Educating...for what?: Livelihood and Vocation

Higgins School of the Humanities/Difficult Dialogues: Video Recording from 10/18/2011 event featuring Lynn Pasquerella and David Angel titled "Livlihood and Vocation" Event Description: Some of the most vocal challenges to higher education imply that a liberal education does not have direct vocational application. What good is it? the critics ask. Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg didn’t finish college. What is the responsibility of a college or university in ensuring that students have membership in an economy? And what actually best prepares them to do so? How do we define economy? Is the best preparation for a career the same or different than preparation for a discerning and meaningful life? In what ways do the humanities contribute to all these kinds of development? How can we better assist our students in joining their work with their ideals? Our guests for a conversation on livelihood are Lynn Pasquerella, President of Mount Holyoke College, and David Angel, President of Clark University.

"From Dartboards to Dashboards: The Imperative of using Data to Improve Student Achievement"

Aimee Guidera, Director of the National Data Quality Campaign, delivered the second annual Lee Gurel '48 Lecture in Education, "From Dartboards to Dashboards: The Imperative of Using Data to Improve Student Outcomes." Aimee Rogstad Guidera is the Founding Executive Director of the Data Quality Campaign. She manages a growing partnership among national organizations collaborating to improve the quality, accessibility and use of education data to improve student achievement. Working with 10 Founding Partners, Aimee launched the DQC in 2005 with the goal of every state having a robust longitudinal data system in place by 2009. The Campaign is now in the midst of its second phase focusing on State Actions to ensure effective data use. Aimee joined the National Center for Educational Accountability as Director of the Washington, DC office in 2003. During her eight previous years in various roles at the National Alliance of Business, Aimee supported the corporate community's efforts to increase achievement at all levels of learning. As NAB Vice President of Programs, she managed the Business Coalition Network, comprised of over 1,000 business led coalitions focused on improving education in communities across the country. Prior to joining the Alliance, Aimee focused on school readiness, academic standards, education goals and accountability systems while in the Center for Best Practices at the National Governors Association. She taught for the Japanese Ministry of Education in five Hiroshima high schools where she interviewed educators and studied the Japanese education system immediately after receiving her AB from Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public & International Affairs. Aimee also holds a Masters Degree in Public Policy from Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.