As demographic and
technological changes transform U.S. society and the economy, the need
for quality jobs is increasingly important, University of Delaware
President Dennis Assanis told an audience at a panel discussion hosted
by UDs Biden Institute on Tuesday, Sept. 19.
Quality jobs, offering such advantages as good pay, benefits and
opportunities for advancement, benefit both workers and their
communities, Assanis said. He welcomed a distinguished panel of top
business, labor, government and nonprofit leaders to a full house of
students, faculty, staff, alumni and dignitaries at Mitchell Hall on the
UD campus.
We all want quality jobs, Assanis said. But creating that future
depends on the choices our society makes todaychoices about public
policies, financial incentives, access to education and support for the
research and innovations that will drive our economy forward.
Led by former Vice President Joe Biden, the institutes founding
chair and a 1965 UD alumnus, the discussion was titled, Choosing a
Future of Quality Jobs. The panel was the kick-off event for the Biden
Institutes semester-long policy focus on jobs and the economy, which is
expected to conclude with the release of proposed policy solutions.
Biden began the discussion by acknowledging that economic changes that have displaced many workers have left them discouraged.
The world is changing, Biden said. Some of them look at the future and wonder where they fit in that future.
The answer goes to the importance of having, not just an income, but
also a job that offers dignity and a chance to contribute, he said.
Americas success over the years has been the result of a stable and
expanding middle class, Biden said, and he urged leaders to find ways to
identify strategies for economic growth that emphasize putting work
first.
Everyone, no matter what their station, is entitled to be treated with dignity, he said.