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Universities must work together to keep graduates in Michigan, leaders say

Presidents of Michigan’s top three institutions met on Tuesday to discuss how to create jobs for students in Michigan and attract businesses to the state. Photo credit: Shutterstock.

by Janelle D. James (Bridge Michigan)

Leaders of Michigan three largest universities say they must work together to help create jobs and keep students from fleeing the state once they graduate.

The presidents of the University of Michigan, Wayne State University and Michigan State University agreed Tuesday that collaboration is key and will help grow Detroit and Michigan economy.  They spoke at a meeting of the Detroit Economic Club.

“We have to think about articulation between institutions,” said Santa Ono, president of the University of Michigan. “We have to think about how we might be able to transfer credit from one to another, and we need to just think about the entire portfolio of educational initiatives that we make available in Detroit and throughout the entire state,” he said.

Together, the three universities make up the University Research Corridor, a research alliance aimed at increasing economic growth in Michigan.

“We owe to citizens of Michigan to create intellectual property, to create spin-off companies, to ensure that they stay here in Michigan, so that we create jobs, and also that we are a magnet for other companies that will want to move towards the talent that we produce,” Ono said.

Michigan population is trending older and is projected to shrink by 2050. The state gained almost 4,000 residents in 2023, but the population has dropped by 40,000 since 2020. Job growth, meanwhile, has been largely flat. As of August, the 12-month increase in non-farm employment in Michigan stood at 0.7%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Spotlight on AI, small business

One area of focus for the University Research Corridor is artificial intelligence, which is becoming a more common workplace tool.

“We are responsible, the universities  … to retool the workforce,” said Kevin Guskiewicz, president of Michigan State University. “It shouldn’t be replacing jobs and careers, but we have to retool and reimagine what is needed. We are going to help solve those challenges around AI.”

Wayne State University is fostering job growth by focusing on small technology businesses, Kimberly Andrews Espy, president of Wayne State University said

“We work with our faculty and have a robust technology commercialization and support arm, but we also have a community-based approach in our TechTown (WSU Detroit entrepreneurial hub) that works with community-based businesses. So when we think about economic development, each of those strategies needs to come together.”

This article is being republished through a syndication agreement with Bridge Michigan. Bridge Michigan is Michigan largest nonprofit news service and one of the nation leading and largest nonprofit civic news providers. Their coverage is nonpartisan, fact-based, and data-driven. Find them online at .

by Sara Swanson

Sara Swanson is an editor, writer and a founder of the Manchester Mirror.