Over the next decade, New Brunswick will face sustained demand for professionals in public service fields that hold communities together, like:
- social work
- government and public administration
- criminal justice
- law
- economic policy
These roles are driven not by short-term market cycles, but by the long-term realities of an aging population, rising social complexity, public sector retirements, and the need for ethical, evidence-based decision-making. They will always be needed in a resilient and robust economy.
St. Thomas University is uniquely positioned to support this as New Brunswick’s leading liberal arts institution. STU educates graduates who are not only job-ready, but civic-ready, equipped with critical thinking, communication, ethical judgment, and human understanding. These are precisely the skills employers seek in social services, justice systems, education, law, public administration, business, and policy roles, where decisions directly affect people’s lives. These human-centred professions that are directly fed by ST. Thomas will always be a part of a robust economy and will always be needed.
Your support can ensure access for students, strengthen experiential learning, and build the academic and technological capacity needed to prepare the next generation.
Our focus on Liberal arts education delivers timeless skills that complement technical knowledge. Our graduates are more agile, employable, and capable of leading in uncertain futures. Its value lies not only in immediate job readiness but in sustained adaptability, ethical leadership, and civic engagement across careers and society. But don’t just take our word for it:
- The World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs reports repeatedly list analytical thinking and creative thinking as core skills employers expect in coming years — skills central to liberal arts training.
- As the age of AI dawns, routine tasks get automated while framing problems, interpreting results, and integrating context (human skills) become more valuable — strengths of liberal arts training. Read about that here.
- OECD’s Learning Compass (Education 2030) calls for critical thinking, creativity, collaboration and lifelong learning — competencies at the heart of liberal education
- Issues like climate, public health, migration, and AI ethics demand cross-domain literacy and ethical reasoning — not narrow technical training alone. Liberal arts train students to synthesize across fields and communicate tradeoffs.
- Surveys from the American Association of Colleges & Universities show strong alignment between liberal-education outcomes and what hiring managers call essential for success — especially agility, integrative reasoning, and ethical judgment.
Supporting St. Thomas University is not just supporting education—it is supporting the future stability and strength of New Brunswick itself.
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Make a gift or discuss your options:
Dionne Izzard, Director of Advancement (Annual & Planned Giving)
McCain Hall, Room 402
Email: dizzard@stu.ca
Phone: 506-452-2140
Tom Meadus, Vice President, Advancement & Alumni Relations
McCain Hall, Room 412
Email: tmeadus@stu.ca