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From engineering to medicine, we have more elaborate and specialized professions than ever.
But the academic programs that prepare people for them will have little impact on the health of society unless we develop a sense of the human condition. That's 'job one' for the classic liberal arts education: philosophy, history, the great books, art, music and the sciences, too — at least according to Santa J. Ono.
The president and vice-chancellor of the University of British Columbia argues that these disciplines are often underfunded and under-promoted, a refrain he's made repeatedly over the years because he feels he has to. The reason: he's seen a steady decline in the study of, and support for, the liberal arts over the past 10-15 years.