Getting Educated About Higher Education
T. Boone Pickens
Memorial account for T. Boone Pickens, 1928-2019. This account is now being maintained by TBP Foundation team members.
I recently had the opportunity to sit down for a discussion about higher education with Jack DeGioia, President of Georgetown University, and Eduardo Padrón, President of Miami Dade College. Here are four insights on higher education they shared with me:
The single greatest challenge facing higher education? Access and opportunity for all young Americans. Why?
Because since the Great Recession, 11.6 million jobs have been created in the United States. Yet only 80,000 went to high school graduates. Anyone entering the workforce without an associate’s degree or a bachelor’s degree faces a distinct disadvantage.
We cannot produce enough post-secondary graduates at two-year and four-year schools to meet the needs of our economy. Think about that. We cannot mint enough college graduates to meet the demand of the U.S. economy.
Talent is universal. But opportunity is not. America’s post-secondary educational system continues to lead the world. I’ve done my part to better it by donating more than half a billion dollars to universities such as Oklahoma State and Georgetown. I challenge you to make a pledge.
Hear more insights on higher education in this latest episode of the Pickens Podcast. Subscribe on AudioBoom or iTunes.
Owner Davis Master Shots: Custom Photography
8 年If there were more jobs, the requirement for a degree would become less of a factor except where critically needed. Also there are fewer people entering the trades. When This Old House ends one of their programs with a campaign for applicants for the trades, additionally offering scholarships, we know the opportunities are there but not taken. The future is looking brighter.
Project Manager/Program Manager
8 年There are good paying jobs in the construction industry which will increase in number if we finally decide to do something about our infrastructure. You can be a plumber, heavy equipment operator, carpenter, electrician, HVAC Technician and support your family without sitting in a classroom for 4 or more years.
There are brilliant, self educated professionals who are over qualified for the jobs in which they are employed that require no degrees. There is an abundance of professionals who cannot find the suited employment matching their college degrees with quite a bit of their degree never having a real use in the world. The question is, "Should organizations reconsider hiring people without degrees and consider the great potential and trainable attributes that one has"? College degrees do not guarantee success for the employer.
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8 年1.818.863.6003
Automotive "Dreams" Come True Inc. CEO
8 年Maybe be better probably schools from high school to college and stop dumbing down our kids and teach them crap instead of Reading Writing and arithmetic.