NEW YORK, June 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Harold McGraw III, chairman, president and CEO of The McGraw-Hill Companies , delivered today's commencement address at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth. In his address, Mr. McGraw spoke on the issue of American competitiveness in the global economy and the responsibility and authority that Tuck's graduates have as future business leaders of our country.
Encouraging students to keep their sites on America's role in the global marketplace, Mr. McGraw spoke of the country's status as a global leader in danger of losing its competitive edge:
"Your graduation is timely, desperately needed, and the business world awaits your leadership. Unlike no other time, America and American business faces a serious shortage of highly skilled talent, and at a time when our world is rapidly growing up, and 'transformational change' is influencing and affecting every business, every industry, every country. Our competitiveness is at stake."
Regarding the state of education in the U.S., Mr. McGraw continued, "Today the quality of education is the overriding domestic issue in our country. It's a major concern for the United States. It's a major issue for the business community. It is an issue that will preoccupy many of you as future business leaders. And the reason that it will preoccupy you is that - put bluntly - our nation faces a shortage of human capital."
Concluding, Mr. McGraw spoke about the responsibility of the business world and Tuck's graduating class toward ensuring that education in America remains a priority for all Americans.
"Those of us who are in the business community have a major obligation - call it self-interest if you wish - to make sure that our education system produces these vital human resources. As a nation we need to develop our human resources - our 'talent pool' - and reverse the declines in educational quantity and quality of the last few decades. As a business community, we need to support efforts in both the public and private sectors to equip our young people with the skills they need to compete in an increasingly demanding global environment. As individual corporate leaders we need to recognize that success resides not upon our own knowledge and wisdom but upon our ability to recruit, develop and empower an effective 'talent pool.' As executives we need to model the qualities that we require in our talent pool - including the willingness to capture new ideas wherever they come from."
Founded in 1900, the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth was the nation's first graduate school of business and consistently ranks in the top 10 in all major business school rankings.
About The McGraw-Hill Companies:
Founded in 1888, The McGraw-Hill Companies is a leading global information services provider meeting worldwide needs in the financial services, education and business information markets through leading brands such as Standard & Poor's, McGraw-Hill Education, BusinessWeek and J.D. Power and Associates. The Corporation has more than 280 offices in 40 countries. Sales in 2006 were $6.3 billion. Additional information is available at http://www.mcgraw-hill.com/.
Release issued: June 9, 2007
