Mantella joins higher ed leaders at Crain's panel, stresses balance, synergy between 'education for life and education for work'

Grand Valley President Philomena V. Mantella joined a panel of higher education leaders on Sept. 26 to address how colleges and universities are working to help shape and strengthen Michigan's future workforce.

Mantella was among the featured leaders at the Crain's Power Breakfast inside a packed ballroom at Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park. She was joined by Ferris State University President Bill Pink and Grand Rapids Community College President Charles Lepper.

One area of focus during the discussion, led by Crain's Executive Editor Mickey Ciokaljo, was the importance of blending the critical thinking that is enhanced by a liberal arts education with more specialized skills and microcredentials.

"When you're talking to CEOs, the most common things they say are not that they need (a particular) skill," Mantella said. "They say: 'They need to be good humans. They need to have an incredible work ethic. They need to be able to think about complex issues and problems and help us to solve them. They need to be curious.'

"So we think there is this harmony and synergy between education for life and education for work. One of the reasons that I came to Grand Valley is the institution embraced both worlds."

All three presidents stressed the importance of helping to better tell the story of the importance of higher education to Michigan's future.

One statistic cited from the Detroit Chamber of Commerce showed that while only 30 percent of voters polled said a higher education degree is worthwhile, 70 percent of jobs by 2027 will require education or training beyond high school.

Mantella highlighted Grand Valley's Blue Dot initiative as one way GVSU is rising to meet the future needs of employers and its students.

Blue Dot is being designed to combine a physical space for tech entrepreneurs and startups to work with students and faculty in downtown Grand Rapids with a broader ecosystem within the university that will produce greater digital literacy for all students and more engineering and computer science graduates.

Mantella said Blue Dot is just one example of Grand Valley recognizing "the importance of being where the economy is going."

"It's going to be absolutely transformational for the community," Mantella said.

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