‘Humanizing STEM': Event Highlights Crucial Role of Liberal Arts in Today’s World

Are empathy and ethics as crucial as algorithms and equations? At the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts’ Humanizing STEM event on Sept. 20, scholars and practitioners across disciplines answered with a resounding yes, presenting compelling arguments on how the humanities enrich STEM fields and lead to more thoughtful and inclusive innovation. 

“If you've recently seen Oppenheimer or paid attention to some of the discussions around that, you know that it’s still true that the liberal arts provide the foundation for the adaptability necessary to succeed in our society and are essential to our mission of developing leaders who advance technology to improve the human condition,” said Paul Kohn, Georgia Tech’s vice provost for enrollment management. 

As University Business recently noted, the Ivan Allen College and Georgia Tech have taken a national leadership role in stressing the value of integrating humanities, social sciences, and STEM disciplines in research and teaching, and in pairing that talk with action. Faculty and students from the College are working with their STEM colleagues on projects related to art, artificial intelligence, computing, engineering, and more. 

Efforts such as the recent Humanizing STEM symposium, attended by university officials from across the country, seek to continue that discussion, said Interim Dean Richard Utz. 

"This event marks a crucial step in our mission to show the world how Georgia Tech is leading in integrating the liberal arts with STEM. These conversations show how we can drive meaningful, human-centered technological advancements across disciplines,” Utz said. 

Throughout the day, speakers emphasized the importance of human-centered approach in STEM education and innovation.  

For instance, former Atlanta Regional Commission head Douglas Hooker, ME 1978, MS TSP 1985, said a public policy curriculum teaches students how to evaluate technological innovation in ways that spark positive change. 

“Public policy is a tool we should be employing more frequently, with more authenticity and more honesty,” he said. “From the micro to the macro, public policy compels us to place humans at the center of all of our STEM considerations." 

Hooker’s call for authenticity in policymaking aligned with the broader message of the event — that STEM professionals must consider the social and ethical impacts of their work to create meaningful change. 

Paula Tkac, an economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, talked about how economics can drive innovation in STEM fields. 

“Economics is a toolkit for anything you want to do. It can help you figure out how to take the effort and passion you're throwing into the things you want to do and show you how you can scale and turn ideas into action, problem-solving into real change,” Tkac said. 

And Tina Lu, first vice president of the Modern Language Association, discussed her research bridging Chinese technological history and language, and the importance of language education to global innovation. 

“Without meeting people in other languages, there's no connecting with people where they are,” Lu said. That means connections not just through space, but also connections through time. What are languages? It's listening, it's understanding, it's bringing people together.”  

Other speakers included Linda Adler-Kassner, associate vice chancellor of teaching and learning at the University of California, Santa Barbara; Paige Alexander, chief executive officer at The Carter Center; Jim Grossman, executive director of the American Historical Association, and Gen. Philip Breedlove, distinguished professor of the practice in Georgia Tech’s Sam Nunn School of International Affairs. 

Kelly Ritter, chair of the School of Literature, Media, and Communication was one of seven IAC respondents during the event. She spoke about how the School contributes to the College’s interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary efforts, noting LMC has faculty from traditional literature and writing backgrounds but also from computer science, engineering, architecture, visual arts, history, psychology, philosophy, and others. 

“One of the things we aim to address is how the humanities can inform, improve, and advance principles of critical systems,” Ritter said. 

The Sept. 20 event was the kickoff for a year-long series of events at Georgia Tech celebrating “The Year of the Liberal Arts.” Upcoming events include a discussion on the future of war, a conference on public policy and child well-being, poetry readings, and more. 

For more information, visit the Year of the Liberal Arts website.