Empowering Future Innovators: Why Arts and Science Belong Together

Andrea Kunze, Butler University

Higher education is currently witnessing a decline in the value of art and humanities disciplines, evident in decreasing student enrollment and the closure of many programs across the country. But we must ask: What does the practice of medicine look like without understanding the human behind the medical chart? How does an insurance adjuster or economist miss the mark when they only see data points, not the stories behind those people? And how can we expect to have the next da Vinci, Curie, or Tesla if our educational system is so siloed?

I hear from my students time and again that my classes are too philosophical for psychology, or that they’re training to be doctors or scientists, so they don't need to be creative. This narrow view of science, this misunderstanding of where innovation truly comes from, is a direct result of a siloed higher education system. The separation of arts and sciences – the belief that they do not belong together or benefit each other – is leading to the shortcomings of our institutions. We have failed our students by teaching them that creativity and the arts have no place in specialized fields, that thinking critically and creatively will not serve them in their careers. As a result, in my classroom and many others, I am hearing from colleagues and students directly that they simply do not want to think or create. There’s resistance to hands-on projects that could develop technical and transferable skills, often seen as "busy work." Students are more focused on grades, wanting tests or quizzes, seeking the instant gratification that online assessments provide. They do not see the value of investing in projects or the long-term satisfaction they can bring. They fail to recognize how such work could enhance their portfolios or resumes.

I fear that this siloed approach is reinforcing a “banking” system of knowledge, where students are mere recipients of information. By not pushing back, we, as educators, may be feeding into a pedagogy that Paolo Freire describes as oppressive.

So, where do we go from here? As the identity of higher education evolves, I am committed to bringing the humanities and the arts back into the practice of science. In my teaching as a psychology professor, I offer students opportunities for delayed gratification through long-term projects that require critical thinking, creativity, and product development. I am fostering interdisciplinary collaboration and creating spaces where students can think and create across boundaries. One classroom, one syllabus, and one project at a time, I am helping students become empowered, critical, and creative thinkers – and perhaps even the next da Vinci in their own right.