At Wesleyan, Roth has overseen the creation of four new interdisciplinary colleges emphasizing advanced research and cohort building in the areas of East Asian studies, integrative sciences, film, and the environment. Other major initiatives during his tenure include the dedication of the Gordon Career Center in 2016 and the Fries Center for Global Studies in 2017, and the creation of a new program in Design, Engineering and Applied Science, also this year.
In Beyond the University, Roth brings to life the words and ideas of many great American thinkers throughout history about liberal education, and sets them in the context of today. In the current age, when many are questioning the value of higher education, Roth argues that liberal education, with its emphasis on creative and critical thinking, is actually more crucial than ever.
For generations, education has been tied to the ability to think for oneself and to contribute to society by unleashing creative potential. Roth contends that promoting a narrow, vocational undergraduate education, in reaction to today’s challenging economy, is a critical mistake, resulting in men and women who are trained for yesterday’s problems and yesterday’s jobs. A liberal arts degree is key to success in the economy of the future. Moreover, the free inquiry and experimentation of liberal education, Roth argues, help us to think independently, take responsibility for our beliefs and actions, and add value to the world around us.
This value has been increasingly recognized by citizens around the world. The number of students from China applying to Wesleyan has doubled in the past 5 years. Wesleyan has long and proud tradition of engagement with China almost since its founding in 1831, but has never had an official Chinese name until recently. This year, President Roth announced that he had aceepted the recommendation of a committee to establish Wesleyan’s official Chinese name as 维思大学 (“Weisi Daxue”).
Wesleyan also recently launched an official Wesleyan Chinese news blog, where we share stories related to Chinese culture, Chinese students and alumni, our study abroad programs in China, and more. This content is also posted to our official Wesleyan WeChat Account. (WeChat ID is Wesleyan1831).