A new idea

Union College remains committed to service, student leadership and spiritual growth. Those experiences are fundamentally part of what we are.

But something new is happening in American higher education, something that touches on another side of Union College. I’d be interested to know what you think of it.

Consider your own college education and you may begin to appreciate a new perspective. When you graduated from college, what was your major? What has your work experience been since then? Have you stayed in your field? Have you held the same job for many years?

If you answered “yes” to the previous two questions, then you represent the minority of American workers today. Half of all employees in America today have worked at the job they currently hold less than five years. Today, when students graduate from college, there are hundreds if not thousands of jobs available that did not exist when those students began college. Most college graduates will hold multiple jobs in varying fields during their lifetimes.

This begs several questions: How does a college education prepare today’s students for the world into which they will graduate? Apart from personal growth and development (which are so important), do you think that the primary purpose of a college education is to prepare a student for succeeding in a single career? Perhaps I could ask: What do you think a Union College education should accomplish for our students?

I’d like to share some thoughts with you about how Union College could better meet the needs of its students as they prepare for a world changing so fast that the only certainty is change. But first I’d like to hear from you.

What are your thoughts?

Dave Smith
President
Union College