(upbeat music) - [Announcer] This is Carolina Business Review.

Major support provided by The South Carolina ports, The state's most significant strategic asset, Positively influencing economic development, job growth, The environment and our communities.

Colonial life, providing benefits to employees To help them protect their families, Their finances, and their futures.

High Point University, the Premier Life Skills University focused on preparing students for the world as it is going to be.

Sonoco, a global manufacturer of consumer and industrial packaging products and services with more than 300 operations in 35 countries.

- So jobs continue to run counter to the momentum in the economy if it indeed is a recession.

And also another big thing going on in the Carolinas, Medicaid expansion.

Not just hope for, but looks like at least in the old North State, it may be adopted.

I am Chris William, and welcome again to the most widely watched and longest running program on Carolina business policy and public affairs scene each and every week across North and South Carolina.

In a moment, we will start this dialogue and later on, the iconic president of High Point University, Dr. Nido Qubein.

when we start right now.

- [Announcer] Major funding also by Blue Cross Blue Shield of South Carolina, an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.

And Martin Marietta, a leading provider of natural resource-based building materials.

Providing the foundation on which our communities improve and grow.

- On this edition of Carolina Business Review, Kevin Price from the National Institute of Minority Economic Development.

Mark Ferris of the Greenville Area Development Corporation.

And special guest, Dr. Nido Quebein President of High Point University.

- Hello, welcome again to our program gentlemen.

Welcome in the studio.

And this is the first time, Kevin, we've actually been in the studio together, right?

- Yes, I'm excited.

- Thank you.

Thank you.

And Mark, welcome back.

- It's great to be back.

Thank you.

- Mark in North Carolina, you know, after a decade of this kind of back and forth and, and, you know, the General Assembly was given the Heisman to the idea of Medicaid expansion, and it's true in South Carolina as well, but it looks like it's passed the house, at least as of taping of this program.

It's passed the house and now it's gonna go to the Senate.

And it's generally thought that North Carolina will be accepting Medicaid dollars and everything that follows onto that.

Does that give the Palmetto State the coverage that the State House may need to dothis?

- It's interesting discussion and certainly it looks like it might be headed that way in North Carolina and South Carolina.

I think we're a little more conservative about it, but, you know, we were talking earlier about certificates in need and South Carolina eliminated their certificate of need program last year, I think.

So it certainly that expansion would create opportunity for especially a lot of the employees that, you know, don't get that expanded coverage at their job.

- [Chris] Does this give you a little wind at your back, Kevin, when it comes to working some of these healthcare policies that you work not just in North Carolina, but, but the area states that you have.

- Well, it does, because we're talking about 1.9 million people who are not covered in North Carolina right now.

And that additional coverage, that expansion gives, gives them some support, but it also supports the hospitals because these North Carolinians show up in the emergency room without insurance and the hospitals are hurting because they've gotta take care of 'em.

So we've got to do the expansion to support North Carolinians.

- [Chris] How about the certificate of need?

Do you expect that that would be become also in our rear view mirror in North Carolina's rear view mirror?

- Well, I, I think certificate of need is, is just a part of what North Carolina does.

So you had, it wasn't in the house bill, but it, the Senate wanted it.

So I think it'll, it'll continue to be a part of what we do.

- [Chris] Okay.

Mark, in South Carolina last year, one of the biggest, historically biggest capital investment economic development numbers ever posted by the Palmetto State.

Is that gonna happen again?

Is the wind at your back?

- [Mark] You know, it's interesting, Chris, the projects that we're seeing are much larger in investment.

The Giga factories that you're hearing about, a lot of 'em are, are looking in both North and South Carolina.

And we've landed a few of those and will continue to.

So I think, I think the benchmark for investment is gonna be set higher because of the, the larger deals that we're seeing in both states.

- [Chris] Kevin, when it comes to economic development in North Carolina was the same thing.

Chris Chung was on this program from EDPNC a couple weeks ago talking about the historic levels of investment in all the new announcements.

Again, does that make your job of people of color, of minority, does that make it easier for jobs to fill jobs?

