Craig Barrett, Retired CEO/Chairman of Intel, to Speak at College of Wooster

"U.S. Competitiveness in the 21st Century" is theme of Feb. 24 talk

WOOSTER, Ohio, Feb. 2 -- Craig R. Barrett, retired chief executive officer/chairman of the board of Intel Corporation, will speak on “U.S. Competitiveness in the 21st Century” on Wednesday, Feb. 24, at 7:30 p.m., in Gault Recital Hall of Scheide Music Center, 525 E. University St., at the College of Wooster. Barrett’s talk, which is free and open to the public, is this year’s James R. Wilson Lecture in Business Economics.

In an interview with Fortune magazine just prior to his retirement from Intel last May, Barrett identified three levers that nations can manipulate to improve their competitiveness.

“One of them is the education lever – that’s where the smart people come from. If there aren’t enough smart people, game over,” Barrett told Fortune. “The next one is smart ideas, and that’s investing in R&D. If you don’t do that, you don’t add value. And the last one is to provide the right environment. In the company, that’s getting smart people with good ideas together and just letting them do their thing. And at the national level, the right environment involves tax rates and regulatory climate, encouraging the availability of venture capital, and building the right social attitudes.”

In his talk, Barrett will address the present situation of the United States with respect to these levers and what might be done to improve U.S. competitiveness.

Barrett joined Intel Corporation in 1974 as a technology development manager, following 10 years on the faculty of Stanford University in the department of materials science and engineering. Named a vice president of the corporation in 1984, he was promoted to senior vice president in 1987 and executive vice president in 1990.

In 1992, Barrett was elected to Intel’s board of directors. He was named the company’s chief operating officer in 1993, president in 1997, chief executive officer in 1998, and chairman of the board in 2005.

Barrett, who perfected the process for manufacturing Intel’s powerful microprocessors, earned his bachelor’s degree, master’s degree, and doctorate in materials science from Stanford University. He is the author of more than 40 technical papers dealing with the influence of microstructure on the properties of materials, as well as a textbook on materials science, Principles of Engineering Materials.

The James R. Wilson Lecture Series in Business Economics brings business and financial leaders to the Wooster campus to share their insights with students, faculty, and the broader community. The series is supported by the James R. Wilson Fund for Business Economics, established in 2001 by a gift from James R. and Linda R. Wilson. Previous speakers have included Peter Guber, CEO of Mandalay Entertainment; Donald Kohn, vice chairman of the Federal Reserve; and Katharine Lee Reid, former director of The Cleveland Museum of Art.

The College of Wooster is an independent liberal arts college, nationally recognized for an innovative curriculum that emphasizes mentored, independent research. Each Wooster senior works one-on-one with a faculty adviser to create an original research project, written work, performance or art exhibit. Founded in 1866, the college enrolls approximately 1,800 students.