Iowa State is a land-grant university and it’s founded on agriculture, science and technology.

Iowa State exists to create better agriculturalists, scientists, engineers, etc.

Yes, liberal arts are a necessary part of that program, but they should not be the dominant aspect.

When I attended some 50 years ago as a telecommunicative arts student, professors were scrambling to create and name courses in writing and in television set design and performance and then to teach them as technical rather than artistic courses.

It’s good to see liberal arts courses taught for what they are. But they should not become the dominant part of Iowa State; that should still be technical education and extension of that knowledge to the “community,” which is the whole nation, not just Iowa State.

Frank Wicker

Alumnus