Higher education and the state of Michigan's economy were the topics of discussion among MSU administrators and students Tuesday when a Detroit radio station visited MSU's campus as part of its college tour.
MSU President Lou Anna K. Simon was grilled by WJR's Frank Beckmann — who hosts a talk show for the station — about how well high schools across the state prepare students for college life, as well as how universities plan to keep their graduates in-state. WJR also is the flagship radio station for MSU, broadcasting football and men's basketball games.
Students discussed the need to globalize study programs Tuesday in order to become "world citizens."
Here is some of what was discussed:
Michigan's economy
"Now, a cynic would say they have to be ready for the world afterwards because the state of Michigan doesn't have the jobs for them anymore," Beckmann said.
Places like Traverse City, where agricultural business is booming, and Kalamazoo, which has a growing pre-drug animal-testing facility, are searching for MSU students, Simon said.
"Hopefully, our students will be able to fit into the companies that are growing," she said.
The university research corridor partnership with Wayne State University and the University of Michigan will act as a magnet to bring businesses to the state, not simply react when something goes wrong, Simon said.
Some of the medical research needed to improve Michigan economically could come from the College of Human Medicine's expansion into Grand Rapids and the College of Osteopathic Medicine's satellite campus in southeast Michigan.
"We'll figure out a way to put a finger in the dike to stop the bleeding of jobs from Michigan," Simon said.
But electrical engineering junior Jakub Mazur said it's the responsibility of innovative college students to bring businesses to the state.
"If you're talking to companies on the West Coast or anywhere displaced globally, ask them something they're doing and try to find a way to bring that to Michigan," said Mazur, who attended the event. "I think anything could be created in Michigan. I don't think we're limited to anything."
Preparing students for college
Beckmann expressed his concern for the amount of students entering state high schools who will enroll for college — 41 percent — since Michigan is 49th in retaining those college graduates.
"As the president of one of our major universities, are you satisfied with what our high schools are doing in preparing those kids?" he asked.
Simon didn't exactly respond with a definite yes or no answer, but did admit high schools are doing a "highly variable" job depending on their location in the state. She wouldn't specify as to which locations, but added schools are doing a great job in making math, technology and music more appealing to students.
International programs
Provost Kim Wilcox focused on globalizing university programs.
"We've got to evolve into a new way of thinking," Wilcox said. "International shouldn't be a separate way of thinking."
Research, both domestic and international, should be the same, he added.
Andrew Baczewski, an electrical engineering senior, said he studied abroad in Germany two years ago and that particular trip spawned his international interest.
"It got me really interested in other cultures and learning another language," he said. "I feel the culture experience itself is necessary as a professional tool."
Baczewski will be conducting research in Japan during his three-month visit there next week.
"It really opens yourself up to learning," he said. "I really enjoy it, and I try to seek out those opportunities."
To hear more of the interviews, visit www.wjr.com. Staff writer Sarah Harbison contributed to this report. Kristi Jourdan can be reached at jourdank@msu.edu.
