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Read the archive   of Wattenberg's   syndicated column     Has Medicine Gone PC? This week, Think Tank looks at the state of the public health profession. Public health experts are looking increasingly at the ... more Newt: What’s Next? This week, Think Tank take sits down with one of the most important figures in the last decade of American political ... more   Do the liberal arts need saving? main page Do the liberal arts need saving? Aired 4/5/2001 This week, Think Tank looks at the current controversy over higher education. At the beginning of the 20th century only a small minority of young people continued their education past high school. For most of those, a liberal arts education steeped in classical literature, foreign languages, and mathematics was seen as a rite of passage. Today, despite a greatly expanded student population, the numbers of students choosing an old-fashioned liberal arts education have declined. Instead, with college costs going up sharply, most are pursuing an education that will put them directly into a job. Is this as it should be? Or are we dumbing down America?   Read the full transcript   Josiah Bunting     superintendent of the Virginia Military Institute and author of "An Education for Our Time"   George Dennis O'Brien     president emeritus, University of Rochester, and author of "All the Essential Half-Truths about Higher Education"   Jane Margaret O'Brien     president of St. Mary's College of Maryland   Richard Hersh     senior fellow with the RAND Council for Aid to Education and former president, Hobart and William Smith Colleges Originally Aired: 4/5/2001     Be sure to also check out: Here are some previous Think Tank programs that may be of interest. Social Policy with Karl Zinsmeister   aired 6/15/2006 Is There a Worm in the Apple?   aired 10/7/2004 The Language Police/Textbook PC   aired 12/4/2003 Send us your thoughts Think Tank is made possible by generous support from the Smith Richardson Foundation, the Bernard and Irene Schwartz Foundation, the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, the John M. Olin Foundation, the Donner Canadian Foundation, the Dodge Jones Foundation, and Pfizer, Inc. ©Copyright Think Tank. All rights reserved.     Web development by Bean Creative.