How, I mean, what, what's your policy around that and how do you work it?

- Well, we're excited about all of the announcements we're hearing.

The challenge I think we've got is making sure people are retooled and they're prepared for those jobs.

They have the skills for those jobs.

Recently, we've got a goal now of 2 million people by 2030 that have a vocation or have some type of skill.

We're at about one and a half million right now, so very excited about moving the needle to that 2 million.

But at the same time, we gotta think about do we really need four year degrees for all of the jobs that are out there?

So you've got organizations like OneTen who are saying, well, let's rethink that.

Are there positions where we don't necessarily need a four year degree and they can still perform in that role.

So HR professionals across the state and corporations are thinking through that.

And I'm even hearing now cities and state government are thinking about that and, and reclassifying jobs.

- [Chris] So you mean changing the credentials needed for a particular job?

- [Kevin] That's right.

- And there's, there's wind at the back of that idea, or is that just, are those green shoots coming out of the ground around.

- Well, you've got Bank of America, you've got American Express and some of the bigger corporations across the country who've jumped on and latched on to this OneTen idea.

And will that open up additional opportunities for those for upper mobility, for opportunities for them to get into jobs that they ordinarily would not have had an opportunity to participate?

And the answer is yes.

- [Chris] Mark, this is, this can't be news to your ears.

I mean, this has to be the same debate that goes on in the circles you run.

Is that, is that what.

You're hearing?

- Yeah, certainly.

Talent attraction is critical for us.

The, the, the, the concept that, as Kevin said, everybody needs a a four year degree, is kind of foreign, especially a lot of jobs, at least we're attracted in South Carolina.

So the concept is that you can have a job in a manufacturing facility, but it can be a career as well.

And I think a lot of people don't understand that the manufacturing technology has changed to the point where these employees can have a fulfilling career.

- Just my observation has been this is a glacially slow shift toward that.

Why is that when everyone seems to be singing out of the same page of the Hymnal here?

- [Mark] Yeah, I think it's difficult to change at our level.

And I say our level being the parents, you know, we need to make sure our children understand that there's viable careers associated with manufacturing.

You know, a lot of countries have done a better job at that, especially in Western Europe, and we need to adopt that.

I, I meet with so many companies, BMW suppliers, for example, the founder of the company started as an apprentice.

You know, he didn't necessarily get the four year degree traditionally, but he's created a company.

They gave, given him the talent and the skills to do that and the training that he needed to do that.

It's, it's, it's just a different kind of mentality and that's gotta change.

- [Chris] Kevin, last question.

We'll bring our guest on who I'm sure is gonna have an opinion about job education.

I'm sure.

So with, with the Carolinas and specifically North Carolina now looking at a $3 billion surplus, another billion dollar, several billion dollar surplus based on the last two years as well.

Does educate, is the dialogue around education in places like the old North State become a much easier way to find consensus because bank accounts are flush and general assemblies have money?

Do you feel encouraged by it?

- Well, you know, I've spent some time, Chris lately at the General assembly of North Carolina and just walking the halls and talking with legislators, we're excited about a surplus and what do we do do with the surplus?

That's been a lot of the talk lately.

We don't necessarily have to put it all in savings for a rainy day.

We can now reinvest in capital improvements, reinvest in infrastructure, reinvest in education.

I remember not too long ago we were thought of under Governor Hunt as the leader in education and everybody wants to get back to that place that I talk with.

So I think this is an opportunity to use some of that 3 billion to do that.

- [Chris] Are you encouraged that there will be more than just talk?

- I'm encouraged that we will use some of that surplus to move in that direction.

- Okay.

All right gentlemen, thank you.

We're gonna bring our guest on as promised or as threatened earlier in the dialogue coming up on this program, hope you stay with us because as always we've got at least a great spring and summer.

The North Carolina Superintendent of Education, speaking of education, her name is Catherine Truitt.

She is no stranger to this dialogue or to education circles in the Tar Hill state.

She'll be a guest on this program, I think even next week.

And then also Lynn Goode, the chairman and chief executive officer of one of the largest energy utilities in this country.

Duke Energy joins us as well.

