Public perception of the liberal arts is declining. Yet the cognitive skills that a liberal education aims to engender are the key skills that employers and the public value most. To address this seeming paradox, we must redesign the general education core and focus squarely on essential outcomes. Specifically, we must ensure that when students graduate, they are able to apply key cognitive skills such as effective communication, cultural sensitivity, ethics and values, information and technology literacy, relational skills, and quantitative literacy in their personal and professional lives. The most effective way to ensure this outcome is to focus on it directly and unequivocally in curriculum design.