Marianne Wanamaker, an associate professor of economics in the Haslam College of Business, has been named to the American Workforce Policy Advisory Board co-chaired by Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross and Advisor to the President Ivanka Trump.
Wanamaker will join the CEOs of Apple, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Siemens USA, Visa, SAP America, Walmart, Lockheed Martin and Home Depot as well as other private sector professionals, the governors of Iowa and Indiana and leaders of education institutions and nonprofits.
The 25-member board was established by executive order as part of the National Council for the American Worker.
According to the Department of Labor, there are 7.3 million job openings in the US, which exceeds the number of people unemployed. The board aims to develop and implement a strategy to revamp the American workforce for the well-paid, in-demand jobs of the 21st century.
“It is an honor to be called to serve on the Workforce Policy Advisory Board,” Wanamaker said. “The economics profession has produced a wealth of evidence to inform some of the board’s key questions, and I look forward to bringing those perspectives to the board’s process.”
Wanamaker said her seat on the board will amplify the work UT already does in conjunction with the state of Tennessee to inform workforce and educational policy, including research surrounding opioids in the labor force, the Tennessee Promise Scholarship and Tennessee Education Lottery Scholarships.
“States have been incubators of workforce policy for years. The state of Tennessee has long been an innovator—for example, Tennessee Promise and the Drive to 55,” Wanamaker said. “These experiences, and those of other states, can and should influence a national strategy.”
The board’s members will serve through July 2020. They were selected for their insight on the public and private sectors and how the two can work together to combat the skills crisis and encourage a culture of lifelong learning through education and job training. The board also will promote private-sector investments in American workers.
According to a press release from the Department of Commerce, the members of the board include the following:
- Jay Box, President, Kentucky Community and Technical College System
- Walter Bumphus, President and CEO, American Association of Community Colleges
- Jim Clark, President and CEO, Boys and Girls Clubs of America
- Tim Cook, CEO, Apple
- Tom Donohue, CEO, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
- Juanita Duggan, President and CEO, National Federation for Independent Business
- Elizabeth Goettl, President and CEO, Cristo Rey Network
- Marillyn Hewson, Chairman, President, and CEO, Lockheed Martin
- Eric Holcomb, Governor of Indiana
- Barbara Humpton, CEO, Siemens USA
- Al Kelly, CEO, Visa
- Vi Lyles, Mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina
- Bill McDermott, CEO, SAP America
- Sean McGarvey, President, North America’s Building and Trades Unions
- Doug McMillon, President and CEO, Walmart
- Craig Menear, Chairman, President, and CEO, Home Depot
- Michael Piwowar, Executive Director, Milken Institute
- Scott Pulsipher, President, Western Governors University
- Kim Reynolds, Governor of Iowa
- Ginni Rometty, Chairman, President, and CEO, IBM
- Scott Sanders, Executive Director, National Association of State Workforce Agencies
- Johnny C. Taylor Jr., President and CEO, Society for Human Resource Management
- Jay Timmons, President and CEO, National Association of Manufacturers
- Sheree Utash, President, WSU Tech
- Marianne Wanamaker, Professor, the University of Tennessee, Knoxville
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CONTACT:
Erin Hatfield (865-974-6086, ehatfie1@utk.edu)
Megan Boehnke (865-974-3242, mboehnke@utk.edu)
