Gov. Jennifer Granholm visited Macomb County on Monday to announce two efforts aimed at increasing access to higher education.

The governor created a 15-member panel to assess the need for expanding options for postsecondary school programs in the county and commissioned an independent study of the county's higher education needs.

Granholm said higher education is a key to economic growth and the initiatives are vital to the future of the county and the state.

"The bottom line is the county's future depends on increasing the opportunities for higher education in it," she said. And "our goal is to double the number of college graduates by 2016. I want Macomb County to help lead that effort."

The study will determine the best ways to expand higher education options in the county, she said.

The study will be paid through private funding.

Granholm said she would make an announcement about sponsorship of the survey in the next couple weeks.

She also said U.S. Rep. Sander Levin, D-Royal Oak, will serve as a liaison between the panel and the study.

Granholm's announcement comes about seven months after Levin started a push to study whether Macomb County needs a four-year university.

On Monday, Granholm signed an executive order creating and launching the two programs from the backyard deck of Mark and Gail Titus' ranch-style home on Little Mack near 15 Mile in Clinton Township.

The Titus residence was chosen as a backdrop for the unveiling of the two programs because the couple is active in raising awareness of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and education. Mark Titus also serves as secretary for the Clintondale Community Schools Board of Education.

Anthony Taormina, 22, of Clinton Township said he would love to have a four-year university closer to home. He's driving more than 100 miles a day to classes at Eastern Michigan University.

"It would make things a lot easier for me," he said. "I work full time for a construction company and have to drive all the way to Ypsilanti."

Taormina was among the local elected officials and guests invited to the ceremony at the Titus home.

Critics, however, say the move is a ploy to bolster support for the governor in Macomb County.

"When will the commissions stop and the leadership start?" asked Sarah Anderson, a spokeswoman for the Michigan Republican Party in Lansing.

"The governor will do everything to give the appearance of moving forward but doesn't do anything to actually get the state moving forward."

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July 17, 2006

Detroit Free Press

More higher-ed options possible

Granholm says committee will study what Macomb County offers, needs

by Sahbina S. Skatri, Free Press Staff Writer

Gov. Jennifer Granholm announced Monday the creation of a committee to assess higher education needs in Macomb County.

She also called for an independent study by year's end on what county residents think about the higher education offerings already in place.

The initiatives will work to boost the number of adults with college degrees in the region, said Granholm, who is pushing to double the number of college graduates in the state by 2016. More college degrees, she said, will translate into more high-paying jobs for Michigan residents.

John Truscott, a spokesman for the campaign of Dick DeVos, Granholm's Republican challenger, was skeptical of the initiatives.

"It's really unfortunate. Instead of taking action and getting things done, she keeps putting decisions off," Truscott said Monday. "Study committees don't make decisions, they just delay them."

He also noted that Granholm's last three budgets contained reduced funding for higher education.

Macomb is one of the largest counties in the nation without a four-year public higher education institution, and less than a fifth of residents 25 and older hold bachelor's degrees.

"The governor feels Macomb County's higher education needs are not being met," said U.S. Rep. Sander Levin, D-Mich., who has pushed for the construction of a four-year university in the county.

The Royal Oak Democrat will serve as a liaison between those conducting the study and the new 15-member nonpartisan Commission on Higher Education and Economic Growth in Macomb County, which will be chaired by U.S. District Judge George Steeh.

"I think this is going to be huge," said Mark Titus, a member of the Clintondale Community Schools Board of Education, whose Clinton Township home served as the site of Granholm's announcement.

Titus's daughter, 15-year-old Clintondale High School sophomore Jessica Titus, said she would prefer having more options for higher education closer to home.

Many Macomb County residents echo that sentiment, including Anthony Taormina, 22, who drives from Clinton Township to Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti.

He said his job with a construction company in Chesterfield Township makes it impossible to move, but taking classes closer to home is out of the question because EMU is the closest school that offers the construction-management curriculum he seeks.

"There are limited opportunities," said Taormina.

Residents also said family responsibilities limit options.

Andrea Morris, a 40-year-old nursing student at Baker College in Clinton Township, said more educational options in the area would help her balance work, school and family, while giving young students a much-needed support system.

"There's more of a success rate from being closer to home," said Morris, who has a daughter who attends Central Michigan University in Mt. Pleasant. "Freshman year was pretty hard for my daughter."

Granholm said any expansion of higher education offerings would be an improvement.
"This county's future depends on higher education," she said.

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