Dr. Mark Blegen in Star Tribune on the importance of a liberal arts education

Mark Blegen

Exercise physiologist and NEXSS faculty Dr. Mark Blegen was published in the Star Tribune. Photo by Amy Mullowney '19.


St. Kate's NEXSS faculty Dr. Mark Blegen was published in the Star Tribune opinion section in late April. In his article, "Sending your kid to college: Why, you ask, should you pay for liberal arts?" Blegen explains that a liberal arts education provides the tools necessary to prepare for life by connecting different disciplines and ways of thinking.

Blegen is an exercise physiologist who focuses on why we eat and the physiological response to high intensity interval training. He serves as both associate dean in the Henrietta Schmoll School of Health and as the chair of the Department of Nutrition and Exercise Science (NEXSS).


"Much like lights in a park show us new trails to travel, the liberal arts illuminate new and undiscovered paths for us to explore. Liberal arts as illumination allows light to be directed to our professions and be reflected back from the same, incorporating the expertise of the disciplinary depth, allowing for even more understanding. In this context, the liberal arts are alive and, more important, are connected to, not separate from, individual disciplines and professions."

— Dr. Mark Blegen, "Sending your kid to college: Why, you ask, should you pay for liberal arts?"


St. Kate's Exercise and Sport Science