Our guest defies a lot of things, but mostly right now for the sake of this discussion, his organization defies the gravity in student enrollment.

And what I mean by that is, High Point University has posted its highest ever student enrollment when it's generally thought to be down across other higher ed institutions across the Carolinas.

We're glad to have him here again.

We welcome to this program, Dr. Nido Quebain.

Dr. Quebein welcome to the program.

- Thank you very much, Chris.

Always a pleasure of be with you.

- Thank you, sir.

it's important to disclose High Point is a supporter of this dialogue.

We are grateful for it, but it's also an important dynamic for you to know.

Dr. Quebein, you know what, it is not gonna be lost on you, sir, but the idea that, that the branding or the tagline of the school is premier life skills University or premier life skills.

What does that mean?

- Well, what it means, Chris, is that we're all living in a world that is ever-changing dynamic global in nature.

That American students today can no longer think that they're gonna compete with someone in a neighboring state.

They're competing with bricks, Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, countries in the middle countries beyond.

They must be prepared fully and correctly and be distinctively so ready to get into some position in a corporation or start a business.

To compete on a, on a global stage.

As as, as we all know, we live in a world that's flat now, you know, it's technology and everything else.

We want our students upon graduation to be equipped to be ready to enter the world of business, commerce, nonprofit, government, whatever they choose, and do it well.

You can no longer expect a college graduate to start in a, in a job, in a, in a, in a corporation somewhere and expect that company or that organization to invest six months, nine months, 12 months, orienting this individual to what it means to be invested in this organization to have to get going.

It's a globally competitive marketplace.

Corporations and organizations don't have the resources to just sit around and try to get you along.

You must be ready.

So for us, it means having an ecosystem that experientially allows every student to enter the hall of the hallways, to Hight Point University to learn, but to exit ready, to contribute to society, to understand that social justice, that economic success, that community, civic engagement, all those are materially important things in making the world a better place.

And we invest liberally and generously in preparing our students.

And one of the things that we do, Chris, is we bring about 50 different architects of industry, of, of nonprofit examples the founder of Apple Computer or the founder of Netflix, or the CEO of, of Dominoes, or the chair of the board of AT&T to teach our students.

So you have your stellar faculty teaching the academic content.

But we want to put it in context in the application of the world.

And guess what?

Parents want their students to know what's happening around them and about 'em.

And they want 'em to be successful in, in life.

That's what we do.

And Chris we do it quite well.

And our parents and students and the world is noticing.

- [Chris] Mark.

- Dr. Quebein I was reading recently, I think it was last year, that High Point University was named the most luxurious university in the world.

How do you compete for that distinction?

- Well, I don't know that it was called luxurious, but I don't know what luxurious means.

I, we don't think in terms of pampering students, we think in terms of preparing students.

So you, you know, if you have children, you would ask yourself this question.

Do I prepare my child to a level of excellence that sits here or here or here?

I'm the father of four children.

I want my children to be prepared for a level of excellence that's here.

Maybe they don't make it, maybe they just make it to here.

But if we set that goal, we're much more likely to have a comprehensive understanding what it means to be an extraordinary contributor to a world that's ever changing.

So for us, what it means is that we wanna make sure that our faculty have superb laboratories, excellent classrooms, state of the art technology, and by the way, housing environment that is appealing.

All of this for one reason.

And the reason is to create an environment in which people choose to excel.

After all, Mark, this is what happens to you and to me.

We arise to the level of excellence based on the people we hang around with and the environments in which we choose to reside.

And we've created an environment for our students to be excellent, to be American students, US citizens, and others who come to High Point University to learn, but also to make sure that they can be great leaders for the future.

And it works for us.

Well, I will tell you this, there's nothing at High Point thats frivolous.

Everything has a purpose.

And the people who do these rankings and write these articles about us have never been on our campus.

- [Mark] Yeah.

- If they've been there and they've talked to our faculty and talked to our students, they just might marvel how this experience and our education really works and prepare students for a life that's filled with success and framed the significance.

- [Mark] Yeah, sure.

Okay.

- So, well it's great to see you again, Dr. Quebein.

