A NEW institute in Brisbane believes that the purpose of going to university is greater than mere job training.
The Millis Institute, housed at Christian Heritage College, views the goal of higher education as learning how to think.
The institute is led by Dr Ryan Messmore, a frequent speaker at Faith on Tap and Ignite, whose story appeared last year on EWTN’s Journey Home program.
Dr Messmore said the time-tested way to shape “beautiful minds” was a liberal arts education – an education that also liberated students from a single-career track.
He said that, by training students to think critically, communicate effectively and solve problems creatively, the liberal arts freed them to pursue a broad range of higher degrees and careers.
Dr Messmore said an education in “evergreen” skills like reasoning, writing persuasively and translating data into sound arguments was especially strategic today.
On average, university graduates in Australia changed jobs every five years, so they needed an education that provided flexibility rather than trapping them in one specialised field, he said.
The new Millis Institute, however, aimed to do more than prepare students for employment.
It aims to help them engage modern challenges with an appreciation of goodness, truth and beauty.
In contrast to many universities, the institute neither ridicules theology nor claims to be Christian in name only; rather, it views faith as integral to learning.
As St John Paul II declared, “Faith and reason are like two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth.”
The Millis Institute is offering an opportunity to sample this approach to education on June 26-27.
The Witherspoon Fellowship is a two-day gathering in Brisbane for 17-22-year-olds looking for a different approach to learning and leadership.
For more info, see the advertisement in this Youth Leader supplement or contact enquiries@chc.edu.au.
