FEATURE ARTICLE
Jason Eyster, Associate Professor
JoHN ENGLER, PRESIDENT oF THE BUSINESS RoUNDTABLE AND FoRMER MICHIGAN STATE GoVERNoR
Elected, co-chair of the Michigan Coalition for Refugee and Immigrant Rights, an umbrella organization representing the state’s immigrant rights groups and agencies. Mentored, students at Ypsilanti High School (Michigan) as they prepared for the regional Distributive Education Clubs of America, Inc., (DECA) Competition. Participated, in the Michigan Special Immigrant Juvenile Roundtable at Michigan State University, an organization he founded five years ago. Lectured, on the paths of citizenship at the 16th Dia de la Mujer Conference. Lectured, on changing standards of asylum regulation in common law countries at Kyushu University Law School in Fukuoka, Japan. Spoke, at the monthly meeting of Barrier Busters at Ypsilanti Library, to 60 area social workers about current immigration issues affecting Washtenaw County residents. Published, “Searching for the Key in the Wrong Place: Why ‘Common Sense’ Credibility Rules Consistently Harm Refugees,” 30 Boston University International L. Journal 1 (2012). Edited, Immigration Practice Pointers, published annually by the American Immigration Lawyers Association. organized, and led an immigration information session at Beautiful Gate Church in Ypsilanti, Mich.
John EnglEr
LEADING BUSInESS CrEATIon
Interviewed, on immigration issues for a half-hour broadcast on SWOCC network, cablecast in the cities of Farmington, Farmington Hills, and Novi., Mich.
Growing up on a 500-acre farm in central Michigan is fields away from leading one of the country’s most influential business organizations. But for John Engler (Wing Class, 1982), making the leap from agriculture to politics was easy.
Heather Garretson, Associate Professor Published, a chapter in the recently published book Collateral Consequences of Criminal Conviction. Presented, a paper regarding innovative teaching ideas that was the result of collaborative research with fellow Cooley professors Tonya Krause-Phelan, Jane Siegel, and Kara Zech Thelen. The paper, The Idea SwapMeet, details the 80 innovative ideas the group created, discussed and implemented. This paper was presented at the Institute for Law Teaching and Learning’s summer conference, Value of Variety/ Reflecting on Our Teaching, at Gonzaga University School of Law in Spokane, Wash., in June 2012. Accepted, for presentation, her abstract, “I Paid My Debt But Can’t Pay My Rent: The Devastating Economic Consequences of a Criminal Conviction,” at the University of Wisconsin Law School’s Midwest Law and Society Retreat held in September 2012. Published, an article, “Sales Pass Activity,” outlining how to incorporate professionalism and community service into class by using passes, in Law Teacher, Spring 2012 publication. Joseph Kimble, Professor Spoke, at Clarity’s Fifth International Conference, in Washington, D.C. Clarity is an international association promoting plain legal language, and Kimble is a past president. He talked about his new book, Writing for Dollars,Writing to Please: The Case for Plain Language in Business, Government, and Law, and he also gave a presentation on legal drafting. Quoted, extensively in national media (including MarketWatch) on the evidence in his new book that using plain language could save businesses and government millions — even billions — of dollars. Spoke, at his college reunion (Amherst College) about his work redrafting the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and Federal Rules of Evidence. Interviewed, for a podcast on Health Literacy Out Loud. Presented, a session on editing for the Thomas M. Cooley Law Review. Completed, work on volume 14 of The Scribes Journal of Legal Writing. Kimble has served as the editor in chief for seven volumes, and served as the managing editor for three volumes before that. Tonya Krause-Phelen, Associate Professor Collaborated, with professors Heather Garretson, Jane Siegel, and Kara Zech Thelen during the Hilary 2012 term to create and implement new teaching ideas. The collaboration resulted in a paper, The Idea SwapMeet, detailing the 80 innovative ideas the group created, discussed and implemented. Presented, The Idea SwapMeet, along with Associate Professor Jane Siegel and Assistant Professor Kara Zech Thelen, at the Institute for Law Teaching and Learning’s summer conference, Value of Variety/Reflecting on Our Teaching, on June 25-26, 2012 at Gonzaga University School of Law in Spokane, Wash. Continued on Following Page >
Engler, the current president of Business Roundtable (BRT) and former Michigan governor, earned his Juris Doctor in 1982, but his long-standing career in politics didn’t begin there. “When I began my career in the legislature, Cooley didn’t exist,” said Engler. “It wasn’t until years later that I decided to pursue a legal education, and I’m grateful that I did. My education from Cooley has given me an irreplaceable skill set that has been an asset to my career as both governor and president of BRT.” EARLy BEGINNINGS
In 1968, Engler, a sophomore at Michigan State University (MSU) studying agricultural economics, helped his father run for state representative. Little did he know, his father’s campaign would be the spark that would ignite his passion for politics. “It was the first campaign I ever worked on, and even though it was a losing effort, I was fascinated by it,” said Engler. Two years later, after hours spent alternating between school work and working alongside a friend to determine what it would take to win a campaign, the 22-year-old MSU senior ran for the same legislative seat he helped his father campaign for in 1968. But this time, Engler himself won. “The campaign plan was written with someone else in mind, someone a bit older and with more experience,” said Engler. “But it was also a plan I felt would work for me. So I tried, and with hard work, a bit of luck, and a margin of 160 votes, I won. It was amazing.” Engler may have begun his long-standing political career as a senior in college serving in the Michigan House of Representatives, but that’s not where he had imagined his future would take him. “I grew up on a farm, and a degree in agricultural economics seemed like the best choice,” said Engler. “I figured that’s where my future was heading, but the opportunities my coursework provided me, coupled with helping my father run for office, took me in another direction entirely.” MoVING FoRWARD
After serving as state representative through the course of four terms, Engler decided to shift his focus to the Michigan State Senate. In 1979, he was elected state senator and began the first of three four-year terms.While serving in the Senate, Engler met long-time friends Dennis Koons and Carol Viventi who were getting ready to start their education at Cooley in January. Engler decided to join them. “I remember talking with then-President Thomas E. Brennan about
BENCHMARK COLUMN | SEPTEMBER 2012 | VOLUME 4 | NUMBER 3
“Cooley has made it possible for nontraditional students to obtain a law degree. If you go back to the foundation of Cooley, there were a lot of nontraditional students who wouldn’t have achieved a legal education without the flexibility Cooley continues to offer. I was one of them.”
