Opening Statement By Chairman Bart Gordon

I would like to thank the witnesses for appearing at today’s important hearing on the university response to the globalization of R&D.

The Science and Technology Committee has been a leader in creating policies that strengthen science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education in the United States. The institutions represented on this panel are key contributors to our country’s preeminent STEM education enterprise.

However, as they know all too well, having a STEM degree, even from a top school, no longer guarantees lifelong employment in a well-paying job in the United States. Our students are increasingly competing with well-trained, low cost employees in countries such as India and China.

Universities are our first line of defense in ensuring our leadership in the global economy by giving our scientists and engineers the special skills they need to set themselves apart from the global competition. I am eager to hear about the new efforts you are undertaking to prepare students for the 21st century economy.

I also am curious to learn more about international programs being established by American universities to educate foreign students in their home countries.

While opportunities for international exchange are a key part of improving curriculum, I am eager to hear what the motivations were for your universities to establish campuses offshore, what sorts of opportunities and challenges you are now facing, and what effects you anticipate in the years to come.