A Master Plan for Higher Education in the Midwest A Roadmap to the Future of the Nation’s Heartland Honoring Yesterday Serving Today Investing for Tomorrow Stewardship for past investments Prosperity Generational responsibility Conserving the Midwest’s resources and heritage Social well being Securing opportunities for future generations New Knowledge Educated People Innovation Ideas Entrepreneurial Skill K-12 Schools Colleges & Universities Workplace Training Lifelong Learning Communities States Regions Nation World James J. Duderstadt The Millennium Project The University of Michigan A Master Plan for Higher Education in the Midwest A Roadmap to the Future of the Nation’s Heartland @ 2011 The Millennium Project, The University of Michigan All rights reserved. The Millennium Project The University of Michigan 2001 Duderstadt Center 2281 Bonisteel Boulevard Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2094 http://milproj.dc.umich.edu i Preface In his recent book, Caught in the Middle, Richard knowledge they produce, and the innovation and en- Longworth portrays the challenge to the Midwestern trepreneurial skills they possess have become the keys United States in a compelling way: “Today, the Mid- to economic prosperity, public health, national security, west region is in transition, struggling to retain the best and social well being. Third, while the characteristics of its social, cultural, and economic traditions while of the American culture—a diverse population, demo- at the same time trying to reinvent itself for success in cratic values, free-market practices, a predictable legal a very different economic milieu. Much of its current system—provide a fertile environment for innovation, malaise reflects the passing of an agrarian and indus- history has shown that significant public and private trial economy that supported the region for a century. investment is necessary to produce the key ingredients Part of it is the arrival of globalization and three billion of innovation: new knowledge (e.g., research), world- new workers, most from Asia and Eastern Europe, each class human capital (e.g., education), infrastructure ready to do the heavy lifting and low‐skill assembly‐ (e.g., institutions, facilities, and networks), and policies line work that once put bread on Midwestern tables. (e.g., tax, investment, and intellectual property). And Part of it is the dawning of the knowledge economy in finally, I agree completely with Longworth and many a region where a high school diploma used to buy a others that while action at the state and national level ticket to the middle‐class life–and today is only the fare will be important, the vision, power, and opportunity to poverty.” is shifting rapidly to the regional level driven by major To achieve prosperity and security in a hypercom- metropolitan areas. petitive global, knowledge-driven economy, the Ameri- Hence when Richard Longworth approached me to can Midwest faces the challenge of transforming what prepare a report for the Chicago Council’s Heartland was once the farming and manufacturing center of the Papers series on the role of higher education could world economy into what could become its knowledge play—indeed, must play—–in the transformation of the center. Put another way, while the Midwest region once Midwest region into a learning- and innovation-driven provided the muscle for the manufacturing economy society, I was pleased to respond. My first inclination that powered the twentieth century, now it must make was to approach this task very much in the spirit of the the commitment and the investments necessary to be- California Master Plan, developed by President Clark come the brains of the twenty-first century knowledge Kerr of the University of California and his colleagues economy. during a period of extraordinary economic and demo- For the past four decades, I have experienced (and graphic change in 1960. Yet, my own experience with endured) this wrenching transformation at ground zero both that state and the University of California made it as a faculty member and then president of the Univer- clear that while a “master plan” focused on higher edu- sity of Michigan. From this experience, as well as many cation made sense in the mid-twentieth century, today others at the national and international level, I have one must broaden considerations to include all stages become convinced of several imperatives of the brave, of education—K-12, higher education, workplace train- new world facing the Midwest: First, knowledge and ing, lifelong learning—indeed, “cradle to grave” learn- innovation are the drivers of the global economy today, ing needs, opportunities, and experiences. Further- and their importance will only intensify in the future. more, such a study