For
the past 12 years, Ferris State has hosted the Governor’s
College Student Leadership Forum. This past summer, 27 student
leaders from 22 universities and colleges attended—and a
former attendee, now a state representative, addressed the gathering.
The Governor’s College Student Leadership
Forum is designed to help student leaders develop and enhance
skills for leadership and organizational development that will
then be applied to other students at the participant’s campus.
The forum was established in 1991 to commemorate
the honorary degree awarded to former Michigan Gov. John Engler.
Since then, more than 225 students from Michigan, the Midwest
and 13 other countries have participated. Graduates of the forum
include a Michigan state representative, a Kalamazoo city councilman
and several other elected officials.
The forum consisted of numerous presentations,
trips to the challenge course, the Detroit Zoo and Henry Ford
Museum and panels with Dr. David Eisler, president of Ferris State
University, Dr. Daniel Burcham, vice president of Student Affairs
at Ferris State, Dr. Donald Tuski, president of Olivet College
and Michigan State Reps. David Palsrok and David Woodward, a 1997
forum graduate.
The students who attend the Governor’s
College Student Leadership Forum bring with them experiences ranging
from student body president to involvement in College Democrats
and Republicans to leadership roles in the Greek system. Students
are selected through an application process. Sponsorship by Alexander
Hamilton Life, MichCon, Nartron Corporation and Pharmacia-Upjohn
allows Ferris to cover all program, housing and food costs.
For more information, and updates on the 2004
event, visit www.ferris.edu/htmls/othersrv/governor.
