On Monday of this week I joined Presidents Coleman and Simon, from the University of Michigan and Michigan State University, respectively, to provide joint testimony on higher education to the Michigan Senate.

We testified jointly because together we make up what is known as the University Research Corridor (URC), Michigan’s consortium of major research universities. The URC was formed three years ago, and our mission is no less than leveraging our collective expertise and resources to transform the state’s economy.  We feel strongly that our state’s higher education institutions, especially our three outstanding research universities, are Michigan’s most important assets in developing the talent, research, tech transfer, and vision necessary to put Michigan on the path to a vibrant, diversified and knowledge-based economy.

And we are making progress.  The URC produces more than one invention disclosure every day and literally dozens of startup companies each year.  At the same time we have mechanisms in place to create a dynamic entrepreneurial culture both on our campuses and in our communities.  Each of our institutions puts great emphasis on innovation, through classroom and laboratory instruction as well in research itself and the resulting commercialization of new products and technologies. 

The 2009 URC annual report shows that the three URC institutions account for an amazing 95 percent of all federal research dollars coming into Michigan.  This totals $1.4 billion in research funding that we bring in every year; this funding comes almost entirely from outside the state, and is itself an economic driver for Michigan.  The report also notes that our URC institutions have an annual economic impact on Michigan of $14.5 billion. 

As Michigan’s only urban research university, we have a unique role to play in the URC.  While each of the URC universities is involved in the renewal of Detroit, Wayne State occupies an especially influential niche — located in the very heart of the city and with business, governmental, educational and cultural partnerships extending throughout the metropolitan area.  The Detroit area offers Wayne State a great advantage as a classroom and laboratory for research in which to develop solutions of major importance to the entire country. And we are deeply engaged in Detroit, through our over 120 partnerships with the DPS, TechTown’s economic development initiatives, our research and the many community service activities performed that are either part of our educational experience or a natural impulse for a university so deeply engaged in its community. I hope to share more about these items in future posts.

I shared this and much more with the Michigan senators, and all three universities’ presentations were well-received. I believe that despite the difficult economic situation and the recent history of state appropriations, our government is more and more convinced that our universities are an asset that can help us solve the economic challenges we face. We all hope the final state budget will reflect that conviction.

When Slava Zingerman competes, he usually has little trouble getting his point across.

And that talent has made Zingerman, a 26-year-old senior engineering technology major at Wayne State, the toast of the NCAA in men’s epee fencing. In March, Zingerman, just the second person in history to win three consecutive NCAA titles in the men’s epee event, goes for his fourth championship next month – a distinction never before equaled by anyone, anywhere.

Fencing has three categories, each with its own weapon – the epee, the foil and the sabre.  The 2010 Fencing Championship Midwest Regionals will be held March 13-14 at Northwestern University; the finals are March 25-28 at Harvard.

While Harvard does seem the sort of place you might associate with fencing, Wayne State has long had one of the nation’s most successful fencing programs. Of 12 previous three- or four-time NCAA fencing champs, no less than four were from Wayne State — Zingerman and Anna Garina, three-time women’s epee champion, as well as two-time men’s foil champ Greg Benko and three-time foil champ Ernest Simon.

We’re proud of all our athletes at Wayne State, and wish them well. Few sports are active at this time of year, but in March we’ll have a chance to cheer for one of our own as he makes his mark in an ancient and distinguished competition.

I appreciate the numerous supportive e-mails I have received regarding the new contract governing undergraduate and graduate medical education and clinical services between the School of Medicine and the Detroit Medical Center.

Negotiations were an arduous process, but through much hard work on both sides we were able to reach an agreement. I believe what we have achieved is in the best interest of our students, stakeholders and the city of Detroit, and will benefit all in the years to come. This agreement is an evolution in our relationship with the DMC, and makes it all the more critical that both parties continue to build a strong network of clinical and educational partners.

My office heard from administrators, faculty members and alumni, all of whom recognized the enormous task that was before us. It is rewarding to know that this news is not just of interest to those at the School of Medicine, but to all who rally around Wayne State.

Yesterday evening Wayne State University hosted Jim Leach, the Chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

 Chairman Leach is conducting a 50 state “Civility Tour,” and we were honored to host his stop in Michigan. I think it is especially appropriate that this discussion is happening on our campus. Universities are by definition places where dialog and debate are encouraged because they are absolutely necessary for learning and discovery.  But learning suffers when dialog degrades to a disrespectful exchange of opinions, and we’ve seen way too much of this lately.

 Jim’s cause is a great one. Having spent 30 years in Congress he earned a reputation for bipartisan cooperation, and his talk drew from both his political experience and his prodigious knowledge of history, philosophy and literature. A key point in his discussion was that argumentation is a social good. Civility doesn’t mean avoiding tough subjects. If we are to find common ground and move forward we must engage, and with passion. But that passion should be governed by empathy and respect, and supported with proof.

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Beginning with today’s entry I occasionally will be posting news, information and opinions to this blog page for you to read and comment on if you wish. Some items will offer my take on university events and activities, while others will describe what I think are important programs and initiatives that Wayne State is undertaking on behalf of the many people we serve – including students, faculty, staff, alumni and the wider community. I hope you find this blog a useful way for me to share my thoughts and ideas with you. Obviously I won’t be able to respond to all feedback, but I look forward to doing so when I can.

Before I share the main topic of this first post, I would encourage you to read the e-mail I shared with the campus recently regarding the economic challenges faced by our state and our university, and the need for open communication as we decide how best to navigate these trying times. You can access this e-mail at http://president.wayne.edu/ under “recent communications.”

Wayne State University’s Israel Delegation

Although Michigan’s economic condition poses serious challenges to Wayne State, we still have many opportunities for optimism.  The following describes one of those opportunities.

Last year I requested that the Jewish Community Relations Council help put together a trip that would explore partnerships between Wayne State and higher education institutions and businesses in Israel.  Our delegation of deans, faculty and staff intended to hold preliminary discussions for collaboration, and found energetic receptivity for creating formal partnerships.

Wayne State has a long history of close ties to Detroit’s Jewish community, but that’s not why we went to Israel.  We went to Israel because much is happening there in advanced technology and entrepreneurship that is of great interest here in Detroit, Wayne State and TechTown.  Israel has achieved a prominent place in the world economy; Michigan has many assets essential to returning our economy to global prominence.  Israel has an enthusiastic culture of advanced technology and entrepreneurship, which matches our interests and through which mutually beneficial partnerships can emerge.

Among the institutions with which we discussed possible collaboration were Ben Gurion, Haifa, Bar Ilan and Hebrew universities; Bethlehem University, which is a Catholic school; and Al Quds and Bir Zeit universities, both of which are Muslim.  We also held conversations with, among others, the Hadassah Medical Center and the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, known as “Israel’s M.I.T.”

Our group returned with a long list of appealing opportunities, among them promising new partnerships for TechTown, additional contracts for student and faculty exchanges and a number of joint projects including studies of K-12 education, scientific research and technology transfer.  These are exciting possibilities for everyone concerned.  Taken together, they are a win-win proposition for Wayne State, for Israel, for Israel’s Muslim population, for companies in both Israel and Michigan, and for Detroit.  No surprise, then, that we have another trip planned for June!