Governor Patton Sets Education Agenda for National Group
July 8, 1998
Contact: Melissa Forsythe or Mark Pfeiffer
Portland, Oregon: Kentucky’s in the forefront of efforts to improve postsecondary education, and now Governor Paul Patton will be promoting the value of and need for change on a national level. As Governor Patton took the gavel as Chairman of the Education Commission of the States, he told the conference meeting in Portland, " It’s become increasingly apparent how important the work we’re doing has become. In the last decade, many states have made an effort to improve kindergarten through grade 12 education, including Kentucky. Now many governors are targeting the need for zero to five education. I would hope we can get our country to concentrate similarly on postsecondary education."
Governor Patton’s agenda for his year as Chairman of ECS is , "Transforming Postsecondary Education for the 21st Century." Governor Patton said, "Our system is good, but it must change to meet the new challenges and the different circumstances of the future."
His goals are to ensure that the postsecondary education system is effectively linked to student needs, statewide priorities, and economic growth. Governor Patton said, "If this group of governors, legislators and educators works together to promote awareness of this new challenge, we can make our system more efficient, responsive, and accessible ."
Governor Patton said that it’s in society’s best interests for everyone to be educated. " The cost of postsecondary education is more than tuition, room and board. The cost we don’t talk about is lost opportunity."
The governor will work with ECS members from 53 states and territories to elevate postsecondary education and the need for lifelong learning during his tenure as chair.
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ECS
Brochure: Transforming Postsecondary Education for the 21st Century