Liberal arts is, and will remain, a key component to advancing access, equity and creating opportunity for all students in higher education. This is one of the key takeaways from the recent ASU+GSV Summit.
Specifically, David Thomas, President of Morehouse College, and Lynn Wooten, President of Simmons University, discussed the continued relevance of the liberal arts, their approaches to inclusive leadership, and how each of their institutions is leading the way in expanding access to quality education by embracing digital transformation. Their session was moderated by David Sutphen, Chief Strategy and Engagement Officer at 2U, a technology partner to both universities in creating digital learning. Highlights from their conversation appear below.
On the continued value of a liberal arts education:
Lynn Wooten: Simmons was founded 125 years ago as a place for women to study liberal arts and get a professional education, so they could make an independent livelihood. Liberal arts teaches you critical thinking, elevates your knowledge of humanities, serves as a bridge between adolescence and adulthood, and sets you on a life course to become a productive citizen.
David Thomas: Since its inception 154 years ago as an institution, Morehouse has been defying the racial gravity of our nation. Our founder decided we could do something that people in this country did not think was possible, which was to educate formerly enslaved men at high levels to be leaders and to serve their communities. Today, we represent the ability to create black male excellence at scale.
On the role of universities in establishing a path to the American dream:
Lynn Wooten: Simmons is for black women who want to make a difference. Our class is now 50 percent women of color and 50 percent first generation college students. Our students chose Simmons because they want to make the world a better place and move up in the income strata. So, first off is access to a cost-efficient education, and then we need faculty and staff that believe we can create transformational learning situations for our students. That’s what Simmons has done throughout its history: it’s a culture of lifting as we climb.
David Thomas: Our students are advantaged by the success of our alumni, who have done things to defy racial gravity. We focus on connecting students to opportunities that didn’t exist 20 years ago. At historically black colleges and universities, lower socioeconomic students have a greater chance of moving into middle and upper middle class jobs than black students who go to predominantly white institutions, so that’s ingrained in us.
On the overnight pivot to online learning during COVID:
Lynn Wooten: Simmons has been teaching online since 2013 through their graduate programs in nursing, library science, and public health. Most, but not all, of these students have been women, so we had some insight into online learning. To bring undergraduate courses online, we invested in high-impact learning practices. Technology gave us the ability to thrive in a crisis academic situation, create a community, and prepare for the future. During the pandemic, our instructors learned a new skill set, and I believe higher ed will be better because of new flexibility and accessibility.
David Thomas: We’re launching our first online degrees this fall. We’re targeting non-traditional students—older than 25. There are more than three million black men who have taken some college courses but not completed a degree. This is part of our fundamental mission to develop men who have the discipline to lead lives of leadership and service, regardless of their careers or career paths. 2U is helping us design these courses so that we bring the essence and soul of Morehouse to this enterprise. Building community online is an important part of the Morehead experience. We’ve found it fascinating as we move online to see the number of people over 50 who don’t want a degree to get their next job, but to complete themselves.
On digital transformation as a path to expand the mission:
Lynn Wooten: Women have been more negatively impacted by the pandemic than men, so they are lagging in their careers. We’ve seen women coming to our online graduate programs because they want to be leaders that transform the world. Our partnership with 2U has allowed us to take the Simmons brand to women and help them with their careers, so they can continue with their work and life responsibilities. We are very intentional about “you come to Simmons because you are already a leader, but through your graduate education, we’ll help you amplify your voice.” We have the experience to scale that excellence.
A lot of women left higher ed with uncompleted degrees. We want them to have the Simmons experience, to finish in a cost-effective manner, and to move forward in their careers. We want to lift these women up so they can become leaders in their professions.
We will continue to have our flagship program in person. It will be enhanced by integrating technology that allows us to serve adult learners in other places. We are now working with our sister institution at Spellman to create a black entrepreneurship program and letting our online courses be available to other HBCUs and lifelong learners. We know that race impacts work, so we believe there are certain things that are endemic to the black entrepreneurial experience that will benefit our students.
David Thomas: It’s clear to me that if organizations like Morehouse want to have an impact in the 21st Century, we have to move at an accelerated pace. To move beyond our traditional population, we need a set of skills, perspectives, and capabilities that are not on our campus and would take 5-10 years to build to a level that already exists at 2U as a tech partner. To accelerate change, you need a partner that shares your values and represents it in the way they do business.
For more ASU+GSV coverage, see: