April 23, 2007
LANSING - Governor Jennifer M. Granholm today said the report of a blue-ribbon citizen commission and a professional study of Macomb County's higher education needs underscore the need for increased investment to expand educational opportunity in order to create jobs and economic growth in the county.
"Higher education is the key to bringing new businesses and good paying jobs to Macomb County," said Granholm. "Our investment in higher education in Macomb County will pay dividends to us, our children and our grandchildren by making this county a better place to live, work, and grow a business."
The governor established the Macomb County Commission on Higher Education and Economic Growth and commissioned the study by the nonpartisan Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP) in Washington, D.C. to find ways to help county residents earn bachelor's and advanced college degrees.
"Residents throughout Macomb County voiced a compelling need for greater opportunities to earn college degrees locally and strong support for a four-year university," said Commission Chair George Steeh, U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of Michigan. "Citizens in Macomb County want the substantial benefits that higher education brings."
The commission held a series of public hearings across the county to better understand the area's higher education needs. Its recommendations include stepped up involvement of Oakland and Wayne State universities in meeting the county's immediate need for better access to degree programs and support services and authority for Macomb Community College to award bachelor's degrees in specific technical fields. In its report, the commission stressed that these and other steps should be consistent with the goal of creating a four-year university in Macomb County.
"There are real barriers to getting a college degree in Macomb County today" said Jamie Merisotis, president of IHEP. "If these barriers are not overcome, there's no question the county will have great difficulty navigating the transition to the new economy."
The institute analyzed economic and educational data from Macomb and similar counties in other states and conducted extensive interviews with business, civic, and government leaders in the county. In its study, the institute recommended that several steps be taken, including expanding degree opportunities through the University Center at Macomb Community College where other educational institutions offer courses and degree programs, and creating a Macomb satellite campus of one of the state's existing public universities.
Both the commission and the institute recognized the ultimate need for a four-year public university in the county and suggested immediate steps that could be taken to expand higher education opportunity there.
Granholm, who has called for doubling the number of college graduates in Michigan, praised Macomb County's strong community involvement with the issue.
"Macomb County gets the connection between learning and earning and is determined to take charge of its economic future" said Granholm. "The state must be a partner in this campaign to expand educational opportunity."
Governor Granholm appointed the 15-member Commission on Higher Education and Economic Growth in Macomb County in July 2006 and charged the panel with finding ways to increase higher education opportunity and degree completion in Michigan's third largest county. The IHEP's Macomb County study was made possible through the support of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, which is also supporting similar research by the institute in the Saginaw area and in a multi-county region in the northeast Lower Peninsula.
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