2008 Woodie Awards
Tinker speaks about the importance of a liberal education
Kate Giglio
Issue date: 3/4/04 Section: News
Students, faculty and guests listened intently to Dr. Nathan Tinker's lecture, "The Accidental Executive, or How to Succeed in Business With a Liberal Arts Degree," on Tuesday, March 2.
Tinker, the co-founder and executive vice president of the NanoBusiness Alliance, oversees all industry research, education, and liaison initiatives. He is also a founder and president of NanoBusiness Development Group, the Alliance's consulting and market intelligence arm.
Tinker is the author of more than 20 market industry analyses and reports. He is an advisor of the The Nanotechnology Opportunity Report and PBS's Nanotechnology documentary series.
Tinker was invited to speak because his success story is unique.
Though he has made his career in the business world, he holds a PhD in 17 century English literature from Fordham University. Having a degree in liberal arts is uncharacteristic of people in business, and Tinker's lecture focused on how he has managed to make his career in a field other than academia, without possessing the business degrees typical of his peers.
Dr. Rose DeAngelis, director of the honors program at Marist, introduced Tinker, mentioning that the two of them had gone to graduate school together. Tinker, whose entire lecture was punctuated with wit, humorously alluded to his bond with DeAngelis. He inserted a photo of her into his slideshow. By doing so be illustrated the opportunities he had been given to work with experts in the liberal arts arena.
Every semester a guest speaker gives the honors lecture, and Tinker was invited this semester as "the representative from the School of Management," DeAngelis said.
However, she said that the business field was "interdisciplinary," which could appeal to people in many areas of study.
Tinker began his lecture by giving a brief background of himself. He then informed the audience of the importance of liberal arts in today's world.
"The fact is that liberal arts students play a major role in the business world," Tinker said. He provided a list of CFOs who have liberal arts, not business, degrees; a list that included Carly Fiorina of Hewlett-Packard, Steve Case, Michael Eisner, Oprah Winfrey, Steve Forbes, and most notably George W. Bush. These people have all succeeded in the business world with degrees in fields such as literature, philosophy, and even East Asian history.
Tinker, the co-founder and executive vice president of the NanoBusiness Alliance, oversees all industry research, education, and liaison initiatives. He is also a founder and president of NanoBusiness Development Group, the Alliance's consulting and market intelligence arm.
Tinker is the author of more than 20 market industry analyses and reports. He is an advisor of the The Nanotechnology Opportunity Report and PBS's Nanotechnology documentary series.
Tinker was invited to speak because his success story is unique.
Though he has made his career in the business world, he holds a PhD in 17 century English literature from Fordham University. Having a degree in liberal arts is uncharacteristic of people in business, and Tinker's lecture focused on how he has managed to make his career in a field other than academia, without possessing the business degrees typical of his peers.
Dr. Rose DeAngelis, director of the honors program at Marist, introduced Tinker, mentioning that the two of them had gone to graduate school together. Tinker, whose entire lecture was punctuated with wit, humorously alluded to his bond with DeAngelis. He inserted a photo of her into his slideshow. By doing so be illustrated the opportunities he had been given to work with experts in the liberal arts arena.
Every semester a guest speaker gives the honors lecture, and Tinker was invited this semester as "the representative from the School of Management," DeAngelis said.
However, she said that the business field was "interdisciplinary," which could appeal to people in many areas of study.
Tinker began his lecture by giving a brief background of himself. He then informed the audience of the importance of liberal arts in today's world.
"The fact is that liberal arts students play a major role in the business world," Tinker said. He provided a list of CFOs who have liberal arts, not business, degrees; a list that included Carly Fiorina of Hewlett-Packard, Steve Case, Michael Eisner, Oprah Winfrey, Steve Forbes, and most notably George W. Bush. These people have all succeeded in the business world with degrees in fields such as literature, philosophy, and even East Asian history.