The number of students studying the humanities in the United States continues to shrink, despite the fact that the skills humanities majors gain - including writing, communication, critical thinking, problem solving, and multicultural understanding - are increasingly sought after by employers.

This disconnect has occurred in part because traditional humanities curriculum has not done enough to demonstrate to students the value of the education they are gaining, while connecting it directly to career competencies, according to Dr. Paula Krebs, executive director of the Modern Languages Association.

Krebs served as the keynote speaker at the official opening of the Mancuso Humanities Workforce Preparation Center this month, which was created specifically to promote the value of the humanities for creating vibrant thinkers, engaged citizens, and skilled professionals.

"No student should have to wonder what they can do with a degree in our fields," Krebs said. "We need to make sure undergraduates understand the value of the education they are getting in their fields and we need to be specific. We have to name and measure it."

The Mancuso Center was developed and funded by English Professor Halcyon Mancuso as a new resource at Framingham State University to promote the benefits of a humanities education and help students launch successful careers.

"Our students and families come to FSU with very big expectations that a college degree will help pave the way for a fulfilling career and life," Mancuso said during the event.

The Center offers three key initiatives to achieve that goal – a faculty fellowship program, a career readiness initiative, and a student internship program.

This year's faculty fellow was Dr. Joanne Britland from the World Languages Department, who used the opportunity to create a database of local employers seeking bilingual employees and also redesigned Spanish 225, a general education course on Business Communication in Spanish.

The audience also got to hear from Dr. Lissa Bollettino from the History Department, who took part in the Career Readiness Summer Working group and talked about how faculty can tweak their course curriculum to more clearly explain the specific career competencies students are learning.

"It's a low lift for faculty and students really appreciated it," Bollettino said. "It signals to them that I care about them as a whole person and I care about their future."

Finally, the group heard from student interns at the Mancuso Center. To date, the center has funded 46 internships, providing more $50,000 in stipends. Internship focuses have included technical grant writing, social media content writing, graphic design, museum studies, translation, sports information, marketing communication, podcast editing, photography, video and digital journalism.

To learn more about the Mancuso Humanities Workforce Preparation Center, click here.