C-TOWN
College Town Flint: Attracting and Retaining Young Talent
Your Ideas are needed—post a comment and be eligible for a drawing in which two $25 Barnes & Noble gift cards will be awarded.
Brown Sugar Cafe and First Street Lofts, Downtown Flint, Michigan.
The research is overwhelming: attracting and retaining young talent in a state is dependent upon having urban centers that are attractive to young talent. Many great things are happening in Flint that are important to young talent.
The Flint Cultural Center Corporation, under the leadership of Cindy Ornstein, is making great efforts to make Flint appealing to the 18-35 year old population. The CollegeTown project, initiated by Flint Institute of Arts Director John Henry, offers college and university students in Flint membership in the Flint Institute of Arts and sponsors events and highlights programs of interest to the students. The Downtown Development Authority, Uptown Reinvestment Corporation, and the Genesee Land Bank, through the hard work of people such as Dan Kildee, Ridgway White, and Tim Herman, have steadfastly promoted a revitalized downtown with eateries, lofts, and shops attractive to urban pioneers. The University of Michigan-Flint has intensified efforts to attract and retain young talent to Flint, through projects such as our new residence hall, Green Arts, the American Democracy Project, and a new general education program focused on citizen and community. Kettering University, Mott College, and Baker College are also vital in our community’s attractiveness to young talent.
For more information about the exciting projects going on in Flint see the “What’s Up Downtown Flint” website at http://www.whatsupdowntown.com/ and the “Flint Club” website at http://www.flintclub.com.
Please share your ideas on what you believe Flint and Genesee County needs to do to attract and retain young talent in our metropolitan area. Just select “comments” to post your ideas and comments. To encourage participation I will award $25 Barnes & Noble gift cards to two people selected at random out of the first fifty unique people who post suggestions.
To post you do need to enter a name and email address; URL is not required.
Thanks,
Jack Kay
Comments»
Since I drive 100 miles one way weekly to the UofM-Flint campus, it would seem like a great idea to rent a billboard on I-75 S & N.
I travel for the stellar education, excellent reputation that the
U of M has as an University overall, and the Internet classes are great too! Other individuals would travel for this education too if they realized it was close to I-75.
The billboard should be near highway 475 and advertise:
The University of Michigan-Flint Campus is Closer Than You Think!
An Education that will touch many lives!
(The sign should include: This exit and follow the signs. And post the Blue-M Flags as a pathway to higher education.)
This idea/billboard could bring many young talented individuals to Flint:-)