Monday, February 04, 2008
Governor Joins Legislators To Announce New Co-chairs Of Institute For Tomorrow's Workforce
UNI President Ben Allen and Max Phillips Named Co-Chairs to ITW
Des Moines – Today, Governor Chet Culver joins Iowa Senate President Jack Kibbie and House Speaker Pat Murphy in naming University of Northern Iowa President Ben Allen and Qwest Communications President Max Phillips as co-chairs of the Institute for Tomorrow’s Workforce (ITW).
Senator Kibbie appointed President Allen and Speaker Murphy appointed Mr. Phillips. The Governor will work with ITW to study Iowa’s education funding system and policies to improve education equity across the state.
“I am very pleased to announce that President Allen and Max Phillips have agreed to co-chair this important foundation,” said Governor Culver. “These two talented individuals have the deep understanding of education necessary to address our future workforce needs. In addition, President Allen and Mr. Phillips each share my passion for looking into the causes of education inequity in Iowa and bringing people together to ensure young people across the entire state have access to the same, quality education.”
The Institute for Tomorrow’s Workforce is a non-profit educational foundation created by the Iowa General Assembly. Its mission is to provide a long-term forum for bold, innovative recommendations to improve Iowa’s education system to meet the workforce needs of Iowa’s new economy.
"I believe the Institute for Tomorrow’s Workforce is an important initiative to ensure that education in Iowa remains the best in the nation and provides equal opportunities for all students,” said Sen. Kibbie. “I am pleased to appoint Iowans, including President Ben Allen, who want to work on these important initiatives.”
"As the Iowa president of Qwest, Max Phillips understands that quality education is essential to the future success of our state and his company,” said Speaker Murphy. “As chair of the Iowa Business Council and a member of the Iowa Board of Education, he worked tirelessly to make quality preschool available to Iowa children and we accomplished that goal last session. Max's passion for education will serve the Institute for Tomorrow's Workforce well.”
“Educators and employers across the state have told me we must find a way to tap Iowa’s incredible education system to meet our future workforce needs,” continued Governor Culver. “I have been very focused on bringing quality jobs to our state, and now we need to make sure we have a qualified workforce ready to do the work. We face a potential workforce shortage over the next five to ten years, so now more than ever we must focus on how we achieve education equity across the state so Iowans graduate with the skills necessary to meet the demand of our 21st Century economy.”
MAX PHILLIPS:
Max Phillips was appointed in September 2005 to the State Board of Education for a term expiring April 2008. Phillips is President of Qwest Communications in Iowa and former President of the Woodward-Granger school board. He was elected to three terms as mayor of Bouton, Iowa, from 1981-1986. Phillips served for seven years as co-chair of Iowa's Small Business Advisory Council and has participated in various economic development and educational reform initiatives at the state level, including the Iowa Learns Council. Phillips earned a masters in business administration from the University of Iowa, as well as a master's degree from Concordia Seminary.
BEN ALLEN:
Benjamin J. Allen was named the ninth president of the University of Northern Iowa on April 28, 2006, and assumed his duties on June 5, 2006. He received his doctorate and master’s degree in economics from the University of Illinois and his bachelor’s of science degree in business economics from Indiana University.
President Allen was the vice president for academic affairs and provost at Iowa State University and was responsible to the president for all aspects of the academic programs at Iowa State.
Before joining the faculty at Iowa State University in 1979, he taught at Washington State University and was a Brookings Economics Policy Fellow in the Office of Transportation Regulatory Policy, U.S. Department of Transportation. He served as chairman of the Department of Transportation and Logistics at Iowa State from 1984 to 1988. In 1988 he was named the first University Distinguished Professor in Business at Iowa State University.
He served as dean of the Iowa State University College of Business from 1995 to 2000 and in 2001-2002 he served as interim vice president for external affairs, and in 2002 he served as Provost in the interim. From 2003 to 2006, President Allen served, in full appointment, as the vice president for external affairs and provost, until joining the University of Northern Iowa.