This week, the national Chronicle of Higher Education published a major review of where state lawmakers went to college.

Among the findings: New Hampshire, Vermont, ...]]>

For years, we asserted that New England's struggles with low state fiscal support for higher education stemmed in part from the under-representation of public higher education alums in the region's state legislatures.

This week, the national Chronicle of Higher Education published a major review of where state lawmakers went to college.

Among the findings: New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts and Rhode Island rank 47th, 48th, 49th and 50th respectively in legislators who went to public colleges. Not surprisingly, those states also rank in the U.S. cellar in state support of higher ed per $1,000 of personal income, with New Hampshire, 50th; Massachusetts, 48th; Rhode Island, 47th; and Vermont 46th.

Which is not to say that New England doesn't have key higher ed advocates in the statehouses. One who is featured in The Chronicle report is Emily Ann Cain, the minority leader in the Maine House and NEBHE delegate who is working on a doctorate at the University of Maine.

"Science courses belong in the liberal arts curriculum for the benefit of both science and non-science majors."

That's one of the main findings in a study released by the Cambridge, Mass.-based American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Science and the Educated American: A Core Component of Liberal Education warns that the pace of scientific and technological change ...]]>

"Science courses belong in the liberal arts curriculum for the benefit of both science and non-science majors."

That's one of the main findings in a study released by the Cambridge, Mass.-based American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Science and the Educated American: A Core Component of Liberal Education warns that the pace of scientific and technological change means all adults should be prepared to learn and evaluate new science information after they leave schooling.

Among the report's major themes:

• Without a basic level of scientific literacy, the public cannot rely on even the best science journalism and communications to help them make informed decisions about science issues.
• Science courses belong in the liberal arts curriculum for the benefit of both science and non-science majors.
• Teaching science should convey the wonders and rewards of science but also the limits of science and dangers of misapplying it.
• Science and the humanities have much more in common than is generally appreciated.

In June, I was at an orientation for a major New England university where one speaker was extolling the non-careerist aspect of liberal arts, noting with a wink: "It’s not as if BP is going to go hire a vice president of philosophy … but maybe they should.”

The audience understood his wink. Philosophy is the discipline often invoked to flaunt the non-practical nature of the the liberal arts. And at the time, BP was spilling millions of gallons of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico and handling the blame badly.

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About 10% of the Boston College Carroll School of Management (CSOM) Class of 2011 and 25% of the CSOM Class of 2012 are pursuing a double major or minor in a liberal arts field, according to The Heights, the Boston College student newspaper, which has been running a series on liberal arts.

CSOM administrators observed that "other local colleges, such as Babson and Bentley, which are business-focused in their undergraduate education, incorporate relatively little of the liberal arts into the undergraduate education."

The New England Board of Higher Education held a conference on Reinventing the University: New Models & Innovations for 21st Century Realities at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston last Monday, Oct. 4. But the discussion continues thanks to a variety of social media.

To track our social media coverage check out the links below:

June 2009 is seen by many as the end of the Great Recession. Strong growth in GDP following massive monetary and fiscal responses to the collapse in housing and financial markets meant that the economy was on the mend. Yet a year later, 1.1 million fewer people are working, and the unemployment rate is stuck ...]]>

June 2009 is seen by many as the end of the Great Recession. Strong growth in GDP following massive monetary and fiscal responses to the collapse in housing and financial markets meant that the economy was on the mend. Yet a year later, 1.1 million fewer people are working, and the unemployment rate is stuck at 9.5%. Worse still, more than one million individuals have left the job market since April. If these individuals had not quit looking for work, the nation’s unemployment rate this morning would have been 10.3%. The fraction of teens at work has hit a record low, with just 25% of 16-to-19 year olds working this summer.

The jobs report released Aug. 6 has a lot of political and economic significance.

Economically, this means that concerns among fiscal and monetary leaders may now seriously focus in the threats of a deflation. Deflation is the opposite of inflation insofar as it is characterized by reductions in the aggregate level of prices and wages in the economy. See economist John Makin of the American Enterprise Institute for a discussion of this.

One critical manifestation of the deflationary pressure exerted by this downturn has been the sharp decline in housing prices. The worst effects of deflation occur when consumers and firms expect prices to decline. With an expectation of future price declines, they delay consumption and investment activities and instead hold on to cash to capture a better bargain down the road. This means that consumption slows and savings increase as firms hold on to cash. Both families and firms seek to pay-off debt and cash becomes king. Why? Because unlike inflation, where a dollar can buy less tomorrow than today, with deflation, a dollar buys more tomorrow than today.  Today’s poor jobs report means that the monetary authorities may seek to expand the monetary base in an effort to keep interest rates and the cost of borrowing low. Congress and the president may be more likely look to finance another round of stimulus of some type, including what some have called a back-door stimulus, that will hopefully have a stronger jobs component to it than the last round of "STIM" that didn’t seem to do much in the private sector.

Politically, there are only two more jobs reports between now and the midterm elections in November. Expectations for GDP growth in the second half of this year have been curtailed and are at a level that would fail to generate a sufficient number of jobs to reduce the overall unemployment rate. Along with the weak showing in the new jobs report, this suggests a diminished likelihood of a quick turnaround in the labor market in time for November. Those candidates for congressional and statewide positions who needed a stronger labor market environment didn’t get the summer of recovery promised by Joe Biden, but they may get a fall from grace this autumn.

Deflation is very bad news for those parts of the higher education system that rely on debt financing. As the risks of deflation become more vivid, colleges that hold lots of debt will be forced to pay off those loans with more valuable dollars that could crowd out other kinds of spending. Students may be more reluctant to take on debt to finance school in a weak labor market where employment prospects are poor and nominal wages are declining. The Chronicle of Higher Education’s recent article on student loan defaults is a scary reminder of the limits of student debt.

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Neeta P. Fogg is senior economist at the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University. Paul E. Harrington is associate director of the center.