Thank you for the recent opinion essay (Herald, Dec. 25) by Fort Lewis College graduate Melissa McConnell on the value of the liberal arts and her bachelor’s degree in history. In addition to the analytical skills McConnell learned, Journal readers should know that Fort Lewis also teaches professional coursework. FLC is one of the few colleges in the nation offering an undergraduate concentration in public history.

We teach students the skills they need to work in archives, museums, historic preservation and in corporate settings. Our students attend graduate school and law school and have worked at the Animas Museum, the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, Mesa Verde National Park, the Center of Southwest Studies, the Cortez Historic Preservation Board, and historic sites across the West.

Yes, the liberal arts are vitally important and so are the public history classes and professional internships, which the History Department offers, especially in Colorado, where heritage tourism annually brings in millions of dollars.

There’s a reason history classes are taught in colleges and universities around the world. By teaching research and writing history, professors help students prepare for lifelong learning and successful careers where adaptation will be key.

Andrew Gulliford

Durango