I have three kids.

I've gotten two of them outta college and they are off payroll almost.

And so my youngest.

- [Dr. Quebein] You should be walking a cruise ship then.

- Oh, you believe me.

- [Dr. Quebein] You should go on a cruise ship trip.

- I bought a Corvette instead.

- [Dr. Quebein] Now that you have extra money.

(Laughter) - [Dr. Quebein] That's good.

- And so my youngest is a junior in college at UNC Greensboro.

And part of what I'm struggling with as a parent is mental health of students.

We saw earlier where NC State and other schools are now taking mental breaks.

Just let their students check in, take a break, reassess yourself.

Are you okay?

What do you see?

Is, are you seeing that as a trend across the country?

How are we keeping students engaged and mentally well.

- What a great question that is my friend.

First, let me tell you, I'm a graduate of UNC Greensboro.

So your daughter's in a great school.

I went to graduate school there.

Second, I have to tell you that mental health is, is is a challenging experience for all of us.

Not just on campuses across America, but in our societies and our communities.

I believe Covid has contributed measurably to that.

After all, was Maslow who told us all that belonging is an important need for humanity.

And when we sort of isolate these students two years almost at home, not going out, not doing things, I think it affected them measurably.

So the question you raised is an important question in how we deal with it is really more important.

And what we've done in our institution is that we have a counseling office with a large number of highly qualified professionals who understand human behavior and who understand how to deal with the calamities that come with the disturbances in life, turbulence in life.

The thing is this and what happened at NC State is very sad, let me tell you.

It breaks all of our hearts when you see students sometimes commit suicide, sometimes, you know, have other issues that, that that happen.

But the reality of it is that it is a real issue and we have to be prepared for it.

And we have to resource amply for it.

And the difficulty is colleges were not invented for that.

Colleges are not institutions of, of, of hospital, you know, proficiency and all of that.

But it is what it is.

When our families entrust us with their students, we must rise to the occasion of ensuring that the students are both safe and on one hand, mentally happy or mentally engaged.

And to make sure that if we see signs of concern, that we have systems to deal with it.

At High Point, we have half a dozen systems where confidentially faculty can feed information.

You know, the student is not doing well.

Sleeping in class, displaying characteristics that should be of concern and deal with it.

I'd like to tell you, all of us are doing a great job at that.

I think it's a new terrain and we're all learning to deal with it and add resources to it.

But it concerns me measurably, it's not just on college campuses, it's in, in our societies, in every quadrant of every city.

And it is, it is perhaps a new challenge that we all must rise and deal with it.

- [Chris] Let's go back to the idea of competing as a school and as you described premier life skills and just the holistic idea of what High Point University is.

You have critics is not surprising.

We talked before the show that that characterize High Point as a, as a resort and doesn't really say anything and didn't really address the art.

At least the articles that I read didn't really address the academics as a priority.

How, how do you prioritize this?

The idea of being a premier life skills and the holistic person that comes out and making sure that academics are not just, not just acceptable, but above grade, so to speak.

- Yeah, well there are lots of ways to do that, Chris.

The most important one is the proof is in the pudding.

99% of our students within six months of graduation either get a job, start a business, or go graduate school.

National leverage is 15 points below that.

Our students going to do unbelievable things.

They're, they're, they are being recruited by some of the finest corporations in the country.

Come to our career day and see who's there.

It's pretty remarkable.

It impresses me.

Employees tell me all the time that our students bring a certain attitude about life and work that is not unique, but it is distinctive.

It is, it is the art of the possible.

I tell our students there are no such thing as unrealistic dreams, only unrealistic timelines.

The reason you read occasionally someone who's never been to our campus, never talked to our faculty, never engaged in any symposia is because you look for the obvious.

And the obvious is High Point is a beautiful school, but that doesn't mean that the academics are not stellar.

We have some of the finest faculty in all of America.

We've started 10 academic schools.

We attract deans that are second to none.

We invest a hundred million dollars per new school that we start.

We have donors who are coming to us from all angles saying, we love what you're doing and we want our children to go there.

