William H. Swanson, Chairman and CEO of Raytheon Company, was recently honored with the Atlantic Legal Foundation's Annual Award for 2012 for his “industry leadership in providing innovative technologies and solutions that contribute to our nation's security.”

Swanson accepted the award from Foundation Chairman Hayward D. Fisk in ceremonies held at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Building in Washington, D.C., following an introduction by Jay B. Stephens, Raytheon's Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary.

Swanson thanked the Atlantic Legal Foundation for the prestigious honor, the 25th such annual award bestowed by the Foundation, and he praised the organization for its “consistent support of the principles of public policy that benefit industry and the private sector.”

Swanson, an early and respected business leader in support of science, technology, engineering and math education (STEM), urged businesses that may still be on the education sidelines in supporting STEM education to, “Put on your helmets and pads and join us on the field.”

“It was the right thing to do for business, and it's the right thing to do for our country,” he said.

Swanson noted that there are many ways for business to get involved in ensuring an adequate STEM pipeline.

“One area where business engagement is needed is helping improve workforce alignment. Too many students and adults are training for jobs in which labor surpluses exist and demand is low - while high-demand jobs, particularly those in STEM fields, go unfilled,” he added.

He observed, “As job creators, businesses are on the frontlines of this supply-demand dynamic.” As a result, he said, they have a “tremendous opportunity to work together with academia to identify and address the structural misalignment between education and workforce needs.”

He noted this was a focus of the Business-Higher Education Forum, of which Swanson is a past Chair and a current member of its Executive Committee.

Swanson also congratulated Richard Wilson, Mallinckrodt Professor of Physics Emeritus at Harvard, for being honored with the Foundation's Lifetime Achievement Award.