William E. Kennard, HPU’s Global Leader in Residence, Mentors Students

High Point, NC - William E. Kennard, High Point University’s Global Leader in Residence, recently spoke to a large group of economics and political science students during what he acknowledged was a particularly uncertain time in history.

Kennard, who served as chairman of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission and the U.S. Ambassador to the European Union, encouraged the students gathered inside the Webb Conference Center to get politically involved instead of disillusioned by today’s current events.

Kennard told the audience that he was listening to the news while driving to HPU from his home in Charleston, South Carolina. He heard stories on the radio about the wars in Ukraine and Israel and the dysfunction in the U.S. Congress as representatives struggled to select a Speaker of the House.

Currently the chairman of the Board of Directors for AT&T, Inc., in an addition to serving on the boards for MetLife, Inc. and Ford Motor Company, Kennard said he couldn’t think of another moment in his lifetime when the world was “so fraught with geopolitical risk.” He said this provided opportunities for students to step up and help lead far beyond just what they do in the classroom and workplace.

“It’s about being engaged citizens in the world and in the country. We’re in a really difficult time right now,” said Kennard, whose son graduated from HPU in May. “We need people in your generation not just to care about your own careers and jobs. That’s important. I’m not diminishing that, but we also need you to help us solve these problems and contribute.

“I served two terms in government, and I look back on that time as the most exhilarating time of my life in terms of being able to serve my country and to solve problems at a large scale. You don’t have to do that at the federal government. There’s state and local government. You don’t have to do it the rest of your life, but just find ways to contribute at some level because the government really needs you.”

Kennard said he fears students will look at the situation going on in Congress and get discouraged with the political process. He stressed to students to resist the urge to think that nothing gets done in Washington, D.C.

“We can’t give up on it. This is our country. We’ve got to fight for it,” Kennard said. “We’ve got to commit to making it better.”

While answering questions from students, Kennard was asked about how he believes artificial intelligence will impact the job market. He encouraged students to be “intellectually curious” and intentional while navigating their career paths.

“Be intellectually curious about the world and understand that there’s a connection between the decisions you make in your personal life about your career and where you want to go and how the world is changing,” Kennard said. “For example, I would think anybody who wants to study climate science is going to have a long and fruitful career because for the rest of our lives we’re going to be dealing with climate change.”