strange Labyrinths: Wroth, Higher Education, and the Humanities

Abstract

Early in my tenure as dean of Arts and Humanities at Keene State College, New Hampshire, in the spring of 2004, I served as lunch speaker at the college’s annual undergraduate research conference. Dozens of students present papers and posters or perform dances, music, and plays. The day celebrates student discovery, creativity, discipline, and achievement; acknowledges faculty mentors who model and support research and innovation; and praises invention. Several hundred in attendance, including assembled students, families, faculty, staff, and trustees of the University System of New Hampshire, at a college where more than 40 percent of undergraduates are first generation, learn that the arts and humanities, like the sciences and professional studies, help people to lead fulfilling lives and prepare students to contribute to their communities. So I laud research on therapy using horses to help young people with disabilities, honors students’ service in South African schools, and math students’ research on global education. Curious, imaginative students pursue challenging questions that create new knowledge.