Those who work in all sectors of higher education--from community and liberal arts colleges to undergraduate programs in public and research universities--often assert that a "liberal education" is precisely the kind of undergraduate education that is needed for both living and working in the challenging 21st-century world. "Liberal education" or "liberal learning," as used in this essay, is consonant with the Association of American Colleges and Universities' (AAC&U's) notion of the "practical liberal arts": well-rounded and integrated learning in the arts, humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, and professional studies that can be applied to contemporary problems. In this essay the author argues that innovative and integrated student learning and flexible and interdisciplinary institutional structures and curricula must emerge if educators are to deliver on the promises of a liberal education that can help their graduates address the "black swans" in this age of the unthinkable. "Black swans" is the metaphor used by Nassim Nicholas Taleb for unpredictable events. (Contains 15 resources.)