Michigan Road Scholars identify community-academic collaborations

Traveling Michigan highways and two-lane roads for five days in early May, the 14th annual Michigan Road Scholars (MRS) “seminar on wheels” took 30 faculty and staff members from Detroit to the Upper Peninsula, and from Grand Rapids to Bay City.

“This year, we focused on the ways Michigan is adapting and evolving into the new knowledge-based economy,” said MRS coordinator Dana Sitzler. “The scholars visited several firms that share common roots: a dynamic entrepreneur who had the vision, established the company and made a commitment to stay and serve the communities of Michigan.”

In Grand Rapids, the Road Scholars met with the Match-e-be-nash-she-wish Band of Pottawatomi, visited the Goodwill Industries of Greater Grand Rapids to observe their remarkable achievements in sustainability, and toured Cascade Engineering, whose CEO Fred Keller discussed his growing firm’s operations and mission.

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