Update on Programs

Energy

North Carolina has a tremendous opportunity to become a leader among southeastern neighbors in the new energy economy. As part of it’s program of work on energy, IEI will undertake a number of activities this year.

First, IEI is convening champions for six months through September 2008, supporting implementation strategies and promoting change through broad statewide communication and engagement in five key areas:

• 1. Improving Energy Efficiency in Buildings
• 2. Reforming the Utility Regulatory Environment
• 3. Recruiting and Sustaining New Energy Businesses
• 4. Developing a Green Workforce
• 5. Creating Financing Options

Second, through a Business Committee on Energy (BCE), members will educate themselves about North Carolina’s dramatically different energy future and discuss and debate the proper institutional structure for North Carolina to design and implement effective, comprehensive energy policies. Lastly, IEI is organizing Regional Forums in the fall to address local energy issues and generate support for broader statewide initiatives.

Please continue to visit IEI’s web site frequently for updates on Energy.

Higher Education

Since the conclusion of IEI’s Business Committee on Higher Education (BCHE) in late September 2007, committee members and its chairs, Ann Goodnight of SAS and Bob Ingram of GlaxoSmithKline have continued efforts to engage leaders statewide and to promote the work of the committee.

As you know, the UNC Tomorrow Commission and, thus, the UNC Board of Governors unanimously accepted the BCHE’s recommendations. The UNC Tomorrow Commission is now in what is referred to as the “Response Phase.” During the early months of the Response Phase, UNC campuses have begun identifying ways to respond directly to the recommendations laid out in the UNC Tomorrow Commission’s report. Chancellors have created response teams that incorporate involvement from administration, faculty, students and staff with the first phase submission date set in time for the June UNC Board of Governors meeting. Phase two response plans are due in September and December 2008.

In addition to the changes taking place on UNC campuses, BCHE members remain engaged and committed to moving forward the work of the BCHE.

On April 15, Bob Ingram and Ann Goodnight were invited by Mary Linda Andrews (Chair) and Tricia Willoughby (Executive Director) of the North Carolina Business Committee for Education (NCBCE) to meet and discuss the shared goals of the two business committees as the linkages between K-12 and higher education are more apparent now than ever. The meeting served to discuss the ways in which NCBCE is addressing the BCHE’s recommendations. The impact of the BCHE is ongoing and great measures are underway to implement its recommendations.

It is also important to note the some upcoming events to promote the work of the BCHE and to create partnerships in order to carry this work forward. On April 24, Leigh McNairy will make a presentation of the need to transform higher education and the work of the BCHE to the Rotary Club in her hometown of Kinston, NC. Also, in June, Charlotte members of the BCHE– Bill Farmer, Ed Lewis and Shannon McFayden – will meet with the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce’s Standing Committee on Education and Workforce Development in an effort to join forces to promote a market-driven approach to higher education.

This continued interest and engagement in the work of the BCHE is a powerful reminder that North Carolina’s business community is committed to creating and maintaining a workforce that is prepared for success in the 21st economy.

IEI GlaxoSmithKline Faculty Fellows

Read Keith Debbage's piece, which ran in the Greensboro News & Record on why North Carolina must repair its transportation funding.

Are our graduates of higher education learning the soft skills they need to succeed in today's workplace? GSK Fellow Annette Dammer (Fayetteville Technical Community College) asks this very question in an opinion piece published in the May 11, 2008 edition of the Raleigh News and Observer.

Johnny Shull (Central Carolina Community College) wrote an
Earth Day op-ed that appeared in the April 20, 2008 edition of the
Raleigh News and Observer. In it, he calls for an end to the perceived
tension between doing what is best for the environment and what is best
for the bottom line. Referencing the recent Emerging Issues Forum,
Shull argues that businesses could make money while reducing energy use
and developing new energy technologies.

Martin Doyle (UNC-Chapel Hill) submitted comments to the NC
Division of Water Quality over proposed rules relating to dam removal
and stream restoration in North Carolina. Drawing on his extensive
experience working for the federal government, in the private sector,
and a research scientist, Doyle argues for rules in keeping with the
best available science.