President Hrabowski visited WAMU’s The Kojo Nnamdi Show on July 7, 2015 to discuss how his upbringing during the Civil Rights movement inspired his passion for making higher education more inclusive.
During the interview, Dr. Hrabowski touched on the themes in his latest book, Holding Fast to Dreams: Empowering Youth from the Civil Rights Crusade to STEM Achievement. As a child, the importance of well-rounded education was impressed upon him and he spoke about prioritizing multiple disciplines.
“We have to stop making this major distinction between STEM…and reading and the humanities and the arts,” he said. “These are false distinctions.”
Pres. Hrabowski highlighted the power of education to enable talented students from all backgrounds to contribute to solving the world’s most complex problems, which require creative, collaborative solutions.
“Recent reports from the National Academy of Sciences say that two-thirds of Americans of all races who begin with a major in science or engineering will leave within the first year or two.” He explained how at UMBC “we have rethought how we teach” to make courses more engaging and learning communities more supportive. This has boosted student success in STEM as well as across the arts, humanities, and social sciences.
“We have people of all backgrounds from all over the world becoming scientists and solving the problems of humankind, while others are thinking about social science issues from health disparities…to issues of economic inequality,” Pres. Hrabowski explained. “Those problems are bigger now than ever… Those are the things we are thinking about and focusing on at UMBC.”
The interview also covered the Baltimore protests and Common Core standards, as well as the need to teach students about the necessity of struggling with issues and subjects, rather than expecting instant gratification. Additionally, several alumni called in to the show to thank Dr. Hrabowski for his work and share their UMBC experiences.
Listen to Dr. Hrabowski on the Kojo Nnamdi Show.
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