Higher Education :Blogs

Bill Wrobleski thinks it's time we all went green. He also thinks it's easier to make a difference than you think. As the director of U-M's Technical Infrastructure Operations at the school's Administrative Information Services he's charged with balancing the growing tech needs of the U and its desire to be a good environmental citizen.

Catheryn Cheal, Ph.D. has some big ideas about technology and education. Which is fitting since she's the Assistant Vice President of e-Learning and Instructional Support at Oakland University. She'll be writing this week about the evolution of learning and technology, and its potential impact on SE Michigan.

In a sign that the Great Lakes State is riding the wave of its young talent, a group of interns came to exchange ideas with state powerbrokers at the recent Mackinac Policy Conference. Jennifer Guracech, Chris Ando, and Christian Bielski offer up their takeaways from this gathering of Michigan's intelligentsia.

Dan Gilmartin is our guest blogger this week. He is the youngest executive director in the 108 year history of the Michigan Municipal League. Dan previously served as the League's deputy director and as an advocate in Lansing and in Washington, where he concentrated on transportation, land use and urban redevelopment. Check back here each week day to read Dan's thoughts on regionalism and how we can build the kind of community that attracts knowledge-based workers.

Social media, "tweeting" and "friending". These days, it's hard to tell screen time from face time. Meet Jeffrey MacKie-Mason, associate dean for academic affairs at the University of Michigan School of Information. This week, he'll be talking about the knowledge economy opportunities emerging from a unique graduate program that blends information systems with the social sciences.

Professor Jerry Lindman wants Metro Detroiters to consider nonprofit management as a viable career option. As the Director for the Center for Nonprofit Management at Lawrence Tech, he has a deep understanding of the professional opportunities they offer. Guess what he'll be writing about.

Here's Post No. 4 from Lou Glazer, the president of Ann Arbor-based Michigan Future Inc., a think-tank that is a resource of ideas for how Michigan can and should reshape its economy. Check back daily for more of Glazer's thoughts.

Mike is president and CEO of Ann Arbor SPARK. A passionate advocate for the transformation of Michigan's high-tech economy he also managed the MEDC’s $1 billion Michigan Life Sciences Corridor initiative between 2000 and 2002. Mike will be wriing about who's making a difference in the Michigan and why.

Pavan Muzumdar, entrepreneur-in-residence at Lawrence Tech, has a thinkpot of ideas from the practical to the theoretical for us this week. He'll start with options for our money and move on to the relationship of the BP oil spill to kitty litter scooper sales (call it the Black Swan Effect).