The Deseret News – Deseret News editorial
“As science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) garner greater attention from an international marketplace for talent, it’s increasingly difficult to see the value of a liberal arts or humanities degree in today’s hyper-digital world. Yet this is precisely the position Washington Post writer Fareed Zakaria makes in his new book, “In Defense of a Liberal Education.” Despite the direct correlation between STEM degrees and available jobs, Zakaria advocates for the future of liberal education, even when some political leaders are trying to phase it out of modern universities. North Carolina’s Gov. Patrick McCrory suggests liberal degrees should only be offered at private schools where they won’t eat up money from the state. Florida’s Gov. Rick Scott and even President Barack Obama have joined their voices with McCrory in the past, touting liberal degrees as unnecessary luxuries in a fast-paced country. However, it was the late Steve Jobs of Apple who described how vital it was for technically trained workers to understand and work in conjunction with creative thinkers. To Jobs, both sides played an equal role in creating effective, useful technology. Perhaps that’s why Mark Zuckerberg, co-founder of Facebook, was a psychology major with a passion for computers.”(more)