Morrisville, NC – Dr. Terri Helmlinger Ratcliff, NC State University Vice Provost for Outreach & Engagement and Executive Director of the Industrial Extension Service (IES), will be a featured panelist at the 2015 Business & Education Round Table, hosted by Business North Carolina magazine. The event will take place at 2 p.m. on Monday, April 20 at Biogen, 5000 Davis Drive in Research Triangle Park.
Dr. Ratcliff will address STEM education and its critical partnerships between public education and the business community. She will join a discussion panel of education, business and civic leaders commenting on the role STEM education plays in enabling the U.S. to remain the economic and technological leader of the 21st century global marketplace.
“In today’s society, it has become vital to provide businesses a workforce that is properly STEM educated,” said Dr. Ratcliff. “This instruction is a valuable tool and plays a crucial role in enabling our future youth to become leaders and compete on a global stage. The value of this round table in exploring the issue, I believe, is important for North Carolina.”
Dr. Ratcliff holds a bachelor's degree in engineering and a doctorate in public administration from N.C. State, and a master’s of business administration from Duke University. She joined IES following a 20-year career with Carolina Power and Light Company. Dr. Ratcliff is a Fellow of the National Society of Professional Engineers, was the Society's first female president and in 2011 was presented with the NSPE Award, the highest award the society confers.
Additional panelists include: Eric Gukian, education advisor to Governor Pat McCrory; Joydeep Ganguly, V.P. and General Manager at Biogen; John Hardin, Executive Director of the Office of Science, Technology & Innovation at the North Carolina Department of Commerce; Tony Habit, President of North Carolina New Schools; and Michele M. Holbrook, Wilmington Plant Manager at Corning Optical Communications.
Business North Carolina magazine publisher Ben Kinney will moderate the discussion. Results of the round table will be published in the magazine’s June 2015 issue.
IES is a solutions-based, industry and business focused unit of NC State University that provides high-performance business solutions, university and community connections and engineering know-how to help organizations increase productivity, promote growth and enhance performance. Its world-leading experts and experienced industry specialists engineer solutions that create economic, societal and intellectual prosperity.
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