Thoughts for the Class of 2011
Each year a faculty member is asked to write a statement for the
incoming class about the value of a liberal arts education here at
Butler. This year's essay, "Liberal Arts Education : Magical
Arithmetic," was written by Dr. Judith Morrel, Associate Dean,
College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, Associate Professor,
Mathematics & Actuarial Science.
Liberal Arts Education: Magical Arithmetic
You may have heard the old adage, "The whole is more than the
sum of its parts." This, of course, is mathematical nonsense, but
it contains a magical nugget of truth - a nugget that is applicable
in many non-mathematical contexts, including higher education. For
example, in team sports, it is sometimes the case that a team
composed of moderately talented, well-prepared and well-coached
athletes can defeat a team with a couple of superstars - in some
way, the collective effort of the less individually talented team
overcomes the collective effort of the star-studded team. When this
happens, the team members, as well as the crowd watching,
experience the magic embodied in that adage. I hope you were
watching last year when the Butler Bulldogs men's basketball team
defeated several teams, both in the Kickoff NIT tournament and in
the NCAA tournament, that some would say were more talented.
Perhaps you yourself have experienced such a phenomenon whether as
a participant or a spectator; maybe you even have an old team shirt
that says, "T.E.A.M. - Together Everyone Achieves More." When the
team effort transcends the expected, it can be magical for all
involved.
The magic can happen in musical performance as well. Although
famous and revered composers have written wonderful music for solo
performance, many of their most exquisite compositions, their most
enduring works, are written for a symphonic orchestra, a full band
or an entire chorus. If you have had the opportunity to play or
sing with an ensemble, you may have experienced times when the
effect the music is having on the audience, as well as on the
players or singers themselves, is transcendent, magical, simply
because the group effort is greater than the sum of the individual
efforts. Don't get me wrong - I do not mean to say this magic
happens without proper training and rehearsal. It takes a lot of
effort on the part of each individual as well as on the part of the
composer, the conductor, and the other performers. But somehow the
result is better than it should be by conventional arithmetic.
You, now students in the Butler University College of Liberal
Arts and Sciences, are about to enter into a four-year magical
experience, because a quality liberal arts education is , like a
team or musical group, something else that is greater than the sum
of its parts. Yes, you will develop expertise in your chosen area
of study - your major - whether it is in the sciences, the social
sciences or the humanities. You may do quite well (and I hope you
do), make the Dean's List, receive individual honors from your
department, graduate magna cum laude. But here at Butler
University, we believe that your major, while invaluable and
certainly necessary, is only a part of the magic of a liberal arts
education. There are other singers, other team members, and other
players who are essential to achieving the greater whole, to
providing the transforming experience that a quality liberal arts
education offers.
Who or what are these other players, these other singers? There
are many: the core curriculum, elective courses, opportunities for
study abroad or volunteering, internships; the list goes on. Like
parts played by the other members of the orchestra or by the other
players on the team, these components are all facets of a superior
liberal arts education. In order to get the most out of your Butler
experience, you, like a good teammate or a good ensemble performer,
have to do your part - you have to work hard, developing your
academic, social and interpersonal skills. But while you're
learning, you won't be playing a solo, you won't be going it alone.
The required courses in written and verbal communication skills, in
analytical and scientific reasoning, in foreign languages, fine
arts, humanities and social sciences, the various elective courses,
as well as the experiential learning opportunities which abound at
Butler, all contribute to that greater whole, to that magic, of a
liberal arts education; they're like the teammates and players who
help elevate all of your education to a higher level. You may not
see, at first, how these courses and other educational experiences
are integrated into a the whole, just like you may not understand
what a coach or conductor is doing to integrate each of the players
or performers, or how that integration will contribute to the group
effort. That is where the expertise and guidance of the liberal
arts and sciences faculty come in; the liberal arts and sciences
curriculum, both in the core and in the your major, has been
carefully designed to provide a chance for academic growth and
integration, not merely in your major, but also in your broader
education as well.
During those magical moments in team sports or ensemble
performance, not only are the players enriched, but so is the
audience, those people watching or listening. Who plays the role of
the audience when you experience the magic of a liberal arts
education? Besides you, who benefits from this transformational
time in your life? It may sound over-the-top, perhaps even corny,
but truly the audience, the other beneficiary (besides you) of your
liberal education, is your community-your family, your friends,
your world. Yes, that's right, any part of the world that you
encounter now or later benefits from the "whole is greater than the
sum of its parts" nature of your liberal arts education at Butler
University. Why? Because, in the words of the College of Liberal
Arts and Sciences Core Values statement adopted by the faculty (for
the full text, see ), the liberal arts
teach you to "act wisely and well in the world," and foster in you
"compassion and respect for those whose lives we share."
Certainly developing expertise in your major and landing that
perfect job or graduate/ professional school placement both show
demonstrate that you are playing your part extremely well. If that
is all there were is to a quality liberal arts education, then you
would be the lesser for it, you would miss out on the opportunity
to experience the magical arithmetic of the whole being greater
than the sum of its parts. You have a chance to catch the magic
that is a liberal arts education - be sure that you do.
Judith Harper Morrel
Associate Dean, Liberal Arts and Sciences
Associate Professor, Department of Mathematics and Actuarial
Science
Butler University
July 2007