Jan 19, 2006 - Claremont, Calif. - The conference opened with a keynote address by Arden L. Bement, Jr., director of the National Science Foundation and included nearly 20 additional speakers addressing topics from globalization and the search for sustainability to responses to growing diversity. "When our nation's innovative spirit gains momentum" Bement said, "we move far ahead of the competition. Throughout our history, we have continually researched and developed 'the next big thing' while the rest of the world gradually catches up. It's been an exhilarating journey, one that has propelled us to the forefront of economic and social prosperity." Bement said later in his address: "Globalization has delivered an imperative to the United States: to transform our education system into one that readily and steadily produces workers who will maintain our national momentum." Sheldon Schuster, president of Keck Graduate Institute of Applied Life Sciences (far right, at podium) along with four presidents of the Association of Independent Technological Universities (AITU). After the panel discussions, Harvey Mudd College college President Jon C. Strauss convened college presidents for a panel discussion of the role of higher education in addressing the challenges of STEM [science, technology, engineering and mathematics] education. In his opening remarks, Strauss, a member of the National Science Board, said: "Not since the Soviet Union's launch of Sputnik almost 50 years ago has the need to improve science and mathematics education in America been as clear and as urgent as it is today. "The rise of high-technology economies across the globe underscores the urgency of finding solutions to what appears to be the intractable problem of raising U.S. student achievement to world-class levels. We are becoming increasingly aware that performance in STEM areas is not merely a limitation of financial and physical resources, but perhaps primarily of cultural factors. Among the poorest and the most affluent alike, cultural factors inhibit interest in acquiring the most basic skills necessary to achieve and excel in STEM fields." In order to provide opportunities for students to attend the conference, which was held three days before the end of the holiday break, the college opened the residence halls for early move-in. Andrew Murphy '07 said his favorite talk was the one on globalization and the skills needed for engineers and scientists. He described it as "animated, inspiring, and most of all forward thinking." Video of many of the day's events is archived on the HMC website at:
Academic leaders, researchers and practitioners gathered for the national conference "The Future of Engineering, Science and Mathematics: Who Will Lead?" at Harvey Mudd College on Saturday, Jan. 14.
George Campbell Jr., president of The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art said, "If we look at the incredible growth in knowledge over the past several decades -- the unprecedented advances in technology -- it's clear that higher education enterprise today sits in a very fertile substrate."
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