Morgan President David K. Wilson Joins Council on Higher Education as a Strategic Asset

HESA Convenes Top U.S. Leaders to Recommend New Models for Higher Education Policy, Funding, and Collaboration.

BALTIMORE — Morgan State University President David K. Wilson has been selected to join the Council on Higher Education as a Strategic Asset (HESA) serving in the capacity as a commissioner. HESA, a coalition of national leaders with business, government, higher education, military, and nonprofit experience, advances the primary goal of strengthening the global competitive position of the United States by developing a framework for higher education institutions to deliver an educated workforce and citizenry equipped to address the United States’ most critical national priorities. As a commissioner, Wilson joins other national thought leaders committed to advancing the mission of the Council and expanding its reach. 

“Higher education in the United States is at a critical crossroad and as its health and capacity goes, so goes our nation. We cannot embrace the future, advance innovation or strengthen our country without an educated populace and that requires shoring up our higher education infrastructure,” said President Wilson. “It is an honor, and I am humbled to join the cadre of select leaders working collaboratively on such an important issue. I look forward to lending my voice and time in support of HESA’s goal of reimagining and reinvigorating the American higher education landscape.”

Historically, higher education has been central to national prosperity and security, especially during periods of intense industrial and technological progress. According to the National Governors Association, the United States has more than 10 million job openings, but only 5.7 million unemployed workers are actively looking for work. Many of these open positions, including in crucial areas such as health care, cybersecurity, data analytics, engineering, and more, require specific skills and specialized education that higher education institutions can provide.

As other nations readily embrace higher education as a strategic asset to strengthen their global competitive positions, the United States must develop new approaches at speed and scale to ensure it remains competitive. HESA’s goals are to maximize the impact of higher education not only on U.S. national security and democratic strength but also the economic prosperity of its population.

HESA currently includes some 50 commissioners, strategic advisors, and staff, with a diverse range of backgrounds, experiences, and leadership roles. These attributes foster innovative thinking and provide context to HESA’s national aims.

“I am honored that President Wilson will join us in this critical effort,” said Henry Stoever, president and CEO of the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges, one of the founding partners of the council. “Higher education must focus on creating the talent our nation needs over the next 25 years while also preparing all students and their families to live prosperous lives. Through HESA’s action-oriented, outcomes-focused recommendations, the United States needs to rapidly adopt a national strategy to reimagine the relationship between higher education and democracy, the economy, and our society. President Wilson is an important part of that work.”

HESA plans to deliver its recommendations to the president of the United States and targeted members of the administration, select members of the U.S. Congress, state governors and legislators, and higher education governing boards and chief executive officers by June 2024.

To learn more about the coalition and how you can support its work, please visit HESAUS.org.

About Morgan

Morgan State University, founded in 1867, is a Carnegie-classified high research (R2) institution offering more than 140 academic programs leading to degrees from the baccalaureate to the doctorate. As Maryland’s Preeminent Public Urban Research University, and the only university to have its entire campus designated as a National Treasure by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Morgan serves a multiethnic and multiracial student body and seeks to ensure that the doors of higher education are opened as wide as possible to as many as possible. For more information about Morgan State University, visit www.morgan.edu.

About HESA

The Council on Higher Education as a Strategic Asset (HESA) is a multi-sector coalition focused on ensuring America’s global competitive position by proposing new models for higher education policy, funding, and collaboration to develop the human capital required to support our national interests at speed and scale. Working with our nation’s leaders, HESA’s goal is to maximize the impact of higher education on global competitiveness, national security, democratic strength, and economic prosperity. For more information, visit HESAUS.org.

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Media Contacts:

Larry Jones or Dell Jackson, for University PR
443-885-3022