Business leaders agree: Education critical to economic success

Business leaders in Kalamazoo understand that education is a cornerstone and precedent to successful, productive workers and careers in our region. Several business leaders weighed their opinions in a recent Kalamazoo Gazette Article:

That the state spends more on the Department of Corrections than it does on higher education could hurt high-growth local companies such as MPI Research and Stryker Corp., which rely on educated and talented workers in Southwest Michigan.

“That doesn’t make a lot of sense,” said William Johnston, owner of The Greenleaf Cos.

“I shudder to think that the corrections budget is higher than our education budget,” Johnston said. “We know that the only way out (of the economic slump) is through education.”

“One of the concerns I do have is increasingly the U.S. isn’t putting out as many engineers,” said MacMillan, who noted that Stryker needs talented engineers to develop the medical technology it sells.

Read the Full Article: http://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2010/04/education_critical_to_economic.html