Friday, Jan. 17, 2014
LANSING, Mich. – Gov. Rick Snyder announced in his fourth State of the State address a bold vision for attracting global talent to bring more and better jobs to Michigan, and a growing group of more than 30 educational leaders, elected officials, business leaders, nonprofit groups and other community leaders offered their support for the governor’s plan.
“Making Michigan even more welcoming to immigrants with advanced academic degrees or entrepreneurial aspirations will not only provide them with great opportunities to grow,” Snyder said. “It will also benefit Michigan by bringing their countless skills, talents and contributions to help create more and better jobs in our state.”
Snyder said he will issue an executive order to create the Michigan Office for New Americans, which will drive strategies for attracting immigrants to Michigan. Snyder also urged Congress to approve Michigan’s application to become only the second state with a state-sponsored EB-5 visa regional center. The EB-5 is a tool for attracting investment and creating jobs for U.S. workers.
The growing list of supporters includes:
- University of Michigan President Mary Sue Coleman
- Michigan State University President Lou Anna K. Simon
- University of Detroit-Mercy President Antoine Garibaldi
- Grand Rapids Community College President Steven Ender
- Wayne County Community College District Chancellor Dr. Curtis Ivery
- Ferris State University Latino Business & Economic Development Center Director Carlos Sanchez
- Chaldean American Chamber of Commerce and Chaldean Community Foundation President Martin Manna
- Michigan Black Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Ken Harris
- Michigan Alliance of Latinos Moving Towards Advancement Board Member Rick Garcia
- American Arab Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Fay Beydoun
- Asian Pacific American Chamber of Commerce
- Arab Chaldean Center for Economic & Social Services Executive Director Hassan Jaber
- Grand Rapids Mayor George Heartwell
- Grand Rapids City Manager Greg Sundstrom
- Kent County Commissioner Harold Mast
- Caledonia Township Supervisor Bryan Harrison
- Mercy Health Saint Mary President Bill Manns
- Mercy Health Regional CEO Roger Spoelman
- GHSP, Inc. President Paul Doyle
- CWD Real Estate Investment Managing Partner Sam Cummings
- La Fuente Consulting CEO Ana Ramirez-Saenz
- Butterball Farms Inc. CEO Mark Peters
- Roman Manufacturing President & CEO Robert Roth
- Feel Like You Belong TV Host Alan Headbloom
- ACRO Service Corp. President and CEO Ravinder (Ron) Shahani
- Perrigo Retired CEO Mike Jandernoa
- Celebration Cinema Director of Community Affairs Emily Loeks
- Amway Corporation’s Dirk Bloemendaal
- The Right Place Inc. President and CEO Birgit M. Klohs
- Partners Worldwide President Doug Seebeck
- Partners Worldwide Board Chairman Jim Tuinstra
- Partners Worldwide U.S. Regional Facilitator Rudy Carrasco
- Korean Connections President Dr. Deborah Havens
- Talent 2025 President Kevin Stotts
To read more about the governor’s plan and to view the 2014 State of the State address, visit Michigan.gov/Snyder.
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