UH Conference Tackles Childhood Education, Workforce Readiness

In the 1970s, less than 30 percent of U.S. jobs required a college degree. By the year 2020, more than 65 percent of new jobs will require employees to have a degree or postsecondary certificate in order to be competitive.

A daylong conference sponsored by the University of Houston Faculty Senate will address challenges in childhood education, talent development and workforce readiness. Pipeline

The “16th Annual Scholarship and Community Conference, The Education Pipeline: Plugging the Leaks” takes place from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Friday, Oct. 23 at the University of Houston Student Center. While there is no cost to attend, those interested are asked to register for the event

“Our purpose is to provide a forum for those people with a vested interested in education, which really is all of us,” said Donna Pattison, chair of the Faculty Senate Community and Government Relations committee and instructional professor in the department of biology and biochemistry. “We will be bringing together experts and key stakeholders from pre-kindergarten through college and career.”

Commissioner of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board Raymund Paredes will discuss a new strategy for 60 percent of Texans between the ages of 25 and 34 to attain a postsecondary credential or degree by the year 2030. The plan, called 60x30TX, means an estimated 550,000 Texans will earn a professional certificate, associate’s degree, bachelor’s degree or master’s degree from a Texas public, independent or for-profit college or university by the year 2030. The strategy also addresses issues of marketable skills and student debt.

In addition, conference participants will hear from Cesar Maldonado/chancellor of the Houston Community College System, on educational attainment and workforce readiness; Dr. Susan H. Landry/director of the Children’s Learning Institute at the UT Health Science Center at Houston, on raising the quality of education programs for young children; and Richard Olenchak/head of the Department of Educational Studies at Purdue University, on the development of the talents of all students.

The conference also will feature break-out sessions to discuss talent development, school-to-work transition, education policy and technology in school curriculum.

The event is sponsored by the UH Faculty Senate, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, the UH Honors College, C.T. Bauer College of Business and Whataburger. 

For more information and to register, visit https://sites.google.com/site/uhfacultysenateconference/home.

WHAT: 16th Annual Scholarship and Community Conference, The Education Pipeline: Plugging the Leaks”

WHEN: 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Friday, Oct. 23

WHERE: University of Houston Student Center, Entrance 1 at University Blvd.