how to enroll. He told me I had to take the Law School Admission Test. I had no idea what that was at the time, but I took it, got admitted and started a semester after Koons and Viventi in May,” said Engler. The eight, 15-week, credit-loaded terms Engler endured to catch up with his pals while juggling committee meetings, strategy sessions and serving full-time in the State Senate paid off. He graduated in 1982, a term early, alongside Koons, Viventi, and the rest of the Wing Class. “It was fun,” said Engler. “We had a few classes together, and we studied together. We’re still good friends today.” GoVERNING MICHIGAN
Though he began his time in the Senate in the Republican minority, by 1984, the Republicans had become the majority, and Engler was elected Senate Majority Leader. He held the leadership position until 1990 when he became the first sitting legislator to be elected Michigan governor in more than 100 years. As Michigan’s 46th governor, Engler had a hand in reforming Michigan’s education policies, including the creation of the Michigan Merit Award, a $2,500 scholarship for college or training awarded to each graduating high school senior whose Michigan Educational Assessment Program scores registered proficient or higher in reading, writing, science, and math. Other highlights from Engler’s three terms as governor include multiple tax reductions, helping nearly 300,000 families achieve independence from welfare and reducing welfare rolls by nearly 70 percent, restoring Michigan’s AAA credit rating, and lowering Michigan’s unemployment rate from 9 percent to 3.4 percent. “I’ve always believed that big things matter the most, like education, tax burdens and the business climate,” said Engler. “It is important that working people see the connection between government and public policy.” BUSINESS LEADERSHIP
In 2004, Engler was appointed president and CEO of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) after a year’s service as president of the State and Local Government Sector of Electronic Data Systems. In 2010, after six and a half years with NAM, Engler was appointed president of BRT, an association of more than 200 chief executive officers from leading U.S. companies. These CEOs’ companies generate more than $6 trillion in annual revenues and employ more than 14 million people, while also accounting for more than 50 percent of the research and development conducted in the nation’s private sector. The goals of BRT are simple: to educate the public and policymakers on the importance of business in the formation of public policy and to help expand economic opportunities in America.
“We recently published Taking Action for America, a plan designed by our CEOs to increase workforce and economic growth,” said Engler. The plan, which is divided into three main categories, addresses, among other things, what the CEOs believe needs to be done to maintain and improve American global leadership, education, trade, technology, and fiscal policy. “There’s a lot of trouble in our economy right now,” said Engler. “If you start fixing these problems, you start fixing the U.S. economy.” LooKING BACK
Remarking on his fulfilling career, Engler attributes a large part of his success at BRT to his education at Cooley. “In one meeting we’re talking about tax laws and the next we’re talking about everything from corporate governance to trade laws and financial regulations,” he said. “To have an understanding of what a law was intended to do and what the legal rationale is behind it is very beneficial in my line of work.” Looking back, that isn’t the only reason Engler appreciates Cooley. “There’s no question that Cooley has had a profound effect on democratizing the law,” said Engler. “In other words, Cooley has made it possible for nontraditional students to obtain a law degree. If you go back to the foundation of Cooley, there were a lot of nontraditional students who wouldn’t have achieved a legal education without the flexibility Cooley continues to offer. I was one of them.” Just as his legal training has helped him through his career, so has his family. “My father spent 20 years on the local school board, and education was something he valued,” said Engler. “He always wished he could attend MSU. He even enrolled and completed a short course in agriculture, but he was needed at home and couldn’t attend full-time. Going to college was huge for me; just as it is for my girls today.” Triplet daughters Margaret, Madeleine and Hannah are getting ready to finish their last year of high school while his wife, Michelle, spends most of her time trying to keep up with them. “Michelle has about five jobs as far as I can tell. She’s a fulltime volunteer and mother and a part-time chauffeur. She also serves on the Jackson Variable Annuity Board for Jackson Life Insurance. She’s an amazing woman; all four of my ‘girls’ are.” When asked how he feels about the impact his career has had, Engler answered, “I grew up on a farm raising cattle and harvesting crops. I never imagined I’d one day run for office, let alone be successful in office. I’ve always tried to operate by the philosophy of taking on responsibility when there’s an opportunity to do so. If you work hard and remain honest in your dealings with people, you’ll go far, and that has served me well.”