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Asw. Riley: Legislature's vote is victory for higher education

Saturday, 30 June 2012 14:00
BY CELESTE RILEY
COMMENTARY

With the Legislature’s June 28 vote to restructure New Jersey’s higher education system, we had the opportunity to vote on change that will improve opportunity and access to higher education and to medical education throughout New Jersey.

New Jersey is falling behind in the education of our workforce, but with that vote, we made an investment into our higher education system that will ultimately drive economic development.

A strong research base will not only provide our premier research universities with more federal research dollars, but historically these institutions help to attract more private investments and research-related corporations that will infuse our state with jobs and economic growth.

This is not a new concept. Legislative bodies have tried before to accomplish this much needed initiative because they knew we needed this to compete in an ever changing and globalizing world, but it never got done until now.

This legislation that I had the honor to support and shepherd though the Legislature evolved over several months, and I believe the final product was best possible outcome for our state's currently fragmented higher education network.

The future of jobs and employment in this state is no longer based in manufacturing. They will be based in health care, pharmacology, science and technology research. These changes will provide the tools necessary to help them move these institutions into the future.

Finally, I'm a child of the space age. I remember our country being challenged by the Soviet Union to put a man on the moon. It's time we addressed education with the same sense of urgency we felt when we believed the Soviets threatened us and our way of life. The time is now.

N.J. Assemblywoman Celeste Riley (D-3) is a public school teacher and chairs the Higher Education Committee.

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