2018 FALL LC MAGAZINE

STEM AND THE LIBERAL ARTS Cajal is a perfect model for the value of liberal arts within STEM. Like many Lycoming students, Cajal had a wide range of passions, from art and athletics to biology. His interdisciplinary thinking fueled his success. It’s also what fuels the College’s new neuroscience program. “Neuroscience is perfect for the liberal arts because it’s cross-disciplinary by its very nature,” says Mary Morrison, Ph.D., assistant professor of biology and neuroscience program co-coordinator. “Our major is not just biology and psychology classes like you’ll see at other institutions.” “You can look at the mind from not only a biological perspective, but from a philosophical, psychological, and sociological perspective as well,” says Sarah Holstein, Ph.D., assistant professor of psychology and neuroscience program co-coordinator. “That builds great critical thinking, because it encourages students to ask, ‘What is the importance of this? Why is this occurring?’” Employers cite critical thinking as the number one skill lacking in today’s workforce. While candidates might have the computational skills and knowledge, their ability to creatively use that information often remains untapped. How does a liberal arts education change that? S Santiago Ramón y Cajal: father of modern neuroscience. Winner of the 1906 Nobel Prize in Medicine, Cajal was a gifted anatomist who determined that neurons were individual cells. But perhaps the most remarkable aspect of Cajal’s life was that he was also a talented artist, having produced more than 3,000 renderings of his observations. From these illustrations, he made conjectures about the nervous system — a shocking number of which have been proven within the last decade. Producing the Next Cajal: (L to R) Holstein, Morrison, Bartlow, and Andrew 20 LYCOMING COLLEGE 2018 FALL MAGAZINE