As a baby boomer who benefited greatly from a liberal arts education, I have been following the developments on the Vermont State University campuses. Protests from students and faculty have decried program cuts and faculty buyouts. They lament the effect on students, faculty and staff.
To be clear, I greatly appreciate what I learned decades ago and carry those lessons forward year by year.
For some, the buyout proposals might seem to be an attempt to steer students away from liberal arts and toward trades such as plumbing, electrical, nursing, early education and other advanced fields. Vermont desperately needs a robust, well-trained workforce. And VTSU plays an integral role in fulfilling this mission.
Many young Vermonters are first-generation students who are needed in these professions. We have an aging workforce and need them to stay in Vermont and to raise their families here. We need their perspectives, insights and youthful energy.
Is Optimization 2.0 (the campus majors and faculty reorganization plan) part of a drive to downplay liberal arts and steer students towards other career paths? Or is it a straightforward reflection of the careers students are pursuing in the current economic climate? In truth, students are angling toward careers that will land them good-paying and fulfilling jobs.
VTSU is under a legislative mandate to reduce a $25 million structural deficit by $5 million each year to meet that goal. VTSU received millions of dollars to consolidate the separate campuses under one structure with a single accreditation, course catalog and administration. The Legislature has held its end up. Now through Optimization 2.0 and just-released Administrative Optimization, trustees, the Chancellor and Interim President Mike Smith are completing the circle that was begun when the transformation began.
We live in a market economy driven by what consumers, employers and businesses require. Aggregate needs of employers drive what majors students pursue that in turn informs what majors are taught. That’s true throughout the United States. Students are pursuing careers that will meet their needs going forward.
Regardless of the broad perspective that visual and theater arts offer, if students don’t pursue them, it’s no longer affordable for VTSU to offer them.
Liberal arts will not fade from the Vermont landscape. Far from it. But we need to be realistic. The arts won’t disappear or be diminished in value. They will live on, thrive and rejuvenate as they always have, just in other forums. Poetry, drama, visual arts, etc., won’t slip away or even fade from view. Artists, musicians, playwrights of talent will find a way to persevere and thrive.
But until enrollment and revenues rebound, they just won’t be as prominent on VTSU campuses for a while. That’s unfortunate. But it’s the hard truth we have to live with.
State Rep. Jim Masland
Thetford Center
