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Education Achievement Authority members appointed
August 04, 2011
Contact: Ken Silfven
P: 517-335-6397 E: silfvenk@michigan.gov
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2011
Education Achievement Authority members appointed
Continued focus on providing students with skills to succeed
LANSING, Mich. - Governor Rick Snyder, Detroit Public Schools (DPS) Emergency Manager Roy Roberts and Eastern Michigan University (EMU) chair of the Board of Regents Roy Wilbanks today announced appointments to the Education Achievement Authority Board. The Education Achievement System was unveiled in June as a way to redesign public education in Michigan's lowest performing schools by driving more resources directly into their classrooms and offering greater autonomy to help ensure student achievement increases.
The system will be governed by the 11-member Education Achievement Authority Board, with two members appointed by DPS, two members appointed by (EMU) and seven members appointed by the governor. Members serve at the pleasure of the respecting appointing authority. Five members of the board will make up the executive committee comprised of one board member selected by DPS, one member selected by EMU and three members selected by the governor. The governor has asked Roy Roberts to serve as chair of the executive committee. The executive committee will select a chancellor for the system.
"Students deserve an education that can best prepare them to succeed after graduation, either in the work force or through a college education," Snyder said. "These outstanding individuals bring a tremendous amount of experience and talent to the table as we work to create new educational opportunities for our students."
"I applaud this very credible and successful group of community and business leaders for their willingness to serve in this most important endeavor and look forward to much productive work to make a difference in the lives of Detroit youth," Roberts said. "I will be reaching out immediately to the board members to schedule our first organizational meeting to take place within the next two weeks."
"Eastern Michigan University is committed to this initiative and to the delivery of our expertise in support of improved learning environments and student achievement," Wilbanks said. "We are proud to partner in this innovative and creative partnership, and to be part of the solution for Michigan students and their families. The University and the Detroit Public Schools will be well served by the appointments of Mike Morris and Jim Stapleton."
Detroit Public Schools appointees:
Sharlonda Buckman is executive director for Detroit's Parent Network. Buckman was born and raised in Detroit and earned her master's degree in community economic development from Southern New Hampshire University. Buckman serves on the board of Communities In Schools, New Detroit Inc., Michigan College Access Network and University YES East Academy. She has received several awards for her leadership and service including the Judge Wade McCree Jr. Friend of Children Award, Spirit of Detroit, Citizen of the Week and others from youth serving agencies for her personal and professional accomplishments.
Roy Roberts is emergency manager of the Detroit Public Schools where he is working to transform the education system. He stresses that the number one priority is providing the children of Detroit Public Schools with a quality education. He previously served as managing director of private-equity investment firm Reliant Equity Investors, L.L.C. and is the former group vice president of North American Vehicle Sales, Service and Marketing for General Motors Corp.
Roberts earned a bachelor's degree in business administration from Western Michigan University and completed several graduate courses at Western Michigan University and Wayne State University. He completed the Executive Development Program at Harvard Graduate School of Business and the General Motors Advanced International General Management Program in Switzerland. He is trustee emeritus at Western Michigan University and served as president of the national board of directors for the Boy Scouts of America. He previously served as a board member of the Morehouse School of Medicine, president of the NAACP and on the national boards of the United Negro College Fund, the Aspen Institute and the National Urban League.
Roberts will also serve a two-year term on the executive committee and will chair the executive committee.
Eastern Michigan University appointees:
Mike Morris is chairman and chief executive officer of American Electric Power (AEP). From 1997 to 2003, he was chairman, president and CEO of Northeast Utilities System and previously served as president and CEO of Consumers Energy. He serves on the U.S. Department of Energy's Electricity Advisory Board, the National Governors Association's Task Force on Electricity Infrastructure, and Business Roundtable. He serves as a director of the boards of Alcoa, Battelle and The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc.
Morris graduated from Eastern Michigan University with both a bachelor's and master's degree in biology. He served on the Board of Regents at Eastern Michigan University from 1997-2004 and was recently appointed by Snyder to serve another term as regent. In 1995 he received the university's Distinguished Alumnus Award. During his graduate years, he was commander of the ROTC Brigade. Morris received a law degree, cum laude, from the Detroit College of Law and is a member of the Michigan Bar Association.
Morris will also serve a four-year term on the executive committee.
Jim Stapleton serves on the Board of Regents at Eastern Michigan University and is a member of the board's executive committee. He is vice chair of the Eagle Administrative Services board. Stapleton is president and CEO of B&R Consultants. From 2001 through July of 2004 he also assumed the responsibilities of senior vice president of business affairs of the Detroit Tigers, making him (for a good majority of his tenure) the highest ranking African-American within the business operations of a Major League Baseball franchise.
He is the former president of The Think Twice Foundation, an organization comprised of African and Jewish American Community Leaders that raised more than $1 million and provided more than 200 units of new and/or refurbished housing for Detroit residents. He is also a past chairman of the Detroit Chapter of the Urban League. Stapleton has served on the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Wayne State University's Shiffman Medical Library Board of Visitors, Ontario Michigan Rail, and the Board of Directors of Detroit Commerce Bank.
