U.S. News & World Report – Alan Neuhauser
“Building a lucrative career in science, technology, engineering or math doesn’t mean merely excelling at chemistry or physics – it also demands broader skills, industry executives and education leaders said during a keynote luncheon Thursday at the U.S. News STEM Solutions Conference. “We’re looking for people who have a good grasp of the basic sciences, but we also look people who have the soft skills as well: people who have the ability to team…the ability to persuade,” said John Tracy, chief technology officer at Boeing. Those abilities, he added, “are just as important as the fundamentals of engineering.” Norman Francis, president emeritus of Xavier University of Louisiana, agreed. “The only thing that’s going to bring us where we need to be,” he said, “is to educate the people in a broad sense.” That education, he and other panelists said, needs to start at a young age, with strong support from parents and teachers.”(more)