Manufacturing and higher education, two industries that are core to America’s historic prosperity, face growing existential threats. One space where the two collide is in the small towns and cities comprising rural America. In these communities scattered across the nation, we find relics of the past and possibly the key to their future: small liberal arts colleges struggling to enroll enough students, and small to medium-sized manufacturers desperate for talent that will allow them to grow and innovate.
In towns like the one I call home, Meadville, Pennsylvania, manufacturing and higher education until recently never collaborated. They merely coexisted.
Public perception is at the heart of the struggle for both industries. Images of the smoke-filled air and sooty factories of the early 20th century still hold too much weight in the minds of young people looking for viable career paths that channel their interests in technology and sustainability. For higher education, the value of a four-year degree is under relentless attack despite decades worth of data that still demonstrates the long-term financial benefit of a degree.
Read more at Industry Week.
