I am, however, grateful for the timeliness of your invitation, because we have important issues to discuss. Our main task is very clear, and has been since the system was organized more than 35 years ago. North Carolina s community colleges are about jobs. We educate tomorrow's work force. Community colleges equip North Carolinians for real jobs with real futures.
Community colleges provide North Carolina's industries with quality workers.
Community colleges help the economy move forward by growing new jobs with the promise of great futures. More and more, they are in your business, health care, or in a closely related business like insurance, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology. In fact, North Carolina is on the leading edge of the next great wave of change in the economy. A few weeks ago, I attended the meeting of the Southern Growth Policies Board. One of our speakers told us that what he called the bio-economy is the next step in the evolution of our economy.