(L-R) Moderator Martha Clark Lofgren, left, interim president and CEO of the Sacramento Metro Chamber, UC Davis Chancellor Linda Katehi, Sacramento State President Alexander Gonzalez and Los Rios Community College District Chancellor Brice Harris participate in a panel discussion at Convergence VIII. Photo courtesy of Steve McKay for Office of Public Affairs, Sacramento State
Over 300 participants attended the final Convergence program of 2011 on December 9th, which focused on the region’s higher education sector.
Higher education in the Capital Region, comprised over a dozen public and private colleges and universities, is a powerful industry sector in and of itself, in addition to its core role of producing intellectual and human capital in the form of research, and a talent pool of educated and highly skilled people.
While offering degree programs that provide graduates the education and skills they need for careers in the region’s highest demand fields—healthcare, engineering, clean energy technology, business/entrepreneurism, education, biotechnology—higher education leaders continue to struggle with the adverse impacts of the state’s chronic budget crisis to curriculum, programs and operational budgets.
Convergence provided a powerful platform for three of the region’s higher education leaders: UC Davis Chancellor Linda Katehi, Sacramento State President Alex Gonzalez, and Los Rios Community College District Chancellor Brice Harris. The three were asked to discuss how their institutions were poised to advance the region’s economic future and discuss what civic and business leaders in the Capital Region can do to support their efforts. Read about the panel discussion in the full Convergence Report