The MSU President’s Education Forums were established in 1998 and are an outreach strategy to inform policy makers and education leaders about current education policy issues and to open discussion around research and best practice in specific education policy areas. These annual forums are sponsored by Michigan State University President Lou Anna Simon and by the College of Education through the Office of K-12 Outreach. These forums, which are by invitation only, are well attended by state legislators and their staff members, State Board of Education members, Michigan Department of Education staff, leaders of local and intermediate school districts and association representatives. Each year the forums provide an opportunity for continuing conversations around critical national and state policy issues. Presentations are made by key MSU College of Education faculty and national authorities who address critical policy issues. The Michigan EPFP's affiliation with the Education Policy Center at MSU and the Office of K-12 Outreach enables the EPFP Fellows to participate in these forums. While attendance is encouraged, these forums are optional policy experiences for the Michigan EPFP Fellows. A luncheon is provided and reservations are required.
The 2009 forums are listed below:
February 5, 2009
A Vision for the University in Times of Economic Crisis
Dr. Lou Anna K. Simon is the 20th president of Michigan State University, leading the way to Advancing
Knowledge and Transforming Lives. She served as provost and vice president for academic affairs
from 1993-2004 and as interim president in 2003. Dr. Simon was appointed president by the MSU Board of Trustees in January 2005. President Simon has a distinguished history with MSU. After earning her doctorate in administration and higher education from MSU in 1974, she became a member of the MSU faculty and assistant director of the Office of Institutional Research (now the Office of Planning and Budgets). From there, she moved into a variety of administrative roles, including assistant provost for general academic
administration during the 1980s and associate provost in the early 1990s.
Dr. Simon’s commitment to the land-grant tradition of applying education in many areas, particularly in
economic development and globalization, has been demonstrated on a national level through her work
as a member of the Council on Competitiveness and the Board of Directors for the National Association
of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges (NASULGC). Dr. Simon was appointed to the
Governor’s Emergency Financial Advisory Panel and served as a member of the Lt. Governor’s
Commission on Higher Education and Economic Growth (Cherry Commission). She is a member of the
Michigan Strategic Economic Investment and Commercialization Board (SEIC), the Detroit
Renaissance Board of Directors and, more locally, of Prima Civitas. Dr. Simon has served as a
member of the American Council on Education (ACE) Commission on International Initiatives and the
Executive Committee of the Partnership to Cut Hunger in Africa.
March 3, 2009
Michigan's Economic Outlook
Dr. David Arsen is a professor of Educational Administration in the College of Education at Michigan State University. A Michigan native, he received his B.A. in Economics from the University of Michigan and went on to earn his Ph.D. in Economics at the University of California, Berkeley. Throughout his career, Dr. Arsen has
devoted his teaching and research to applied public policy analysis, with specialization in public finance and state
and local economic development. He taught at Barnard College, Columbia University before returning to
Michigan to take a position in MSU’s James Madison College where he led the development of the Political
Economy program. Dr. Arsen joined MSU’s College of Education in 2001. His current research focuses on
educational finance, school choice and education policy.
Dr. Charles Ballard is a Professor of Economics at Michigan State University. He has been on the faculty at MSU
since 1983, when he received his Ph.D. from Stanford University. In 2007, he became Director of the State of the
State Survey, in MSU’s Institute for Public Policy and Social Research. Much of Professor Ballard’s research
involves analysis of public policies, including environmental policies, the Michigan tax system, and tax credits for
health insurance. He has served as a consultant with the U.S. Departments of Agriculture, Health & Human
Services, and Treasury, and with research institutes in Australia, Denmark, and Finland. His books include
Michigan at the Millennium (2003), Real Economics for Real People (2004), and Michigan’s Economic Future
(2006).
April 21, 2009
Education Stimulus: Staggering Opportunity, Monumental Challenge
Dr. Robert Floden is a University Distinguished Professor of teacher education, measurement and quantitative methods, educational psychology, and educational policy. He is associate dean for research, director of the Institute for Research on Teaching and Learning and co-director of Teachers for a New Era (TNE). He has studied teacher education and other influences on teaching and learning, including work on the cultures of teaching, on teacher development, on the character and effects of teacher education, and on how policy is linked to classroom practice. His current research examines teacher preparation and teachers’ mathematical knowledge for teaching. Dr. Floden received his Ph.D. from Stanford University and he is a member of the National Academy of Education.
For more information see President's Education Forums. |