Michigan Tech President Curt Tompkins joined 150 state legislators, governors, and college presidents in Oak Brook, Illinois for the Midwestern Higher Education Policy Summit held June 3-5.
The summit was co-chaired by Illinois Gov. Jim Edgar, Minnesota Senate Majority Leader Roger Moe, and Ferris State University President William Sederburg. The summit served as a forum for the exchange of ideas and the discussion of key policy issues regarding higher education as we approach the 21st Century.
Specifically, the summit focused on three issues--affordability of college, long-term funding of higher education, and the capacity of higher education to change. These topics were selected based on the results of a survey of 3,000 elected officials and educators in the Midwest.
Summit representatives included government and academic leaders from Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.
The meeting was sponsored by the Midwestern Governors' Conference, the Midwestern Legislative Conference, and the Midwestern Higher Education Commission. It was funded in part by a grant from the W. K. Kellogg Foundation.