Weather outside the downtown Detroit Regional Chamber may have felt to some appropriately symbolic for the final press briefing prior to opening day of the upcoming Mackinac Policy Conference on May 28, 2019. [1,2]
Cold, with light rain — but he sort that seemed undeterred by umbrella or water repelling jacket, destined to define the day. Visible sky over the river not far off was bright enough, if out of reach.
Inside Chamber offices, President and CEO Sandy Baruah and Conference Chair Patti Poppe sat on the long side of a large conference table facing video cameras. They were focused on a theme that has seen growing resonance over the past year in business, political, and community circles.
Michigan is behind when it comes to fielding the sort of workforce our national will increasingly demand in so many of those emerging fields of competitiveness for manufacturing and service leadership discussed just last year at the 2018 Mackinac Policy Conference. [3]
“We have an ‘education crisis,'” Ms Poppe said on May 7. “We also have a problem with our greatest resource in working to solve that. A survey of seventeen thousand teachers showed that they thought that policy makers were blaming them. We’re not.”
One of the ways to set the record straight on what needs to be done and how is “to make sure more people know that ‘Launch Michigan’ exists,” she continued. Its stated goal “is for Michigan to be a top ten education state for every Michigan student by 2026.” K-12, community college, and university funding hikes consistent with this are reflected in the budget proposal submitted by Governor Gretchen Whitmer earlier this year. [4-7]
It’s at once an ambitious and daunting pursuit.
On the island, Grand Rapids Community College President Dr Bill Pink will speak on “The Education Crisis: The Problem” during a May 30 afternoon program titled “Prepare Michigan: Solving the Education Crisis.” Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush will follow with “Change is Possible,” from the perspective of dramatic improvements made during his executive leadership tenure in The Sunshine State. [8-10]
Significant education and workforce development programs will be offered on each day of the structured schedule.
- Tuesday, May 28: “The Business Case for Prioritizing Talent Development”
- Wednesday, May 29: “An Equitable Start: Aligning Early Childhood and K-12 Systems to Maximize Impact”
- Thursday, May 30: “Closing the Gap: How Businesses Can Use Tuition-Free Community College to Meet Skills Requirements”
Michigan weather being what it is, there are no guarantees still more than a week out now what conditions will be like on Mackinac Island week-after-next. But the forecast currently calls for temperatures approaching sixty degrees and a tangible feel of the Michigan summer promised to come.
References
- Detroit Regional Chamber (home page).
- “2019 Mackinac Policy Conference” Detroit Regional Chamber.
- “Michigan Governor Took Center Stage in Detroit This Month To Detail Mobility Partnerships Already In Motion” Dell Deaton (June 21, 2018) Saline Journal.
- Launch Michigan (home page).
- “Governor Whitmer’s FY 2020 Budget” The Office of Governor Gretchen Whitmer.
- “Whitmer Urges ‘Bold Investment’ with Budget Proposal” (March 5, 2019) MEA: Michigan Education Foundation.
- “Whitmer reveals Michigan budget proposals: What to know” Paul Egan and Kathleen Gray (March 5, 2019) Detroit Free Press.
- Grand Rapids Community College (home page).
- “Bill Pink PhD” Grand Rapids Community College.
- “Jeb Bush” Excellence in Education.