How else do you explain Chris, that we went from 1400 students to 6,000 students where there were great recession in the middle of all that and Covid in the middle of all that.

Obviously High Point University is doing something dramatically different.

For some it may seem disruptive, for some it may create envy.

But what saddens me the most is when you read something or hear something that comes from a source that doesn't know the facts or inaccurately states what they think are facts, then that is really malpractice and, and out of order.

But, but what we do at High Point is invest in academics first, first and foremost in academics.

We are an academic institution, but let me tell you my friend, we don't run away from the fact that having a beautiful campus is okay.

If you go to a restaurant and it's a beautiful restaurant, it has beautiful music, it has wonderful service.

Sometimes you may take the fact that the food there, excellent as it is, you take it for granted.

You just assume it's gonna be great.

So we don't have to go around saying, look, we got great academics.

Look at these great professors.

We just, we try to cater to the students who enroll at High Point and their parents.

And many of 'em, many of 'em.

While we are a very diverse university and very inclusive university, many of our students come from families of very learned parents who want excellence for their children.

They are very discerning parents.

So to suggest for a moment that, that these parents don't know what they're doing is foolish at best.

- [Chris] Yeah.

About three minutes Mark.

- So Dr. Quebein, our job at Economic Development is to attract business and industry.

A lot of my peers have abandoned that model to attracting people because they feel that if they do that talent attraction, then the companies will find them.

Selfishly, how do we keep your students locally?

What do we need to do to, to issue that invitation to our college students in North and South Carolina?

- So you may know that I am the co-chair of the Piedmont Tri Partnership in the, in the Greensburg Winston-Salem area, what we call the Carolina Core.

I have chaired the Economic Development Corporation in my own city.

I've chaired the Chamber of Commerce.

I say that to simply suggest I have intense interest in economic development for everyone, bringing everybody up in our community, creating jobs.

I'm the guy who raised a ton of money to, to build the baseball stadium at High Point to bring in a more business, create more jobs, create more economic impact in our city.

I care deeply about our city and the people who live there.

And I care deeply about our state in both Carolinas, North and South Carolina.

I care deeply about the region which I reside.

- [Chris] We have about a minute and a half.

- And I like very much seeing that people who graduate from our colleges stay here and make our place a better place.

At High Point, we have systems for that.

We literally have internship programs, engagement in the community, all kinds of programs that intensely introduces people to others.

And not just in terms of getting a job, but understanding the quality of life that we have and how you can stay here and do amazing things.

68% of our PA graduates remain in North Carolina.

- [Mark] Excellent.

- 73% of our PT graduates, doctors degrees stay in North Carolina.

Now, whether they're stay in Charlotte or High Point, you know, I'm, I'm, I'm just a regional guy, it's okay.

- [Mark] Sure.

- It helps us anyway.

We look at it.

But you're right, there's much to be done in that area and it takes all of us as a community to work in the right direction to attract students.

We are living in a great region of the country.

The Carolinas are beautiful and the growing and the future looks very bright.

- [Chris] We we're almost outta time thirty seconds sir.

How do you, how, how, how's the idea of of Nido Quebein and High Point University doesn't seem to be indivisible.

So what happens when you retire and we ask 30 seconds.

- Well, first of all, no person is indispensable.

Chris, we've seen that through history.

Right?

So trust me when I tell you High Point University has a cadre of excellent leaders and they can carry this university in my absence better than I ever could.

Second, it is okay to have a leader.

If you look at a company or in any organization.

- [Chris] Yeah.

- Leadership starts at the top and it's perfectly okay to insert your own characteristics in it.

- [Chris] Yeah.

- I'm gonna do my very best to run a great university and keep it in great hands.

- Last word.

Thank you very much sir.

Nice to have you back on the program.

- Thanks Chris.

- Kevin, good to see you in the studio.

Come back please.

- You have me.

I'll be back.

- Mark, You too.

- Thank you.

- Despite what you may think.

Thank you for making it.

- Appreciate it.

- Good to see you, mark.

Thank you for our program.

Until next week, we hope your business and your weekend's good.

Goodnight.

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Thank you.

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