kansasregents.org

The Kansas Board of Regents has officially received a summary of its recently-concluded statedwide Business and Industry Roundtable tour. The 12-city tour visited cities from every corner of the state, including Manhattan. This  gave a chance for the Board to meet business leaders all over Kansas. Chair of the Kansas Board of Regents, Jill Docking, says “Local businesses and the state’s higher education institutions are important partners when it comes to the health of the Kansas economy; they possess a unique symbiotic relationship. The Kansas economy won’t grow tihout successful businesses, and businesses won’t reach their full potential without the highly-skilled workers that are produced by the state’s public higher education system.” Each meeting, business leaders were asked to complete a survey focusing on higher education and thw orkforce. The survey results state that 100% of business leaders agree that higher education is critical for ecomic development, higher education will help supply the future workforce, and that education improves the quality of life in the state. Roughly 89% say their community has a shortage of qualified workers, and that elected officials in Topeka should make higher education a higher priority. 83% believe that further reductions in state funding will put the quality of higher education in Kansas at risk. Only 72% believe that state funding for higher education should be increased. This complete roundtable summary can be found at kansasregents.org/download/news.