Building a Globally Competitive South Forum Nov. 17

NC State and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill will sponsor a forum, “A Way Forward: Building a Globally Competitive South,” on Nov. 17 in Cary.

“There’s no question that the research, innovation and graduates produced at colleges and universities have had a strong and positive impact on the South and the nation,” Chancellor Randy Woodson said. “This forum is a great opportunity to sharpen our focus and seek ways to work together toward helping our state and region regain their economic vitality.”

Woodson and UNC-Chapel Hill Chancellor Holden Thorp will convene the free public forum from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., with a reception to follow, at the world headquarters of business analytics software company SAS, 100 SAS Campus Drive in Cary. Thursday, Nov. 10 is the deadline to register online.

NC State’s Institute for Emerging Issues and UNC’s Global Research Institute organized the forum.

Recent studies show that incomes in the South have slipped 6.3 percent since 2007. In a report last year, the Southern Growth Policies Board wrote that Southern states have lost more than 1.5 million jobs in the past two years, and unemployment rates are at or near record highs.

“We need to act purposefully to reset our region’s upward trajectory,” Thorp said. “The forum will bring together people and ideas that can help us all better understand what it’s going to take to move the South and North Carolina forward for the long term.”

Here are the scheduled speakers:

• Former N.C. Gov. Jim Hunt
• UNC President Tom Ross
• N.C. Secretary of Commerce Keith Crisco
• N.C. Central University Chancellor Charles Nelms
• William B. Harrison Jr., retired chairman and chief executive officer of JPMorgan Chase & Co. and UNC alumnus
• James W. Owens, former chairman and chief executive officer of Caterpillar Inc. and member of the NC State Board of Trustees

The forum is supported by FedEx Corp. and hosted by SAS and its cofounders, CEO Jim Goodnight and Executive Vice President John Sall. It coincides with Global Research Institute’s release of a new report with the same title as the forum.