Published in the Lansing State Journal Dec. 13, 2024
In a business leader discussion about artificial intelligence and its potential impacts on Michigan’s workforce, I was struck by one auto executive’s viewpoint. Acknowledging employees’ concerns, he pointed out that AI could also prove a game-changing tool for revitalizing people’s skill sets.
I thought about that as we at Michigan State University celebrate our 4,000 December graduates, many of whom will no doubt pursue careers into the 2070s. We need to prepare them for jobs and careers that might not yet exist, while developing a highly skilled workforce to drive Michigan’s 21st-century economy.
We laid some of that groundwork recently as MSU leaders joined our Lansing Community College partners to recommit to an expanding student transfer initiative. Called Envision Green, it started as a collaborative advising program for LCC students transferring to MSU. We are now making it a more robust pathway for local high school graduates choosing community college as their first step toward earning four-year degrees.
Such credentials not only raise students’ prospects for new career options but elevate our community with a more highly qualified workforce that is attractive to the most desirable employers.
With the new Michigan Community College Guarantee covering community college tuition for recent high school graduates, the state under Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is working to raise the share of adults holding a skill certificate or degree from about 51% today to 60% by 2030. MSU will support this goal, backed by a nearly $1 million state grant, by leveraging our work with LCC to become a premier transfer-serving institution through similar relationships with more community colleges — another reason I like to consider MSU “Michigan’s state university.”
I announced this initiative at my presidential investiture in September. Another one I mentioned was MSU’s Lansing Cohort Program, which expands on our Spartan Lansing Promise Scholars and other place-based programs with student supports including summer bridge-to-college experiences, peer mentors, academic success workshops and tutoring.
Meanwhile, the university is preparing to review its general education curriculum to ensure continued relevance. And I’m readying to launch a “Green and White Council” of Michigan leaders and executives to help identify program gaps and advise us on workforce opportunities.
Preparing for tomorrow’s economy will require infrastructure to support our programs. Michigan State’s planned Engineering and Digital Innovation Center will allow us to increase enrollment in engineering, computational sciences and digital literacy disciplines while forming a center for excellence in areas such as advanced manufacturing, materials science and quantum computing.
Together with vital state capital support, MSU will commit university funds augmented by philanthropic sources to the $300 million-plus project, for which we intend to break ground in 2025.
My confidence that MSU is building Michigan’s workforce of the future from a solid foundation was recently reinforced by Times Higher Education with a top-10 employer ranking among public U.S. universities for graduates’ employability.
Michigan State will be a dynamic asset in retooling Michigan’s workforce and strengthening the Greater Lansing economy, whether we’re talking about manufacturing, agriculture, healthcare or other key sectors. Spartans Will!