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Category: In the News

Ventriss Op-Ed: Rethinking Education Governance

by Lisa Ventriss, President, Vermont Business Roundtable

In the winter of 2007 the Vermont Business Roundtable, along with the Vermont Superintendents Association, convened a group of business and education leaders around some simple goals: to develop mutual understanding and respect for our respective issues and priorities; to inform each other’s thinking with factual information and industry insight; and, to find common ground that could lay the foundation for policy recommendations. We recruited organizations that could bring balance and non-partisan independence to our discussions, and charged ourselves to provide “bold and long-term leadership” on education reform efforts. Thus was born the Business-Education Alliance. (more…)

Research on High Effects of High Quality Early Childhood Ed

by Mary Barrosse Schwartz, Executive Director, Pre-K VT

Research on the Effects of High Quality Early Education on At-Risk Children and from Middle Income Backgrounds

Three U.S. longitudinal studies show long and short-term positive effect for children. These programs were of varying intensity and served mainly at-risk children. These studies include the Abecedarian study in North Carolina, Perry High Scope in Michigan, and the Chicago Child-Parent Center in Illinois. All show consistent benefits that persist for many years following the program. (more…)

Roundtable Elects New Directors for 2011

South Burlington, VT – Today, Vermont Business Roundtable (Roundtable) President Lisa Ventriss announced that three new directors were elected to the Roundtable Board of Directors at its 24th Annual Membership Meeting on January 13th at Topnotch Resort & Spa in Stowe.

New directors are: Rob Adams, President, Simon Pearce; Tim Donovan, Chancellor, Vermont State Colleges; and, Pam Mackenzie, Area Vice-President of VT/Western New England. Elected to a second three-year term is Howard Pierce, President and CEO of PKC. (more…)

Roundtable Releases 5th Quality of Life Report

Vermont Business Roundtable Releases 2010 Pulse of Vermont: Quality of Life Report

Study Represents 20 Years of Trend Analysis on Vermonters Attitudes

At its 24th Annual Membership Meeting held on January 13th at Topnotch Resort & Spa in Stowe, the Vermont Business Roundtable (Roundtable) released the fifth Pulse of Vermont: Quality of Life Survey conducted since 1990. Each of the studies, conducted every five years, was directed by Dr. Vince Bolduc and Dr. Herb Kessel of the Center for Social Science Research at Saint Michael’s College under the sponsorship of the Roundtable. Since the first study in 1990, more than 2,000 Vermonters have been interviewed, allowing for the documentation of numerous longitudinal trends. (more…)

CEOs Forecast Improvements for first Six Months of New Year

(South Burlington, Vt.)  The chief executives of Vermont’s leading businesses appear increasingly poised for improvement in all three of the survey’s metrics:  sales prospects, capital expenditures and employment levels for the winter and spring months of 2011, when compared against the previous survey period.  The mood was assessed near the end of calendar year 2010 and released today by Vermont Business Roundtable Chair Bill Stritzler and President Lisa Ventriss. (more…)

Ventriss Op-Ed: Investing in Vermont’s Children: The Business Case

Nationally, states compete against each other to lure large employers with elaborate incentive packages. As important as these public investments are for those states, the Roundtable recognizes that Vermont cannot compete with them in supplying an array of expensive economic incentives for targeted business recruitment. However, we can certainly become a business relocation destination for all types of business and industry by building on an existing asset, and creating one of the best preK through higher education systems in the country. Businesses’ first need is a well-prepared and adaptable workforce so, by investing aggressively in our human capital beginning with our youngest children, Vermont can create a positive environment to attract new business and their workers at the same time that we bolster our existing businesses and ultimately create the workforce we need. (more…)

Vermont Business Roundtable Acquires Nordic Educational Trust

Plans Underway to Expand Scholarship Eligibility Statewide

(South Burlington, Vt.) The Nordic Educational Trust was created in 1988 by former Roundtable member, Ross Anderson and his wife, Gail, to provide scholarship grants and other financial aid to assist deserving students from Chittenden and Grand Isle counties in pursuing technical education at two-year post-secondary institutions.  To date, the Trust has awarded over 40 need-based scholarships to Vermont students; support that is not predicated on previous academic performance, yet has in many cases provided the opportunity for life-altering educational experiences. Effective this summer, oversight and administration of the Trust and scholarship recipient selection, has been transferred to the Vermont Business Roundtable, in recognition of its long-standing focus on education as an economic development strategy. (more…)

Stritzler Op-Ed: Early Education

Improving tomorrow’s economy is possible only through smart policy investments today in our human capital – beginning with our youngest children. (more…)

CEOs Express Optimism for Next Six Months

The chief executives of Vermont’s leading businesses appear increasingly optimistic toward all three of the survey’s metrics:  sales prospects, capital expenditures and employment levels for the summer months and fall months, when compared against first quarter 2010 forecasts.    The mood was assessed near the end of the second quarter and released today by Vermont Business Roundtable Chair Bill Stritzler and President Lisa Ventriss. (more…)

Business Leaders Lend Support to Early Childhood Investments

(Manchester, VT) Tough economic times require business and government leaders to rethink public policy and not only change the ways in which we deliver public services, but to build capacity for future success. According to Bill Stritzler, Managing Partner with Smugglers’ Notch Resort, and chair of the Vermont Business Roundtable, “Investments in education should be our first economic development strategy.” (more…)

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