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General Studies
General Studies Comes of Age
“It is perceived to be a degree of second choice rather than being a degree of choice.”
— Erich Lear
Director of General Studies
College of Liberal Arts
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What led to the college decision to appoint a director of general studies and open an advising center? |
| EL |
The first consideration, I think, is the sheer magnitude of the numbers, 300 majors on the Pullman campus alone. General studies is our third largest major. In addition, the college has felt for some time that there are two problems… One, students need advising before they go into majors, and two, students were receiving advice while in those majors they probably shouldn’t have been in the first place, which was, “Well, you’re not competing here, go someplace else.” And so the college perceived the need for an advising center and associated that with general studies for two reasons. First, many students who don’t want majors are the students who want general studies. That is broad, two, three, or four areas of study. Others are students who come into the University undeclared and need advice of a kind that is not discipline specific. That wasn’t available in the College of Liberal Arts. |
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| ask. |
What’s the biggest misconception about general studies? |
| EL |
You go to general studies when you can’t succeed anywhere else. It is perceived to be a degree of second choice rather than being a degree of choice. It is the program on campus with the greatest extent of flexibility and opportunity for the student to decide what he or she wants to take. |
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| ask. |
Dean Couture has often noted that general studies majors are among the most successful alumni of the college. |
| EL |
I think that’s accurate, but I’m more interested in why they’re succeeding. I think they’re succeeding because often the most successful people are the most broadly educated. A general studies program is broad and includes particular interests of the student, as opposed to a typical degree program, which is very narrowly focused. |
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| ask. |
What’s the transition been like from professor of music to director of general studies? |
| EL |
In my past, I’ve been associated with interdisciplinary programs, and I really like that environment, and I felt that was an example I wanted to get back to. I’ve also often, through my career, been associated with programs that were multidisciplinary. |
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| ask. |
Do you enjoy students? |
| EL |
(laughs out loud) Oh yeah! That’s the reason I’m here. You know, I’ve never had a big performance career. I’m a violinist and did a lot of professional playing, but it wasn ’t a big career. I never did a lot of publication. But I got into administration fairly early. Out of a 30-year career, I spent more than two-thirds of it in administration. To me, it’s all about not only encouraging them, but also standing them up straight when that needs to happen. |
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| ask. |
Any inspirational stories to share with us? |
| EL |
There was a young woman who was having difficulty as a business major and had achieved a grade point that was getting her into the deficient category, and she wasn’t able to certify. As a matter of fact, she was just shy of certifying in general studies. But she knew what she wanted to do, so I encouraged the University to let her certify in general studies. We did that, and last spring she took five upper-level classes across the University, and she got a 4.0. She needed someone to listen and help, and then she went out and proved herself. In the summer, she took a very heavy load and got three As and a B. So while she started out with great difficulty, my expectation is that she will have an M.B.A. within two years, and she will be the better for having been in general studies. |
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| ask. |
What’s ahead for general studies? |
| EL |
I’d like to do some additional research on all of our graduates. I would like to touch base with 300 to 500 general studies majors and confirm what we all tend to say about them, which is that they tend to be successful. If that theory holds up, I will use that to market, in a positive way, what general studies really is—a chance to explore two or three or four things and to do them well. |
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| ask. |
Is this an invitation for general studies graduates to contact you? |
| EL |
Absolutely. |
General Studies Factoids
General studies is the College of Liberal Arts’ third most popular major on the Pullman campus, just behind communication and criminal justice.
The following numbers represent the approximate average enrollment of general studies majors:
Vancouver
about 100 students
Tri-Cities
about 100 students
Distance Degree Programs
about 550 students
Pullman campus
about 300 students
THE LEAR FILE
Title |
Director, College of Liberal Arts General Studies Program |
Contact information |
509-335-1699
learej@wsu.edu |
Education |
Undergraduate and advanced degrees from the University of Iowa |
Background |
Joined Washington State University faculty in 1989. Formerly served as director of the School of Music and Theatre Arts. |
Primary achievements |
As director of the School of Music and Theatre Arts, Lear was instrumental in the pre-design, design, and construction of Kimbrough Hall, played a key role in acquiring an Allen Foundation for Music grant to equip the new digital recording studio, and created new music degree options with business, theatre, and electrical engineering and computer science. |
Born and raised |
Waterloo, Iowa |
Family |
Lear and his wife, Jane, have two daughters. Sarah is 21 and attends Evergreen State College. Rachael is a first-year student attending WSU and the University of Idaho. |
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