APLU’s Sheila Martin Speaks on Role of Universities at National Governors Association’s Good Jobs for All Solutions Summit

Sheila Martin, APLU’s Vice President for Economic Development and Community Engagement, is at a National Governors Association’s meeting today at which she will be participating in a panel discussion examining how higher education is creating inclusive opportunities for working learners and meeting shifting workforce needs. The panel is part of the NGA’s Good Jobs for All Solutions Summit now taking place in Whitefish, Montana.

For the summit, APLU produced a white paper examining the critical importance of inclusive and responsive institutions of higher education. The paper, titled Scaling Student Success: Higher Education Responding to 21^st Century Workforce Needs, also highlights examples of institutions that have innovated to meet adult learners’ unique needs, address workforce shortages, and contain costs of the education they deliver.

The panel today at the NGA’s Good Jobs for All summit will outline the key challenges and successes higher education leaders have experienced in creating inclusive opportunities for working learners while meeting the shifting workforce needs in their communities.

The panel participants are:

• Marty Alvarado, Executive Vice Chancellor of Education Services, California Community Colleges
• Sheila Martin, Vice President for Economic Development and Community Engagement, Association of Public & Land-grant Universities
• Mark Pagano, Chancellor, University of Washington Tacoma
• Scott Pulsipher, President, Western Governors University
• Moderator: Debbie Hughes, Senior Strategist, Entangled Solutions