Scientia Small Conference: “Work in the 21st Century: Automation, Workers, and Society”

I had the opportunity to attend the Scientia Small Conference at Rice University this week, Feb 13 – 14, 2020.  The purpose of the conference is to examine the workplace from 4 difference perspectives:  automation, workforce development, leadership, and policies.

According to the Scientia Institute Charter at Rice University, the purpose of the Institute is “To promote scholarship and research in the general area of history of science and culture for the benefit of the university and Houston community.”  I met some good people there in academic areas like economics and psychology, graduate students and professors from as far away as Howard University.

One thing that jumped out at me during the meeting was the presentation by Valerie Wilson, Economic Policy Institute, Washington D. C.:  Effective Leadership and a Future that Works for All.  She stated in her talk that America is presently more educated than in the past and that includes the black population of our country; however, salaries for the black population in recent times has actually DROPPED !!!  I say, “can anyone spell ‘excessive immigration policies’ “?

I just recently learned about Scientia.  They have a regular lecture series in addition to their occasional conferences.  Go to their website:  https://scientia.rice.edu/node/126