MSU President Lou Anna K. Simon. Photo by Kurt Stepnitz.

Click on an image to view a larger or high-resolution version.

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Beyond today’s economic issues, America needs to recapture its work force competitiveness in the face of technological change and competition from an increasingly educated world.

That will be Michigan State University President Lou Anna K. Simon’s message to business leaders at the National Summit in Detroit June 15-17.

“The knowledge economy is the driver of the jobs being created today. Those who can’t fully participate in this economy due to inadequate education will face diminishing opportunities and reduced quality of life,” Simon said.

A high school education and work ethic were sufficient to succeed in the booming post-World War II years, she said, but no more. A college education is today’s base point for building a career, yet Americans’ educational attainment levels are flat while those for competing nations are rising quickly.

American workers, Simon said, are falling behind in the world talent market.

The challenge of extending world-class higher education to the broadest segment of U.S. citizens is one MSU has shouldered for more than 150 years, she added.

“Michigan State’s founding values of inclusiveness, service and innovation have long oriented us to education and career preparation for jobs of both today and tomorrow, and to making a difference in our communities,” she said. “We’re about providing cutting-edge knowledge to our students while building community capacity to innovate, locally and globally.”

“Re-skilling” of America’s labor force in the technology and manufacturing areas is a top concern among those responding to surveys from the National Summit, according to an analysis from MSU’s Eli Broad College of Business. The nation needs to support lifelong learning opportunities to accommodate workers’ increasing need to keep up with technological change, Simon said.

Simon speaks 8 a.m. June 17 at the National Summit. She will participate in a general session panel discussion on talent management and development to kick off the final day.

She also will join with University of Michigan President Mary Sue Coleman and Wayne State University President Jay Noren to represent the Michigan University Research Corridor to the nation’s CEOs and international news media at the summit. They will emphasize that the URC is a formidable force for innovation and driver of Michigan’s 21st-century economy.

The National Summit will be convened by the Detroit Economic Club at the Marriott Renaissance Center in Detroit. A unique national conversation, it will engage a cross-section of prominent business, labor, government and academic leaders in dialogue focusing on four areas of vital importance to America’s future in a global economy: technology, energy, environment and manufacturing.

For more on the National Summit, visit: http://www.nationalsummit.org/.

For more on the URC, visit: www.urcmich.org.

###

Michigan State University has been advancing knowledge and transforming lives through innovative teaching, research and outreach for more than 150 years. MSU is known internationally as a major public university with global reach and extraordinary impact. Its 17 degree-granting colleges attract scholars worldwide who are interested in combining education with practical problem solving.