Hear Hear!!

Now that's thinking.

In the hiring that I am currently doing for entry level records clerks I
look at education to see that there is something of substance, I could
care less what the degree is in. As I am hiring for a law firm many
applicants have a clear bent on law school in their future but I'll
consider anything from BA's in fine arts to economics to
history/political science to BS' in physics or engineering. The point is
finding candidates who can think independently and make good judgments.
Not to have mediocre automatons.


-----Original Message-----
From: Records Management Program [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
Behalf Of Scott, Paul (FPM)
Sent: Thursday, July 14, 2005 9:35 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Interdisciplinary communication


As a proud liberal arts major with a 37-year old degree, I've enjoyed
the
White/Fairfax debate a great deal especially as it illustrates how much
times have changed.  (After all, history is about change and
persistence.)

To quote Bruce, "the question on the table...that the profession needs
to
address is what background better prepares...records managers seeking
employment with Fortune 500 or other private companies - archival or
business?"  Bruce puts his virtual money on business majors and
Elizabeth
says that history majors can do whatever business majors can do.

Back in the 1960's it was accepted that business majors were engaged in
a
glorified vocational education programs and liberal arts majors were the
elite because we were honing our thinking and analytical skills.  And
the
conceit was that the best companies wanted the best thinkers in their
fast-track programs.

I'm not sure what happened, but the business majors won--seemingly.  But
the
recent business collapses, corporate scandals, and rash of executive
convictions demonstrate that not all is well in the business world.  And
closer to home, the volatility of technology demonstrates that much of
what
we learn today will irrelevant tomorrow.

All this leads me to believe that the best thinkers, whether their
majors be
in business, archives, or art appreciation, have the competencies that
we
require for our profession.

Paul R. Scott, CA, CRM
Records Management Officer
Harris County, TX

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