Why the White House Announced Its Broadest Innovation Investment at a Community College
In The News Piece in Forbes
Sept. 23, 2024
In a new article for Forbes, Shalin Jyotishi discusses the White House’s decision to announce its largest innovation investment at a community college, highlighting the role of these institutions in fostering local innovation, job creation, and economic development.
While you may not think it from most headlines, the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 was more than a semiconductor bill. As emphasized by Rep. Frank Lucas (R-Okla.), chair of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, the “science” portion of the CHIPS and Science Act will be “the engine of America’s economic development for decades to come.” Community colleges are critical to that economic growth.
The CHIPS Act was a bipartisan, multi-billion dollar return of American industrial policy and a big deal for education and workforce development across STEM industries. The legislation funneled billions into shoring up the semiconductor industry, but it also set the stage to reinvigorate our R&D and technology development infrastructure with the goal of accelerating job creation and growing strategic industries in key emerging technology areas Congress enshrined in the bill.
CHIPS has major implications for how the nation funds research and development, how that R&D gets translated into economic growth and job creation, and how we can align technology and talent development.