Today I was lucky enough to get to sit in on a roundtable meeting with President Martin, U.S. Secretary of Labor Solis, Auto Community Director Dr. Montgomery, Congressman John Dingell, Andy Levin from the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Growth, and EMU faculty member Pam Becker.  There was also a very spirited group of UAW members as well as other campus VIP’s.  

    The roundtable was a segment of the secretary’s tour of southeast Michigan focused on getting auto workers who recently became unemployed back into the job market, specifically shifting from auto manufacturing jobs to green and advanced technology jobs.   President Martin and others emphasized the need for additional programs that provide affordable, relevant, and accessible higher education training and talent development in technology management for displaced adult workers in Michigan. There was extra tension in the air surrounding the recent shut down of the GM plant in Willow Run and Andy Levin said pointed out the need to SAVE jobs as well as create new ones because “A job saved is twice as important to the community as a job created”

    This was a great opportunity for EMU to get some very positive press and show the community that they are very willing and able to do their part to help get the local economy back on track.  We are a unique institution in that our average age is for undergrads is 24, (much older than some of our peers) and we are a very “working class” institution.  I’m very proud of President Martin and Congressman Dingell for showing our University in such a positive light.