July 2014 - Parks & Recreation - 42

ACADEMICS

the Project on Student Loan Debt,
seven in 10 college seniors graduating in 2013 did so carrying almost
$30,000 in debt each. Those who go
on to attend graduate school may incur even greater financial burdens,
which can take decades to pay off.
Observations like these beg the question: Is today's college degree worth
it? Furthermore, for those in the park
and recreation profession, will pursuing a degree in this field make any
discernable impact on hiring managers? Do these programs still have
relevance in preparing the next generation of park and recreation professionals?
Robert Ashcraft, Ph.D., executive director of Arizona State University's (ASU) Lodestar Center for
Philanthropy and Nonprofit Innovation, associate professor at ASU's
School of Community Resources
and Development, and chair of NRPA's Board of Directors, lends some
insight, saying, " There is no question
that expenses to pursue higher educa-

Parks & Recreation

tion have escalated, resulting in some
individuals questioning whether the
costs are worth the reward any longer
for earning a degree. Confounding
the view is the extent to which professional degrees for specific fields
are being devalued in favor of virtually any general degree as employers
seek to hire talent. Such a debate is
not unique to parks and recreation....
What all employers desire, and this is
certainly true of park and recreation
agencies, is for employees to demonstrate strong oral and written communication skills, show an ability to
work effectively in teams and exhibit
cross-cultural competence, among
other 'soft' skills. If a park and recreation degree program can demonstrate results in producing graduates
who have competencies in both the
specific field of practice along with
the more general skills applicable to
any field, then I'd say that's a powerful argument for relevance that would
capture the attention of any park and
recreation hiring manager. "

| J U LY 2 0 1 4 | W W W. N R PA . O R G

We know the realm of parks and
recreation is expanding, as it has for
more than half a century. A recent
study by Georgetown University
found those students who majored in
parks and recreation ranked among
the lowest in unemployment, at just
5.2 percent (https://cew.georgetown.
edu/unemployment2013).
Urban
planners, as they go about creating
livable spaces for a growing population, know parks have a positive
effect on everything from property
values to resident health outcomes,
business attraction and retention. As
this field continues to gain relevance,
it's fair to ask: How do we define today's field of parks and recreation,
and what do we need to do to make
sure professionals are prepared to
tackle the myriad questions that face
us now and into the future?
A Many-Faceted Role
" Public parks and recreation is perhaps the most complicated government service there is, " says Mickey Fearn, professor of practice at
North Carolina State University's
Parks, Recreation and Tourism
Management Department. " It does
everything that every other government agency does. [Park and
recreation professionals] are problemsolvers, but we're blind to our
potential. We should be the primary
public agency to affect the fabric of
American society. "
Indeed, over the years park and
recreation agencies have taken on the
tasks of facilitating summer feeding
programs; implementing activities
for seniors, afterschool time and day
care; hosting various entertainment
events like concerts and movies; and
still more. In so doing, park and recreation professionals often partner
with other essential services like fire
and police, and are routinely called
upon to justify their department's ex-

July 2014 - Parks & Recreation

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