Keynote: Challenges of 21st Century Liberal Arts

The academic landscape is always changing with new fields evolving and student flow shifting.  Today we seem to be seeing an increased focus on the STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) disciplines, and a trend away from the humanities and social sciences.  What challenges are being posed for liberal arts institutions?  What kinds of programs should we be building that prepare today's students for the kind of work they'll be doing as they move through the 21st century?  How is MHC adjusting to this new landscape?

Keynote Speaker: Valerie Barr

Valerie Barr is a professor, advocate and a Mount Holyoke alum '77 who has worked in the field of computer science for over forty years. Her research, including in industry and academic, spans multiple disciplines such as biomedicine, natural language processing and big data.

Professor Barr has degrees in mathematics and computer Science from Mount Holyoke College (BA), New York University (MS) and Rutgers University (PhD). She is currently department chair at Mount Holyoke, the first Jean E Sammet Professor of Computer Science, mother of an alum ('15), and a member of the Mount Holyoke Club of New York.