University deans address incoming classes on the value of human complexity

Deans at Tulane University and the University of Virginia addressed incoming classes of 2030, focusing on the evolving nature of higher education and the importance of multifaceted human development.

At Tulane University, Dean Brian Edwards encouraged students in the School of Liberal Arts to embrace curiosity and diverse interests. He noted that while universities are organized into departments, individuals are often more complex, suggesting that exploring various fields is a way of being educated rather than being unfocused.

At the University of Virginia, Christa Acampora, Dean of the College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences, spoke on the role of education in the age of artificial intelligence. She questioned whether education should focus solely on workplace skills, arguing that in a future economy, being “distinctively human” and possessing the ability to navigate complexity will be more valuable than being AI-like.