Science as a Liberal Art
Read against the machine The all-administrative university 15% of my brain
I am a professor at a liberal arts university. My research area is mathematical biology. From my vantage point as a scientist and mathematician at William & Mary, we seem to do much better with the creme de la creme, the top quarter of our science students, than with the rest.
When it comes to undergraduate research experiences, the results of our best students are remarkable. We place a huge number of students into professional and graduate programs, and I am sure they do well and will do great things.
But I am not sure we are doing anything remarkable when it comes to the William & Mary students who are not so strong. What would science as a liberal art mean for them?