Merrimack Colleges new approach (Giving it the new college try, Page A1, July 18) is neither new nor laudatory. I taught there from 1965 to 1985. During earlier years the schools mission was to introduce, to educate its blue-collar constituency in the liberal arts and sciences. As a professor in a developing English department dedicated to writing and literary study, and in a humanities division offering team-taught courses, supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities, in history, fine arts, classical literature, philosophy, and theology, I taught students who continued their education in law school, medical school, social services, broadcasting, even politics, as well as in graduate work and teaching in English. <\/p>\n
By the 1980s the schools mission became pragmatic, catering to those equating college with vocational training. Our English majors dropped from about 50 graduates to 10, our department declining toward a service department. Because of my scholarly publications, which were of little consequence at Merrimack, I was invited to Brigham Young University and spent the next 22 years where the liberal arts were still valued. <\/p>\n
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It is lamentable that a college identifying as Catholic has in fact a history of moving away from the traditional liberal arts. The drift, national really, has much to do with our loss of ideals. <\/p>\n
John J. Murphy <\/p>\n
Newton Centre <\/p>\n
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See the original post here:<\/p>\n
Nothing laudatory about drifting away from traditional liberal arts - The Boston Globe<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Merrimack Colleges new approach (Giving it the new college try, Page A1, July 18) is neither new nor laudatory. I taught there from 1965 to 1985 Continue reading