Governor Snyder appointees:
Mike Duggan serves as president and CEO of Detroit Medical Center (DMC). Under his leadership, DMC made a profit for the first time since 1997 and the 29-minute emergency guarantee initiative was launched. In 2007 DMC led the industry by bringing all eight hospitals online with an electronic medical record system. In 2010, three Detroit Medical Center hospitals met the stringent national standards of the Leapfrog Group, the nation's premier quality ranking agency, to receive honors as top hospitals in the nation for patient quality and safety. In 2008, all DMC hospitals earned full accreditation from The Joint Commission. Prior to joining DMC, he was Wayne County prosecutor and deputy Wayne County executive. Duggan holds a doctorate of jurisprudence and a bachelor's degree, both from the University of Michigan.
Duggan will also serve a three-year term on the executive committee.
Carol A. Goss is president and chief executive officer of The Skillman Foundation, a private foundation whose mission is to improve the lives of children in Metropolitan Detroit by strengthening their schools and neighborhoods. Goss was named the 2007 James A. Joseph Lecturer by the Association of Black Foundation Executives, and Crain's Detroit Business cited her as one of Southeast Michigan's Most Influential Women. Her professional career includes nearly 21 years of experience in child welfare, family services and youth development. A native Detroiter, Goss has a bachelor's degree in sociology and a Master's in Social Work from the University of Michigan.
Reverend Dr. Joseph Ralph Jordan is pastor of Corinthian Baptist Church in Hamtramck. Jordan is a leader and a member of numerous civic and professional organizations, including president of the Todd-Phillips Children's Home; a member of the executive committee of the Greater Detroit Area Health Council, Inc.; president of the Grand Haven-Dyar-Dequindre Corp.; and chair of the Coalition for Heathcare Equity. His higher learning experience began at Wayne State University in Detroit and continued at Payne Theological Seminary in Wilberforce, Ohio. He earned a master's degree from the University of Detroit Mercy, and a doctorate degree from Drew University in Madison, N.Y.
Mark A. Murray is president of Meijer, Inc. in Grand Rapids. Murray was president of Grand Valley State University from 2001-2006, following a two-decade career in state government and education. During his years in state government, Murray was state treasurer, state budget director, director of the Department of Management and Budget, and acting director of the Family Independence Agency. He also served as vice president for finance and administration at Michigan State University. Murray received his master's degree in labor and industrial relations and his bachelor's degree in economics from Michigan State University.
Murray will also serve a one-year term on the executive committee.
Dr. William F. Pickard is chairman and chief executive officer of VITEC and also chairman and chief executive officer of Global Automotive Alliance, which is comprised of six manufacturing entities with eight plants in four states and Canada.
Pickard holds a bachelor's degree from Western Michigan University, a master's degree from the University of Michigan and a Ph.D from Ohio State University. He is a member of the Detroit Branch of the NAACP. President Reagan nominated and the Senate confirmed him as the first chairman of the African Development Foundation in 1982. He was honored as Michiganian of the Year in 2002 for his mentorship of new entrepreneurs and his leadership.
Pickard will also serve a two-year term on the Executive Committee.
Shirley Stancato is president and CEO of New Detroit, Inc., Southeastern Michigan's leadership coalition devoted solely to race relations, serving as an essential forum for discussion and advocacy for racial equity. Under Stancato's leadership, New Detroit conducts ongoing research to develop best practice models to improve urban high school graduation rates, conducts a multicultural leadership program and supports a financial literacy curriculum in local schools.
Stancato is a graduate of Cass Technical High School and earned her bachelor's and master's degrees from Wayne State University. She is a board member of the Coleman A. Young Foundation, United Way for Southeastern Michigan and the Detroit Institute of Arts. Stancato has received the Distinguished Leadership Award from the National Association of Community Leadership, Crain's Detroit Business 100 Most Influential Women, Woman of Achievement by the Anti-Defamation League and the Detroit News Michiganian of the Year.
Judith Kaye Berry is associate vice president, Strategic Initiatives, Office of the Provost at Lansing Community College. In this role Berry leads development and operations of all college readiness partnerships with 15 secondary school districts spanning the college's service area. She serves on the executive leadership team for the college. Berry previously served as Dean of the Business, Media and Information Technologies Academic Division at the college.
Berry earned a bachelor's degree in business education from Marygrove College, a master's degree in educational administration from Michigan State University and is completing work on a Ph.D. from Walden University. She serves as vice-president of programs for the National Council on Black American Affairs, on the executive board of the Lansing Community Academic Network and the Ingham County Superintendent Roundtable.
The Education Achievement System is a statewide school system that will operate the lowest performing 5 percent of schools not achieving satisfactory results on a redesign plan or that are under an emergency manager. It is designed to provide a stable, financially responsible set of public schools that create the conditions, supports, tools and resources under which teachers can help students make significant academic gains. It will first apply to underperforming schools in Detroit in the 2012-2013 school year and then be expanded to cover the entire state.
The system will place the ultimate power for running each school in the hands of the principal, teachers and staff at the school, rather than in a central administration or office far removed from the school. It will allow principals to hire the best teachers; place, train and support them to provide continuous improvement based on student needs and ensure that at least a third more taxpayer dollars are spent directly in the classroom. Schools will remain in the EAS until they show marked progress for their students at which time they can choose to stay or return their transformed DPS public school system.
The system is governed by an Educational Achievement Authority that is established through an inter-local agreement between Eastern Michigan University and Detroit Public Schools. While both of these "parent organizations" were necessary to form the authority, it will be an independent, free-standing entity.
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