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www.HartfordBusiness.com decemBer 28, 2015 • Hartford Business Journal 33 BOOK OF LISTS 2015-2016 Education "Ocial Signage & Graphics Provider" of the e Hartford Business Journal! • Vehicle Branding • Advertising Spaces • Retail • Events • Tradeshows • Interior Décor (Walls, Windows, Floors) Boldly Transforming Spaces Offering Graphics for: Ask us about Quick-Change Fabric Solutions. merrittgraphics.com 860.216.3193 | bigcolor@merrittgraphics.com 101 Prestige Park Rd. East Hartford, CT 06108 Higher-ed's role in narrowing the inequality gap By Michael S. Roth, President of Wesleyan University A major issue facing higher education is inequality. Colleges and universi- ties at one time were the major vehi- cle for social mobility in America. A college education was thought to be key to a better life. Today the "college premium" is great- er than ever in purely economic terms. In other words, the benefits of going to col- lege over looking for work with only a high school diploma have never been greater. However, economic anxiety on college campuses remains very high. The econo- my has produced enormous gains for the richest Americans and not so much for the rest. Students worry that if they don't "make it big" they won't make it at all. In fact, colleges and universities can play an important role in changing this economic trajectory. With robust financial-aid programs, schools can offer low- and middle-income families paths of learning that will produce economic changes for them and, when they are very productive, for those around them. When higher education produces innovators, we will be produc- ing engines for the economic devel- opment of a new middle class. Another issue is the push for a narrow, vocational education. This is surely going to be counterproductive. The best way to produce innovators is to offer a broad, contextual education — a lib- eral education. A college education should prepare one to thrive by creating habits of mind and spirit that will continue to devel- op far beyond one's university years. In my book "Beyond the University: Why Liberal Education Matters" I describe an American tradition of pragmatic liberal education that connects "thriving" with empowerment after graduation. Thriv- ing means realizing your capabilities, and a liberal education should enable you to discover capabilities you didn't even know you had while deepening those that pro- vide you with meaning and direction. This is the opposite of trying to figure out how to conform to the world as it is. That's a losing proposition, not least because the world is changing so rapidly; tomorrow it won't be how it is today. When you flour- ish, you find ways of shaping change, not just ways of coping with it. Those who get the most out of college are often anti- conformist innovators aiming to find out who they are and what kind of work they will find most meaningful. 2016 initiatives Wesleyan has two major initiatives in 2016. In the first half of the year our endow- ment fundraising campaign will come to an end. We have raised more than $415 million and want to bring this to a close with real momentum. Throughout 2016 we will also be launching a new program in design and engineering, allowing students to connect sciences, social sciences and the humanities in a single program. n Michael S. Roth ▶ ▶ When higher education produces innovators, we will be producing engines for the economic development of a new middle class. LIST REPRINTS & PLAQUES CONGRATULATIONS ON MAKING THE LIST! Now available are official PDF REPRINTS of your LIST as it appears in the 2015/2016 Book of Lists for your MARKETING usage, with YOUR COMPANY'S LISTING Highlighted! Order a digital PDF REPRINT of your LIST, with copyrights granted to internal and personal uses. Hi (print) and Lo-Res (email/web) versions will be made available. Copyright fee is included and covers these uses: • Posting the digital PDF on your web site in its original form • Emailing the digital PDF in its original form • Printing and distributing hard copies as a marketing/sales tool. For additional distribution options not stated above, visit copyright clearance center at www.copyright.com For list reprint info & pricing, contact: Jessica Baker jbaker@HartfordBusiness.com or 860.236.9998 ext. 122 or visit www.HartfordBusiness.com/reprints Produced by: ALL PDF LIST REPRINTS COME WITH ADDITIONAL Plaque OPTION - Plaques are Walnut Brown woodgrain finish with reprint mounted under beveled plexi-glass. Trimmed with metal corner nails. It's the perfect addition to your office or lobby - Ask for details and pricing.