10 minute read
Body, mind and spirit
BUT WAIT, AREN’T WE A LIBERAL ARTS INSTITUTION?
We absolutely are. And these enhancements aren’t at the exclusion of our liberal arts core. Indeed, they’re completely in harmony with it. That’s because, like all our disciplines, we look at not simply the facts you can learn (though those are important) but also how you can use that information to navigate the world. Liberal arts at Saint Ben’s means learning to think critically, advocate passionately and lead courageously. It means finding ways to challenge yourself, others and the status quo. It means acting with empathy and curiosity, listening not to respond but rather to understand. It means finding creative solutions and creating possibility in impossible situations. To us, that sounds like a darn good foundation for anyone in the health field. From developing compassionate bedside manner to innovating breakthroughs in the lab, and from finding new ways to reach and engage with underserved communities around the world to founding health care companies rooted in ethical problemsolving – this, and so much more, is all at the intersection of health sciences and liberal arts.
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PART OF OUR LEGACY
Health programs have always been part of our heritage, including a renowned nursing program and dietetics program, and more recently a popular exercise and health science program. Over the last several years, students began expressing increasing interest in a broader range of health-focused opportunities. We also noticed more students taking coursework that would set them up for advanced degrees in medicine, dentistry, physical therapy, occupational therapy, veterinary medicine, chiropractic medicine, pharmacy, dietetics and optometry. In response, we have long offered curated course loads that fulfill requirements for each of the above career fields. The best part: a student can major in music while preparing for medical school, or major in Spanish while preparing for vet school, or major in accounting while preparing for optometry school. You get the idea. The objective: gain a strong grounding (and applicable prerequisites) in the field of your choice while you explore and pursue your passions. The result: a career that’s enhanced by different contexts, perspectives, experiences and areas of expertise. That’s how we end up with pharmacists who have an entrepreneurial spirit and the skills to match. Pediatricians who understand the principles of elementary education. Scientists who can write eloquently about their findings. The list goes on and on. Actually, let’s add one more to the list: physicians who identify an issue and make a diagnosis because of their art history studies. You might have been suspending your disbelief after reading the opening line of this piece, and that’s understandable. It feels like a stretch. But this is a real thing. Evidence suggests that studying art history in the pursuit of medicine can help practitioners pick up on nuanced nonverbal cues. Art doesn’t speak, but it certainly communicates. Patients aren’t always able to articulate what’s happening to them, either because they lack the language or training or simply because they’re uncomfortable. Imagine being able to sit with someone – even over video chat – and pick up on a nonverbal cue because you’ve been taught to examine a problem far beyond words or a medical chart or a printout of vitals. That capability is incredibly important, especially given the world’s skyrocketing reliance on digital medicine.
MINOR PROGRAMS, MAJOR IMPACT
The three new minor programs are:
DATA ANALYTICS
“Data analytics is a central tool for decisionmaking,” says associate professor of mathematics Bob Hesse, co-director of the data analytics program along with professor of economics Parker Wheatley and professor of computer science Imad Rahal. “Whether a person’s profession is as an epidemiologist, accountant, marketing manager, physician, political adviser, nurse, teacher, historian or biologist … they will be immersed in data as they attempt to make good choices in a rapidly changing environment.” The 22-credit minor features 14 required credits and eight credits of elective courses spread over the various disciplines. Departments with coursework contributing to the minor include accounting and finance, biology, computer science, economics, environmental studies, global business leadership, mathematics, physics and political science.
NARRATIVE PRACTICE
The narrative practice minor provides students with the skills to deliver community-based interventions using creative-writing based narrative practices: activities and frames which allow participants to convey their stories with the structure and audience that art provides. Assistant Professor of English Chris Bolin was instrumental in bringing this minor to life. The program equips students to help their communities – professional, local and other – respond with language that provides new and useful ways to address the complexity of the challenges they face. “In narrative practice, students use creative writing as a means to connect with patients and other practitioners, and through the ancient tools of storytelling they develop a better understanding of patients’ very personal and intimate worlds of chronic diseases,” says Manuel Campos, who serves as the Cyprian Weaver Professor of Biological Sciences and is responsible for developing, supporting and overseeing pre-health programming at Saint Ben’s and Saint John’s.
GLOBAL HEALTH
(PENDING APPROVAL) The global health minor got a boost from a $143,563 grant from the Undergraduate International Studies and Foreign Language (UISFL) program through the U.S. Department of Education. “The momentum for the global health minor has been apparent in recent years, as students have expressed growing interest in exploring global health challenges,” says associate professor of sociology Ellen Block, who is serving as the grant’s director. “Even before COVID-19, global health has been on our students’ radar – from Ebola to the Zika virus to health disparities in our own communities, these are issues that impact everyone and that students care deeply about.” The courses and training provided by the minor will help students analyze some of the most pressing problems that shape our world, preparing students for exciting careers in health care, public policy, international service and more.
