Heidi Charlebois, of North Attleboro, earns master's degree from Clark University

WORCESTER, MA (06/25/2012)(readMedia)-- Hedi Charlebois, of North Attleboro, Mass., received a Master of Arts in International Development and Social Change from Clark University on May 20, 2012.

During the 108th Commencement exercises, Clark awarded 546 baccalaureate, 520 masters, and 26 doctoral degrees. Carol Geary Schneider, the president of the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U), delivered the Commencement address. AAC&U is the leading national organization devoted to advancing and strengthening undergraduate liberal education.

Schneider acknowledged that some pundits have questioned whether a liberal arts education is still a smart choice in this economy. She told the graduating class that, through surveys and focus groups, she has learned that "employers place very high value on the big-picture thinking and the strong intellectual skills that a Clark University education provides."

"Employers are looking for people...who have strong communication skills, who can write well, who can speak well, who have excellent critical thinking skills, who have research skills, problem solving skills. They care a lot about diversity and they want to know they are hiring people that not only can work with, but are positioned to learn from, those whose experiences and world views are different from their own," she said. "All of these have been fundamental to your undergraduate and graduate education at Clark."

Founded in 1887 in Worcester, Massachusetts, Clark University is a small, liberal arts-based research university addressing social and human imperatives on a global scale. Nationally renowned as a college that changes lives, Clark is emerging as a transformative force in higher education today. LEEP (Liberal Education and Effective Practice) is Clark's pioneering model of education that combines a robust liberal arts curriculum with life-changing world and workplace experiences. Clark's faculty and students work across boundaries to develop solutions to contemporary challenges in the areas of psychology, geography, management, urban education, Holocaust and genocide studies, environmental studies, and international development and social change. The Clark educational experience embodies the University's motto: Challenge convention. Change our world.