TalentFirst Launches Michigan Center for Adult College Success

CEO alliance TalentFirst last week announced a statewide, multimillion-dollar initiative to help more adults obtain postsecondary credentials, a critical need for Michigan to compete in a knowledge-based economy.

The Michigan Center for Adult College Success will serve as the state’s primary resource for research, support and best practices on increasing adult enrollment and completion of postsecondary credentials and degrees.

“The Center will partner with community colleges and universities to research, design, fund, pilot and evaluate innovative programs,” said TalentFirst President Kevin Stotts.

“If we hope to compete economically, we must close our skills and education gaps. Adult learners are critical to that,” added Stotts. “These nontraditional students have complex lives. They have jobs. They have families. We can and must do better to help them enroll and complete their post-secondary education.”

As of 2021, Michigan’s postsecondary attainment rate was 50.5% – lagging the national average of 53.7% and last among the Great Lakes states. Michigan has set a goal that 60 percent of working age adults have a postsecondary degree by 2030. The state needs approximately 431,000 more adults to reach that milestone by the end of the decade. This challenge has led the state to invest in postsecondary success.

The Center is funded by a one-time state appropriation of

$9.2 million to be spent over four years, primarily on launching pilot programs at community colleges and universities.

Jeremy Hendges, the Center’s executive director, brings 20 years of experience as a legislative staffer and in state department leadership, roles in which he was involved in numerous talent development initiatives, including the establishment of Michigan Reconnect, a state program that provides tuition support for adult students.

“Reconnect has been an important investment in improving state talent,” Hendges said. “Now we need to work on maximizing the return on that investment by increasing enrollment of adult learners and helping more of them complete their postsecondary education. We aim to make Michigan the leader in adult enrollment and completion of credentials and degrees.”

The Center is an initiative of TalentFirst. It has a statewide focus and is led by a governing council with statewide representation, including Chris Baldwin, senior fellow at the National Center for Inquiry and Improvement; Brian Calley, president of the Small Business Association of Michigan; Todd Gustafson, president & CEO of nonprofit Kinexus; Paula Herbart, president of the Michigan Education Association; Jim Jacobs, president emeritus of Macomb Community College; Bill Rayl, executive director of the Michigan Manufacturers Association; Amy Lee, executive dean of collaborative programs for the Michigan Community College Association; and Sarah Szurpicki, director of Sixty x 30 for the state of Michigan. Stotts also will serve on the governing council.

While our country faces a host of challenges, the Republican-led House has put forward tangible solutions to the difficulties we face.

For example, on April 26th my House Republican colleagues and I passed the Limit, Save, Grow Act. This legislation would address the debt ceiling and rein in Washington’s out of control spending with reasonable measures. As negotiations continue, it has been clear the Democrat-led Senate cannot pass their own debt ceiling bill. If it could, the Senate already would have done so. In a divided government neither side will get everything they want, but there must be a willingness to deliver meaningful results. While the window is closing, I believe there is still time to achieve this goal.

On March 30th, the House passed the Lower Energy Costs Act. This legislation would increase domestic energy production, enhance our nation’s energy security, and lower energy prices by modernizing the permitting process and repealing the “heat your home” tax.

On May 11th, the House passed the Secure the Border Act. This measure is viewed as the strongest border security bill to pass the House in the modern era. Through increased personnel, enhanced technology, and improved resources, we can properly secure our border, stop human trafficking, and reduce the flow of deadly drugs entering Southwest Michigan.

Also on April 26th, the House Financial Services Committee passed my bill, H.R. 1579, by a vote of 41-2. This legislation will help small businesses in Ottawa County gain access to capital by modernizing the definition of an accredited investor. Modifying this requirement will have a meaningful impact in terms of opportunity and small business growth.

We don’t need West Michigan to be more like Washington, we need Washington to be more like West Michigan. This is why I am working to bring commonsense solutions to our nation’s capital that will make Ottawa County and Michigan’s 4th Congressional District an even better place to live, work, and raise a family.

If you need help navigating a federal agency, please visit Huizenga.House.Gov or call my office in Holland at (616) 251-6741 or in Washington at (202) 225-4401 so we can assist you.

The initial work will be to identify public universities, private colleges, and community colleges that are open to developing better ways to attract adult students and enable them to persist and earn credentials. The Center will assist with new program design, offering technical assistance and seed funding to test new designs. The Center will work with its partners to deploy at scale those initiatives that produce increased credential completion.

In addition to the emphasis on adult postsecondary education, TalentFirst also recently published a report, Restoring the Promise of Adult Education in Michigan, and issued a call for reforms to the state’s strategy on adult foundational education. Stotts noted that an estimated 716,000 adult Michiganders are unable to take advantage of opportunities like Michigan Reconnect because they lack a high school diploma.

“These are complementary objectives,” Stotts said. “If we can increase the number of adults earning their diploma or high school equivalency, we increase the pool eligible to enroll in postsecondary education. And if we increase access of that group to innovative supports, we will increase the numbers who succeed at that next level.”

Huizenga: The Give Kids a Chance Act Will Help Save Lives

On Monday, May 22, Congressman Bill Huizenga announced his support for the Give Kids a Chance Act. This bipartisan legislation would ensure that children with cancer can participate in not only single-drug trials, but also combination therapy trials. It would also require the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to analyze the collection of preclinical data and better utilize existing clinical data to determine potential pediatric uses of drugs.

The Give Kids a Chance Act was introduced in the House last week by Michael McCaul (R-TX) and Congresswoman Anna Eshoo (D-CA) and earlier this month in the Senate by Senator Michael Bennett (D-CO) and Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL). Congressman Huizenga is an original cosponsor of the House bill and the only member of Congress from Michigan to sign on to the Give Kids a Chance Act upon introduction.