WHY THIS WORKS HERE
This investment in health-focused opportunities doesn’t require the creation of a new department or a dramatic shifting of resources. This isn’t a zero-sum game at all. Indeed, the bulk of what we need to make this happen is already here. “We’re really drawing from the expertise and areas of interest among our existing faculty,” says Barb May, academic dean and professor of biology. The genesis for this new programming came from discussions among faculty members, who were reflecting observed student interest combined with their own desire to enhance interdisciplinary offerings. They brought that discussion to May who saw the value for current and future students, and to the institutions as a whole. May herself was a liberal arts graduate who went on to receive a doctorate in a very science-focused field. She specializes in microbial genomics, pathogenesis of infection, and environmental impacts of infection – but the intersection of these topics and liberal arts are what make a scientist a successful science professor, and what make a successful science professor an academic dean who oversees everything from Medieval and Renaissance studies to public accounting. The fact that there’s a wealth of interdisciplinary capability within our faculty speaks to the exact point this investment seeks to make: health sciences and liberal arts are not siloed. Overlap is natural and necessary. Studying anthropology is not a distraction from a pre-occupational therapy track. It enhances it. Focusing in gender studies is not a distraction from a premedicine track. It enhances it. Take peace studies, Latino/Latin American studies, philosophy, Japanese, history, classical languages, music, theology, computer science – there’s overlap everywhere, and every area of expertise and pursued passion makes for a more well-rounded, contextually aware, critically thinking health professional with a competitive advantage.
BEYOND THE CLASSROOM
Applied practical experiences are an integral component of the health programs at Saint Ben’s and Saint John’s. The inclusion of applied experiences enables students to test-drive a particular field, which is a clear benefit to anyone, whether they’re jumping right into the workforce or considering a post-graduate degree. When you’ve seen what a role is like – in practice not just on paper – while you’re still studying toward it, you can engage with that study on a deeper level. As Manuel Campos says, the experiential component “allows students to connect with others in the workforce who work in those areas, and thus develop a practical set of skills in the context of their exploration of these topics in their classes. The experiential component is essential because it brings the workforce skills to the classroom and further connects those skills to the liberal arts curriculum.”
FUTURE SIGHT
That competitive advantage isn’t simply an optimistic assumption – it’s rooted in evidence, and we’re not the only ones who see the value in this strategy. “Liberal arts colleges can be a direct pipeline to careers in high-innovation areas,” says Dr. Sonia Cardenas of Trinity College in a recent issue of The Hechinger Report. “Workforce development too often is defined narrowly as skills training … [but] if we are serious about workforce development as an engine of progress, we must not forget that the future of work is the future of society. Workforce development is partly about preparing people for particular jobs that are needed here and now. But it’s also about educating people so that they have expansive skillsets and the ability to innovate and adapt to a changing world. It’s about enabling people to lead imaginatively in their workplaces and communities.” And that’s exactly what’s happening here. “The liberal arts develops the critical skillset to be lifelong learners and will ultimately prepare them for any profession or career,” says Dean Barb May. “This, in addition to any prescribed prerequisites for a particular profession, is a perfect combination to prepare students for this ever-changing world where they are not only prepared for their profession but able to adapt and meet any future challenges that may not exist yet nor necessarily be taught.” That last point – “future challenges that may not exist yet nor necessarily be taught” – holds the key to all of this. If you’re fortunate enough to have a career, and that career was built on an educational foundation, think back to what you learned in school and how you’ve leveraged it since. There may well be specific skills honed or information memorized that you use today exactly as you learned it then, whether it was last year or many decades ago. And yet, chances are, you rely more heavily on what you’ve picked up along the way, and how you interpret that information and how you approach challenges that didn’t even exist when you received your original education. That’s because you didn’t just learn. You learned how to learn. How to think critically. How to question. How to tackle new problems. How to solve for what’s now and what’s next. And that’s the beauty of liberal arts. Many of us studied specifics that became dated – or even wholly irrelevant – after we completed our formal education. But the foundation is still paying dividends today because we gained holistic, intangible skills and broadened perspectives and an ability to adapt as new information comes in.
We’re teaching today for the challenges of tomorrow. The only way to do that with confidence is to impart foundational skills and capabilities that are irreplaceable, can’t be automated, and can’t become outdated.
Barb May
Academic dean and professor of biology
Manuel Campos
A HEALTHY OUTLOOK
“At Saint Ben’s and Saint John’s, we strive to educate students in a way that they can use the natural and social sciences, the arts, and humanities to engage in pathways of study that also have very concrete and defined professional applications,” says Campos. “And as ‘the future of work is the future of society,’ we strive to train students to be successful and versatile in the workforce through programs that are interdisciplinary and deeply rooted in the liberal arts.” The interests of students, expertise of faculty and demands of an ever-changing global workforce have aligned in a way that benefits all involved – including those of you reading this. The future is full of medical practitioners, researchers and innovators who will see challenges in new and different ways and approach them with unique perspectives and creative, groundbreaking solutions. And more than a few of them will come from right here at Saint Ben’s and Saint John’s.
Cyprian Weaver Professor of Biological Sciences
