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Thank you Dina for that warm introduction. I'm honored to join Secretary Rice in welcoming you all to the University Presidents Summit.

Did you all stay up late to watch the Longhorns beat USC last night? My professional opinion as the secretary of education is that Vince Young should go back to school next year.

After all, a new year represents a fresh start and an opportunity to dig deep, to do better, to make a difference. Tonight, all of us—Secretary Rice, distinguished leaders of many of our nation's finest universities—have such an opportunity.

An opportunity to make a difference in the lives of our students and the international students who seek our institutions of higher learning. An opportunity to ensure that the finest higher education system in the world remains so in the 21st century. And an opportunity to work together on ideas and programs that not only will equip students with the skills they need to succeed, but also spread democracy abroad and strengthen it here at home.

In this resolution we must not fail, because so much is depending on our higher education system's ability to adapt to the challenges and needs of this century.

As the president made clear earlier today when he announced the National Security Language Initiative, this administration is committed to making sure our students develop the skills they need to compete and thrive.

At the Department of Education, we are working to do our part to increase critical foreign language literacy and align resources with the needs of today's students. As you all know first-hand, preparing students to attend college begins well before the application essays are written.

Through No Child Left Behind's high standards, accountability and annual measurement of progress, we are helping to close the achievement gap among kids from different economic and ethnic backgrounds. And in the process, we are preparing more students for the rigors of college-level learning.

While a more robust K-12 education will provide students greater opportunity to succeed, the fact remains that as our world becomes more competitive, a college degree becomes more imperative. For our students and our nation to keep up in this global environment, we need to not only make sure that we continue to pull international talent to our shores, but we must also send our own students out to become more knowledgeable and conversant in other cultures.

We need a national strategy for strengthening higher education and addressing the issue of global competitiveness. And we need a comprehensive blueprint for our goals in each of those areas. We must start holding ourselves accountable for the progress we want to see in how we are preparing our students to compete successfully.

Earlier this year, I launched the Commission on the Future of Higher Education to foster a national dialogue on how we can meet rising economic demands. Their work, coupled with efforts like this Summit, are moving us towards our shared goal of maintaining our higher education's hard-earned reputation of excellence.

But reaching that goal will require more than the efforts of one commission or one department. It demands our shared, steadfast commitment to build productive partnerships, to pool resources, and to access our unique areas of expertise. The investment we make today in doing so will reap mighty returns for this and future generations.

Ours is a heavy responsibility. We must ensure that our education system remains top-notch, and that every student who seeks that education has the opportunity to acquire it.

This summit is a chance for all of us to roll up our sleeves and get to work. I want to thank you for your willingness to devote your time and energies to this endeavor and also welcome you to what I'm sure will be an exciting opportunity to learn from each other.

I also want to thank Secretary Rice for her leadership on this issue. When we were at the White House together, she often gave us the value of her counsel on domestic policy matters and was especially engaged in the education arena. So, I'm thrilled to continue to work with her on this issue and look forward to her sharing her insights with us this evening.

Again, welcome. I look forward to the good work this summit will produce.

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