“This bipartisan legislation opens the door for the most innovative and life-saving treatments to children battling cancer,” said Congressman Bill Huizenga. “The Give Kids a Chance Act will improve research, save lives, and provide families with the most precious resource of all – time. I am proud to join this bipartisan effort to help families in Michigan and across America win this fight!”

“Children should be given the same opportunity as adults to beat cancer, full stop,” said Congressman Michael McCaul. “It has been the highlight of my career to fight for a better future for children with cancer, and the Give Kids A Chance Act is another large step in the right direction.”

“Today, cutting-edge cancer treatments involve a combination of drugs to improve health outcomes for adults, but there is limited research on how these therapies can help children,” said Congresswoman Anna Eshoo.

“Our legislation will authorize the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to direct drug companies to conduct pediatric cancer trials on combination therapies. We’ve come long way, and this bill will ensure children have access to the newest and most effective treatments to treat and cure cancer.”

“Child cancer patients should have every chance possible to beat this nightmare disease,” said Senator Marco Rubio. “We cannot let outdated bureaucratic hurdles block innovative and potentially life-saving treatments. No family should ever have to experience the horrific pain of losing a child, and I will push for this bill to become law this year.”

“Cancer doctors and medical professionals should have every tool at their disposal to treat kids

Are You a Servant or A Bride of Christ

By Sue Darling

To be a bride of Christ we first become obedient, holy servants first of all. But as we fall madly in love with our Creator, we want to worship Him all the time. We may have busy lives, but that doesn’t mean we live our lives separately from our love of God. Everything we do, we do for Him and the more we live for God alone, the more you will experience intimacy with Him. We live out the book in the bible the Song of Songs. And many do and don’t know it. They say the book of Psalms is the male version of being in love with God. I will write down the words God spoke to me about men who are brides of Christ, because He explains it better than I can. (Of course).

Gods’ words; Not many men would read the Psalms as it calls emotions and not practical, the way they put it, next to women.... my king is not like a true man in that He is not all man, but God the Second Person, which shows David is in love with God, not the other way around. And for both men and women referred to as His brides is more real and, in the spirit, which has many facets to explore. The real essence is God coming down as man, this is how it should be read, but man depicted himself more important than he suppose.

I thought I write it down, because I don’t think men realize how personal the love of God can be for both men and women. Men don’t become effeminate as some suppose. But it does bring out loving qualities not just for God, but our fellow man as well. A man learns to be gentle and kind, but no way a coward. To really follow Jesus, you rely on His strength, because what He gets His brides to do is not for the fainthearted, but He challenges us to climb higher and higher as high as we can go, so that our love is so noticeable to the world. We are different to others, because our light shines so much brighter and winning souls over to God becomes one of the most important roles we play. Bringing people over to meet Him through our own love first. People receive a glimpse of Him by our actions, our words and even the way we dress. Loving God is the most exciting thing in the world. And few believe it because they don’t lift their eyes to God and find out for themselves. You learn to love and honor yourself more, into the bargain. Not the vain love,

Immanuel Reformed Church

M-89 (500 East Main Street) & Wilson Avenue (57th Street) Post Office Box 434, Fennville, Michigan, 49408 Telephone: 1-616-283-1546

Outdoor Drive-In Worship Service

¼ mile North of Fennville on 58th Street.

June 4, 2023 - Lords Day 23 6:00PM

Special Music: Jack TenCate and Friends

Guest speaker: Rev. Barry Lucas

A FREE WILL offering will be taken during the service. Gifts will be used to continue the Outdoor service.

If there is thunder and lightning or a Tornado warning at 5:00pm or it’s been raining ALL day the outdoor service will be cancelled.

Telephone: 616.283.1546 or 616.990.5976 but a true liberating love of self, all because He reveals His love to you in those quiet times you set aside for Him.

All Welcome – Join us as we praise and thank God by worshipping with Him and His creation!

It doesn’t mean you will be perfect, but you will be the best you can be, despite all the flaws, God looks at your beauty of Him in you. And it does come at a price. The closer you are to Him the greater the cost, but so is the reward of intimacy. Without intimacy with God heaven would be a lonely place.

The God of Abundance

By Jeff Munroe

Read: Matthew 14:13-21

And they all ate and were satisfied. (v. 20)

When it comes to how Christians should relate to their money; I’m uncomfortable with the word stewardship. That may sound surprising, since stewardship is the word Christians use most when talking about money. But I hear stewardship being used to justify stinginess. “I’m just trying to be a good steward” is used as an excuse not to give instead of a reason to give.

That’s why I prefer to focus on generosity. Stewardship often brings with the assumption that one is managing a limited and scare resource. In contrast, generosity begins with the assumption that one is managing an abundant resource. Our God is a God of abundance, not scarcity. The disciples did the math of feeding 5,000 people on two fish and five loaves and felt anxious. Jesus knew there would be twelve baskets left over.

Let me quickly add that I am not proposing some sort of “God want to make you rich” theology. God doesn’t want to make you rich: God wants you to realize how rich you already are. The reality is that the great majority of those reading this devotional are fantastically rich compared with the rest of the world. Rich is a relative term, and I find no biblical justification for those who mangle God’s good news into a promise of personal wealth. You already are blessed beyond measure. Let your giving reflect that reality.

Jeff Munroe is the editor of the Reformed Journal.

This devotional is reprinted by permission from Words of Hope. To receive Words of Hope’s daily meditation, and learn more about their international ministry, please visit woh.org.