I recently had the privilege of addressing the Class of 2008 at Bethany College. Major League Baseball Commissioner Allan H. "Bud" Selig delivered an inspirational commencement address to our graduates, but as the last strains of "Pomp and Circumstance" faded, I wondered -- as I always do -- how well our students' college education had prepared them for life beyond our halls. Had we truly prepared them to go forth and thrive in a volatile and competitive world?

Much has been written and spoken about the nature of and need for change in this presidential campaign season. Thousands of young men and women across the nation graduated into an era of social and economic tumult this spring, but that has always been the case. More than 160 years ago, Bethany's first alumni graduated into a nation on the verge of being torn asunder by a civil war that, among many lasting consequences, led to the establishment of the state of West Virginia.

To quote a popular television commercial, "While we cannot protect against change, we can plan for it."

Marcus Aurelius, one of the greatest Roman emperors, recognized the universal nature of change when he said in the first century AD, "Observe always that everything is the result of change, and get used to thinking that there is nothing nature loves so well."

Rather than a straight arrow of progress, many of us have observed that change is often more like the movement of a pendulum, progressing and then regressing but ultimately moving forward. But while the inevitability of change is constant, the nature of change is often unpredictable.

When I graduated from West Virginia Wesleyan College, I remember predictions that by the 21st century we would be living in colonies on the moon, cars would be obsolete and we would be wearing disposable paper clothing. None of those things has yet come to pass, but other forces -- especially the Internet revolution and the increasing pluralism of our nation and world -- have revolutionized our daily lives nevertheless.

One of the hallmarks of a liberal arts education is the ability to adapt to and channel change. While the liberal arts really have never gone out of style, too often we as educators have not properly translated its benefits to students and families. There are many persistent myths that we have let stand; one is the false impression that a liberal arts education and career preparation are mutually exclusive. Nothing could be further from the truth.

The president of a leading community college in the mid-Atlantic region observed recently that more than two-thirds of all jobs in the 21st century will require less than a four-year degree but more than a high school diploma. While agreeing with the fundamental truth of that, the fact is that when it comes to preparing for unknowable change, a broad liberal arts education trumps narrow career training any day. Socioeconomically disadvantaged students in particular have too often been channeled into such limited programs.

A strong liberal arts education centered upon effective analytical, communications and critical thinking skills is the best background for a solid and rewarding career a student can possess in an ephemeral jobs market. Regardless of what "hot" careers may exist 10, 20 or even 30 years from now, an education grounded upon the knowledge, skills and service-orientation that are honed by a values-centered institution of higher education will prepare today's students for an era of greater expectations in every sphere of life.

For this reason, I continue to champion the value of a contemporary liberal arts education as a requirement for those who would make a difference in a knowledge-intensive, global economy, both for individual students and for a nation dependent on economic creativity and democratic vitality.

Much like the inevitability of our own mortality, the question surrounding change is not "if" but "when?"

While we as educators, business and political decision makers cannot offer our 2008 graduates a suit of steel-plated armor against all the vicissitudes of life, we can provide something even more valuable. Unlike material possessions and ephemeral careers, an excellent education is the one asset that can never be taken away. In the words of a current credit card ad, "It's priceless."

Scott D. Miller is the new president of Bethany College in Brooke County. For the past 10 years, he served as president of Wesley College in Dover, Del. A graduate of West Virginia Wesleyan College, he was a reporter for the Buckhannon Record-Delta and Weston Independent before becoming a higher education administrator. This is his 18th year as a college president.