Alumni

FACULTY  |  OUTSIDE THE BOX

Celebrating Knowledge
Students pursue a master's of liberal arts degree in Lake Forest College's only graduate program for many reasons, but they share one thing in common — a love for learning.

By Fern Schumer Chapman

Master’s of Liberal Arts students Andre Meeks, Ann Cocks, and Jane Nieuwboer go over notes from their class Romanticism: Self and Society, an interdisciplinary seminar taught by Professor of History Dan LeMahieu and Associate Professor of English Robert Archambeau. (Photo by Jon Cancelino)

As Professor of History Dan LeMahieu prepares to begin class in a Donnelley and Lee Library seminar room on a fall Monday evening, his 14 students chat quietly amongst themselves.
 
"So what do you do?" one student asks another.
 
"I'm in land acquisition."
 
"Oh really," the first student replies, and then volunteers, "I teach in Waukegan."
 
Clearly, this group is not like LeMahieu's typical charges. Still, he begins class like any other.  
 
"So let's get started," says LeMahieu, who team teaches this class Romanticism: Self and Society with Associate Professor of English Robert Archambeau. "Why is the French Revolution important?"
 
Several hands shoot up. "It's the first revolution in Europe where there was complete lack of support for those in power," says one student, "where the powerless could gain power."
      
"It influenced the rest of the century and into the 20th century," adds another.
     
The students come from all walks of life, including business, education, and government. They have traveled from as far away as Palatine, Elk Grove Village, and Aurora. Last semester, one student even commuted every week from Atlanta, Georgia. 
      
"I didn't miss a single seminar," says Jane Nieuwboer, a retired teacher who had deferred starting the program by one semester because she wasn't sure when her family would be moving to Chicago. "It was worth it."
      
These students are enrolled in Lake Forest College's Master's in Liberal Arts (M/LS) program. They are required to take eight classes, including three interdisciplinary seminars, in subjects such as environmentalism, gender, cinema, ethics, and history. 
      
"This is a program for generalists," says Carol Gayle, associate professor of history and associate director of the program, which currently serves about 35 students. "Some M/LS students want to transform themselves and to study in a social context. Some are teachers who want a broader way to meet their continuing education requirements. Some are young people who want to improve their GPA to get into another graduate program. And some foreign-born students whose native language is not English use the program to transition to American education."
      
Graduates include Lake County state representative Virginia Frederick, who started her masters at age 79 and graduated four years later; Mary Beth Rubin, the director of development of the Presbyterian Homes; Thomas Skelly, former head of U.S. operations at Accenture; and Robert Bullard, former president of the Lake Forest/Lake Bluff Historical Society.
 
In the 1960s, only a handful of colleges such as Harvard, Dartmouth, and Johns Hopkins offered graduate programs in liberal arts. Originally geared to teachers and professors, these programs exploded in the 1990s for those who wish to celebrate knowledge rather than receive a degree that specifically supports a certain career path. 
 
"We're the granddaddy of programs in this region," says Gayle about Lake Forest's program, which started in 1977 and is now directed by LeMahieu. "Our courses are interdisciplinary, team taught by two professors from different departments which adds to what students get out of the class."
 
"I wanted to experience the cross-pollination of disciplines as a student," says Ann Cocks, who teaches English at Highland Park High School. She needs only two ML/S classes to meet her continuing education requirements, but she intends to complete the program because she gets so much out of it. "The discussions challenge me to look at the texts from different vantage points and expand my often narrow interpretations. I love that it's not just English, not just history, but a bigger picture of the world."
       
Adult students returning to college bring a completely different perspective to the classroom than undergraduates. The late Professor of History Arthur Zilversmit, who founded the program, said in a recorded interview on the M/LS Web site that "these serious students debate points with passion. Some professors have found these seminars to be among the most exciting teaching opportunities."
 
Undoubtedly, the adult student's life experiences create a unique learning environment. For example, on this night, LeMahieu explores the idea of a totalitarian democracy, where citizens have little participation in the decision-making process of the government. 
 
"I've given that idea some thought," says Courtney Hancock, an account manager for the Great Lakes Division of CDW, "because in my job I have to make tough decisions that are best for everyone. It's not always easy but necessary."
 
The ideas introduced in M/LS seminars go beyond the boundaries of the class. Zilversmit loved to tell a story about how the program engages both students and faculty.  
 
"In one seminar, we were discussing the philosopher John Dewey," he said in the online interview. "The other professor (Professor of Physics Roger Faber) and I disagreed about him. The next morning, when I went to my mailbox, I got a note that was headed 2 a.m. 'I've been thinking about this Dewey argument and I think you're wrong. Signed Roger.' This was symbolic of the way we got caught up in these discussions," Zilversmit said.
 
Perhaps, Professor Zilversmit's greatest legacy is that M/LS students still do. 

Fern Schumer Chapman is the advisor to the Lake Forest College newspaper, The Stentor.