By Veronica Buckman
‘Tis the season for good news, so here is some: Three academic initiatives at the local, state and regional levels with ambitious vision may greatly improve Georgia’s chances for educational and economic success.
That’s how I interpret developments from Fulton County Schools, the Georgia Board of Regents and the newly formed consortium of southeastern colleges, called SECU. Members of these groups are spearheading different efforts to bolster education and strengthen our economy with a trained workforce.
If you add these three movements to the Georgia Workforce Development’s project to “Go Build Georgia” – an initiative launched last year by Gov. Nathan Deal to train skilled labor through the state’s Technical College System of Georgia – one may hope that our leaders are positioning Georgia to become globally.
First the local angle, with Fulton County School Superintendent Robert Avossa recently announcing “Strategic Plan 2017: Building Our Future.” Unveiled in October, the plan has three goals: That 90 percent of Fulton students will graduate on time, that 85 percent will be eligible for admission to a college within the Georgia system, and that 100 percent of graduates will be work-ready certified. See the details at www.fultonschools.org.
Second, on the state level, the University System of Georgia held a “Chancellor’s Economic Development Forum” last month with Chancellor Hank Huckaby and Department of Economic Development Commissioner Chris Cummiskey. Teams of professors and students from Georgia’s research universities discussed partnering with creative start-ups and established businesses for moving new products into the marketplace. Information on that is at www.usg.edu.
To these local and state initiatives, we can also add an exciting regional effort called SECU. Consisting of the 14 colleges that make up the Southeastern Conference, including the University of Georgia, SECU plans to showcase research at the inaugural “SEC Symposium”on Feb. 10-12 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Atlanta. Entitled the “Impact of the Southeast in the World’s Renewable Energy Future,” the symposium will feature scientific leaders discussing biomass-delivered renewable energy and how southern states can profit. Visit www.secsymposium.com/ for a rundown of events.
These three efforts compliment programs within the Technical College System of Georgia, where schools train students in specific skills to meet workforce demands. Check out the options at https://tcsg.edu/.
Georgia’s education system is far from perfect, but it is good news when combined efforts of local, state and regional leaders in academia and industry offer promising opportunities for individual and collective economic success.
