In Conversation With
College alumni network. It is indeed a very precious can follow an argument, track logical reasoning,
resource. Our first Chinese graduate is now co-CEO and detect poor logic. These attributes are also
of Asia Pacific and CEO of China for Morgan Stanley emphasized by professors at Amherst College. Each
and other alumni include two former prime minis- of our classes is small with just 17 or so students
ters of Greece and the current President of Kenya. and each student has the chance to be known,
speak, argue, and debate. I also want to add that our
The support of alumni and a range of internship students can extend this spirit beyond the class-
opportunities ensure that our students find great room to late-night discussions, performances and
jobs after graduation. Statistics shows our gradu- rehearsals, reactions to national or international
ates have a 97% employment rate, including 24% events, and to teamwork and helping others. This
in the financial industry and more than 10% in is a requirement of Amherst students.
the media industry. More than 80% of our grad-
uates pursue further study within five years of
They read and they understand.
graduation.
They read widely across genres such as novels,
So whether in terms of career development, non-fiction, journals, newspapers, and poetry.
employment, or scholarship aid, we provide our They read far more than just words and delve into
students with vast development potential and their underlying significance. Amherst gives huge
unparalleled freedom.
reading assignments to its students and the reading
list is so long that it is almost impossible to finish
reading. Therefore, our students master the art of
The ultimate goal of a liberal arts education
reading and make it a lifelong habit, regardless of
how they choose to spend their life.
Sabrina: As an educator who has worked at multiple
liberal arts colleges, what do you think is the core
They can write clearly, persuasively, and movingly.
educational value of liberal arts colleges in today’s
continuously evolving world? In the course of their study, they write a lot both in
Xiaofeng: We often discuss liberal arts education, assignments and have strong writing skills. They
but at the end of the day, it is difficult to sum up its can effectively express, persuade, create, and
their target courses and as part of other academic
essence. By way of answering this question, I would convey, and this ability will serve them well whether
like to cite William Cronon, a professor of history they choose to become a lawyer, researcher, physi-
and environmental studies at the University of cian, teacher, politician, or investment banker.
Wisconsin. At its 2017 commencement ceremony,
Amherst College presented an honorary degree of They can solve a wide variety of puzzles
Doctor of Humane Letters to Professor Cronon. In and problems.
his article, “The Goals of a Liberal Education,” he
listed ten attributes of a liberally educated person.
They think critically and feel comfortable with
Here, I will cite five of them regarding the charac- numbers and can make sense of paradoxical
teristics of Amherst College: challenges and view problems, conflicts, and pre-
dicaments from different perspectives. They can
both solve problems independently and effectively
They listen and they hear.
collaborate with others. These are also require-
They work hard to hear what other people say. They
ments given by professors at Amherst College.
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