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Nortel executive speaks to students at North Carolina Central University(Herald-Sun, The (Durham, NC) (KRT) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Feb. 17--Today's new workplace requires students to assemble a diverse set of skills, a business leader told N.C. Central University officials and others Thursday. William Donovan, a Nortel senior vice president, gave the keynote address in NCCU's Business and Industry Cluster meeting at the Durham Civic Center. Nortel has a campus in Research Triangle Park. Donovan, a human-resources executive with the telecommunications corporation, said students must be prepared to compete in a global marketplace, in enterprises often that connect them with co-workers in disparate parts of the world. Educators must prepare them to differentiate themselves from other job applicants, Donovan said. At the same time, he said, students must master core skills, especially writing clearly and concisely. Engineers and scientists often neglect English composition, "but it's a skill that separates the excellent from the ordinary," Donovan said. Also, he said, students should learn at least the fundamentals of business. They should know, for example, how to read basic corporate financial reports. "Unfortunately, too many people find the culture and language of business daunting," Donovan said. "It doesn't have to be that way." Finally, universities should inculcate a well-honed sense of ethics, he said. "We want employees who are ethically driven from the time they walk in our doors," he said. The address accompanied a luncheon, a panel discussion and information sessions for NCCU and its corporate partners. The cluster is an ongoing collaboration between the university and area businesses. Chancellor James Ammons started the effort soon after he came to NCCU in 2001 from Florida A&M University, which has a similar program. For the university to cultivate ties with business is a natural symbiosis, Ammons told the gathering of about 100 people. "One of the major reasons people send their children off to college is to get a job," Ammons said. Reprising a theme from earlier in the sessions, Ammons said he may make it a motto for his statewide student-recruiting bus tour next month: "We're in a war for brains," he said. "We're in search of the best talent; we're going to generate the best ideas for the 21st century. But it's our job as faculty and administrators at N.C. Central University to transform them into the kind of thinker that business and industry is going to need so that the United States of America maintains its position in this global economy." Motivational speaker and writer Donald Kimbro addressed business students on NCCU's campus and the luncheon gathering, relating truths from the lives of ordinary grandmothers and celebrities about hope, teamwork and perseverance. "You know why you teach at an HBCU [historically black college or university]," he said. "To set the bar high and be patient with the late bloomers." More than 100 industries participated in the cluster, with 55 of them sustaining members contributing at least $500 apiece, said Susan Hester, interim vice chancellor for institutional advancement. "We provide a one-stop shop," where companies can recruit interns, who in turn benefit from the job experience, and faculty can participate in professional development activities, Hester said. The university also receives corporate scholarships, such as Wachovia's $1 million last year. At Thursday's luncheon, a Xerox representative presented the university with $20,000. NCCU also has forged ties with Credit Suisse First Boston, which is opening a Research Triangle Park facility and was a sponsor of Thursday's event. Other partners include The Herald-Sun and IBM. |