would have to encompass all of the Second, and as a consequence, educated people, the missions of the contemporary university—education, ii scholarship, engagement, health care, economic devel- opment, innovation, entrepreneurial activities, and, of course, traditional roles, such as preserving and trans- mitting culture and serving as a social critic. Finally, while the California Master Plan was an extraordinary success, setting simple albeit challenging and compel- ling goals that would guide public higher education in the state for decades, today it is likely that a “strate- gic process” will be more important than a “strategic plan.” Here my experience with the Bologna Process that is currently transforming higher education in Eu- rope would be invaluable. This report, then, should be viewed as one effort to develop not only a vision and plan to utilize the Mid- west’s rather considerable higher education assets to enable its transformation into a learning and innova- tion society, but as well to suggest both tactics and a process required to sustain this effort for the long haul. Acknowledgements Although the conclusions and recommendations in this report should be viewed as the responsibility of the author, the content has benefited immensely from as- sistance from many others: John Austin and Britany Af- folter-Caine of the Brookings Institute whose seminal work on Great Lakes economic development has stimu- lated many of these efforts, Richard Longworth of The Chicago Council, who encouraged the development of a Heartland Paper that stimulated this background report; Paul Courant and Edie Goldenberg, University of Michigan colleagues working on the future of public higher education; Lou Anna Simon, president of Michi- gan State University, who provided important feedback along with the concept of a “world grant” university; Barbara McFadden Allen of the Committee on Institu- tional Cooperation; Rick Detweiler and Greg Wegner of the Great Lake Colleges Association; and Mark Muro, who led the Brookings Institution effort to develop the innovation hubs proposal for the Midwest. The author would also like to acknowledge the efforts of and thank David Mickey-Pabello for his help in assembling key data characterizing the Midwest region. iii Table of Contents Preface Contents Executive Summary Chapter 1: Introduction Some Symptoms of Our Plight Strategic Roadmapping A Call for Leadership Chapter 2: Setting the Contest: An Environmental Scan The Knowledge Economy Globalization Demographics Technological Change Innovation The Implications for Education The Challenge Before Us Chapter 3: The Midwest Today: A Knowledge Resource Map Characteristics of the Midwest Educational Resources Research, Development, and Innovation Lessons from the Past; Challenges for the Future Chapter 4: The Midwest Tomorrow: A Vision for the Future Learning in the Digital Age Lifelong Learning The Globalization of Education A New Social Contract Implications for Workforce Development Immigration Innovation A Society of Learning and Innovation Chapter 5: How Far Do We Have to Go? A Gap Analysis The Midwest’s Challenge: Economic Transformation K-12 Education: The Crippling Gap iv Higher Education in the Midwest: A Critical Asset at Great Risk The Production of New Knowledge: Research and Innovation Entrepreneurs, Startups, and High-Tech Economic Development Knowledge Infrastructure Challenges at the Federal Level Challenges at the State Level Diversity and Social Inclusion Public Attitudes: Half Right (Essentially) and Half Wrong (Terribly!) Cultural Challenges A Final Warning from History The Writing on the Wall Chapter 6: A Roadmap to the Midwest’s Future A Framework of Findings and Premises A Higher Education Roadmap for the Midwest Region A Higher Education Roadmap for the Midwestern States A Roadmap for Colleges and Universities A Higher Education Roadmap for the Nation The Last Mile (or the First?) Chapter 7: Tactics, Plans, and Processes The Land Grant Acts The California Master Plan The Bologna Process A Marshall Plan for the Midwest A Suggested Process Chapter 8: Over the Horizon: Paradigm Shifts and Game Changers Game Changers Paradigm Shifts Whence and Whither the Revolution The Last Word Appendix A: A Summary of the Education Roadmap at Various Levels Appendix B: An Example: A Midwest Cluster of Energy Innovation Hubs References v Executive Summary Today our world has entered a period of rapid and strategic roadmapping, to develop a higher education profound economic, social, and political transforma- strategy for the Midwest region. Simply stated, the tion driven by knowledge and innovation. Educated roadmapping process begins by asking where we are people, the knowledge they produce, and the innova- today and where we wish to be tomorrow,