The Herald-Sun - Principal as University Day speaker

Teachers, alumni, students and the community gathered Tuesday at Memorial Hall [in Chapel Hill, NC] to honor the day on Oct. 12, 1793, when the cornerstone was laid to build what would become Old East, which still remains on campus and is the oldest university building in the nation…

University Day has been celebrated in the past with guest speakers such as John F. Kennedy, Bill Clinton and numerous North Carolina governors. Heather Munroe-Blum spoke as University Day speaker for the 217th celebration. She earned a doctorate with distinction in epidemiology from UNC Chapel Hill in 1983 and is the 16th principal and vice chancellor of McGill University in Montreal…

"The world's landscape is changing. Technology and the information age have redrawn the map and boundaries," said Munroe-Blum. She said the university graduation rate in the U.S. is 35 percent, but it is not enough to remain competitive in the existing economic and technological environment.

Other countries have surpassed what America has been able to do regarding educational, research and technological advancements… "Innovation is fundamentally about ideas and change," Munroe-Blum said.