Northeastern University - Cauldron Yearbook (Boston, MA)

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L.A. For love What do you do with a lib- eral arts degree? With today ' s tight job mar- ket, that query has become almost a cliche. Recent liberal arts graduates report employ- ers are looking for people with special skills. Dean of Liberal Arts Robert Shepard confirms this but said a liberal arts degree is still valid. The problem is, he says, that students are conditioned by the notion that you major in something for career prepara- tion. But, that ' s never been the central concept (in liberal arts). You major in something because you ' re in love with it! It may or may not coincide with career aspirations. Shepard admits employers are asking more and more ' what skills do you have? ' but decries this as a weakness. Intellectual development is needed more than specific skills, he maintains. A broad liberal arts background gives that kind of intellectual devel- opment. And co-op is there as a skill- builder for liberal arts stu- dents, adds Shepard. Shepard recommends a regi- men of applied courses and co-op experience for the lib- eral arts student who will later make a foray into the job mar- ket. The College of Liberal Arts in 1975 began an experimental credit for co-op program with eligible biology, chemistry, mathematics, physics, earth science and psychology stu- dents. The pilot program, ap- proved in 1974 by a liberal arts faculty committee, will be expended to include other majors if this venture proves successful, said Shepard. Credit for co-op is not free. Students pay the same rates

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College. A place to go when you get out of high school. Why Northeastern? Why not? A lot has happened in the past five years at Northeastern. The university became a good neighbor. Kenneth Ryder was named the university ' s fourth president. And the blood drive finally caught on. It would be impossible for everything that happened to fit between the covers of this book but perhaps a glance and then a more thorough perusal through the next few pages will help you remember what it was all about five years ago when you began the longest journey.

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for one co-op term as they pay for one four-credit course, according to Shepard. And, he reports, students aren ' t rushing to participate in the program. Many students were opposed to the idea. Some say they don ' t consider that (co- op) to be an experience worthy of credit. The News, in an editorial, blasted co-op credit as merely an item for sale called North- eastern an academic whore- house. The liberal arts faculty com- mittee on co-op will decide on the program ' s future after making an evaluation in 1977. In other recent develop- ments, liberal arts has started a human services major. A com- bination of social science courses, it also features field experience in welfare, rehabil- itation and corrections. And a music education major may be coming soon, said Shepard. Many new courses have been added to the liberal arts menu. Along with the tradi- tional staples, students can now enjoy Insanity and Litera- ture, Black Nutritional Habits and The Meaning of Death. — Mary Beth Lane