Partnerships between higher ed and industry build a strong workforce

President Downs featured in Prairie Business story

By Carrie McDermott
September 7, 2023

Dr. Timothy Downs is the new president of Minnesota State University Moorhead and believes the function of education should closely dovetail with workforce demands and needs.

“I’ll keep asking industry, ‘what do you need? Tell us what you need.’ Then we can take the curriculum and maybe we add dimensions to it,” he said. “The challenge with that is we don’t want to become hyper-vocational. We’re still a university. You want to teach content and process, teach them how to think, how to creatively problem solve and work as teams.”

Industry is asking for a workforce that not only understands the fundamentals of a position but also has “soft skills” – knowing how to act professionally, how to negotiate and navigate, and how to communicate effectively and concisely. Dr. Downs prefers the term “power skills” to “soft skills.”

For example, a person with a lower GPA but who is confident, a good communicator and can present their case effectively could be selected for a job over someone with a higher GPA who is introverted and not able to successfully express themselves.

“They can read a room, walk up and introduce themselves, start up a conversation with almost anybody. That person is going to be able to navigate the world and they’ll be noticed,” Downs said. “So, it’s really a power skill.”

Being on campus in person and interacting with other students and faculty plays a big role in learning those soft or power skills. He tells students to get out of their comfort zones and get involved and engaged with clubs and organizations to learn how to work collaboratively, move ideas forward and even learn how to become a leader. Asking students to challenge themselves is key.

“Those skills are part of the student life experience,” he said.

“One of the reasons I came here is that people are really passionate in making sure the students have a good experience and they learn,” Downs continued. “I’ve worked several places and I can’t say every place had that mentality. There are some sectors of every industry where they’re just not that concerned.”

If a student and family say they’re going to commit to a four-year residential university, that faculty also needs to have that level of commitment to the student, he said.

“If you really take it on as your mission, then you’re going to be that involved with the student everywhere – in the classroom, outside of the classroom, at the residence hall, internships – that’s what’s going to be enriching. That’s what we’re doing at Moorhead,” Downs said.

At Minnesota State University Moorhead, there is a definite “end game,” Downs said.

“We have a stronger workforce, industry loves us, and the students have a beneficiary. That’s one of the things I’m constantly working on,” Downs said.

Read the rest of the Prairie Business story featuring interviews with Rebecca Hoey, provost and senior vice president for student and academic affairs at Dakota State University in Madison, S.D., and Rod Flanigan, president at North Dakota State College of Science in Wahpeton, N.D.

Reprinted with permission.