Local Business Leaders Meet to Discuss How a Liberal Arts Education Prepares Students for Jobs of the Future
Early Tuesday morning, local business and community leaders gathered on Goucher’s campus for the first Goucher Business Circle. The event was hosted by Bill Pugh ’94, vice president of sales and marketing, Apex Tool Group, and member of the Goucher College Board of Trustees. After a brief welcome and introduction, attendees networked and heard from President José Bowen about how a liberal arts education is preparing students for the jobs of the future. According to Dr. Bowen, “by focusing on Goucher’s three R’s, relationships, resilience, and reflection, we are able to better prepare our students to be successful in the jobs of the future, including those jobs that haven’t even been invented yet.” Goucher is also introducing a new curriculum for the fall of 2017 that will help students work together in groups with others who are different from themselves—a skill employers say is critical for employees to master.
The message clearly resonated with the local leaders. Maryland Secretary of Commerce Mike Gill commended Goucher, saying, “I want to thank you, Dr. Bowen. As goes Baltimore, so goes the state of Maryland. Baltimore is coming back in a big way because of the many assets in Baltimore and I am putting Goucher College at the top of that list of assets, because of the innovative work you are doing.”
The morning ended with a call for suggestions on how Goucher can continue to work with local leaders to create partnerships that will benefit students and Maryland businesses. The next Goucher Business Circle event will take place in the fall. To learn more about Goucher College, please visit our website at www.goucher.edu.