Major Universities can help the region that they inhabit more ways than just educating the populace. They can be major providers of jobs as well. Universities fly under the radar in that regard because people do not often think about colleges in the context of how many chefs or groundskeepers they

employ. At a time when Michigan is hurting for jobs, it seems appropriate to highlight some area colleges for the jobs that they bring to the community.

One myth that I know I took into this article was the notion that there would be a larger number of Professors on the payroll at any given college than support staff. Although it is true that there are some colleges which manage to

operate with a lower number of staff than professors, on average it seems that the staff is more numerous than the professor faculty.

Merely on the surface, College cam- puses cover an enormous amount of acreage and include an equally enor- mous amount of buildings. Therefore, any self-respecting University would keep a large amount of maintenance

\u201cWe actually have a roughly 1:1 ratio,\u201d said Phil de Haan, the Director of Communications and Marketing at Calvin College, \u201cIt is probably about 450 staff to 350 faculty.\u201d De Haan reported that Calvin accomplishes much with a relatively small staff. He went on to point out that the bulk of the non-teaching jobs are made up of administration type jobs. Calvin needs to maintain a robust registrar\u2019s office and student life office to keep in touch with the student body. Also, the physical plant staff needs to be kept up to maintain the infrastructure for the 400 acre campus.

\u201cIts hard to pick one particular area. Also, the alumni relations is a big area. Calvin has over 50,000 living alumni lit- erally all around the world to stay in con- tact with,\u201d De Haan said. He also point- ed out that the number of staff he gave did not include student workers. He added later that about 2,000 students work in on-campus jobs per year, which would heavily sway the staff to faculty number.

Jennifer Hegenauer, the Marketing Manger from Ferris State, said that \u201cThe support staff are the front-line. These folks work with students to get them enrolled. They help them through the programs.\u201d Hegenauer stressed the importance of the staff which communi- cates with prospective students. She said that it is this part of the staff which makes sure the instructors are dealing with a manageable number of students once they get in the classroom, and also they listen to what he students are say- ing to see if there is something to be done to aid them.

Hegenauer was unable to provide a number of professors which are kept on the payroll because Ferris utilizes a dif- ferent philosophy than most other col- leges on that subject. Hegenauer explained that Ferris keeps a pool of fac- ulty which all get assigned to classes that they are especially trained to teach, resulting in a \u201cspecialized teaching\u201d of sorts. Thus, it was hard for Hegenauer to say how many of them are full time and how many are part time.

Jon Jellema, who serves as the Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs at Grand Valley State University, reports that GVSU employs 749 regular faculty currently and 1,022 support staff jobs. 150 of those support staff jobs are in the field of maintenance and operations.

\u201cGVSU\u2019s main campus is 1,237 acres, plus three urban campus sites in Grand Rapids and others in Holland and Muskegon.

Michigan - Michigan\u2019s outstanding, award-winning small businesses were honored April 24 at the Lansing Center as the state\u2019s major business organizations and agencies collaborated for the fourth annual \u201cMichigan Celebrates Small Business\u201d event. The cooperative effort \u2013 which named the Michigan 50 Companies to Watch, Innovation of the Year and many other awards \u2013 was hosted by the Edward Lowe Foundation, Michigan Economic Development Corporation, Michigan Small Business & Technology Development Center, Small Business Association of Michigan and the U.S. Small Business Administration/Michigan.

\u201cMichigan Celebrates Small Business recognizes Michigan's entrepreneurial spirit in an exciting, collaborative event that brings together key organizations and agencies in our state that are striving to strengthen the future for our small business economy in Michigan,\u201d says Carol Lopucki, state director of the Michigan Small Business & Technology Development Center Network.

Award winners announced April 24 were the Michigan 50 Companies to Watch, the Innovation of the Year, Main Street USA- Best Small Business,

Government Contracting Award and U.S. Small Business Administration/Michigan awards.

The Michigan 50 Companies to Watch for 2008 program (list of winners attached) recognizes and celebrates the contributions, innovation and energy of the wide variety of second-stage compa- nies in the state.

Startup companies and large corpora- tions often garner attention for their achievements, but growing second-stage enterprises (working mostly behind the scenes) generate the bulk of new, sustain- able jobs and are a powerful economic force underpinning the high quality of life most Americans enjoy.

The Michigan 50 Companies to Watch is sponsored by the Edward Lowe Foundation, a national nonprofit founda- tion based in southwest Michigan that supports entrepreneurship through research, education and recognition pro- grams.

\u201cWhen we first created Companies to Watch, it was about showcasing high growth companies that often flew below the radar screen of public recognition,\u201d says Penny Lewandowski, the founda- tion\u2019s director of entrepreneurship. \u201cNow

in its fourth year, the program has evolved into a catalyst for change. It provides an opportunity to tell a different story about Michigan \u2013 a story about entrepreneur- ship, growth, innovation and job creation. These companies are changing the face of Michigan.\u201d

Companies nominated for the \u201cMichigan 50 Companies to Watch\u201d list must be privately held, past the startup stage, be facing issues of growth, not sur- vival; employ six to 99 full-time equiva- lent employees, including the owner; have between $750,000 and $50 million in annual revenue or working capital in place from investors or grants and be headquar- tered in Michigan.

Corporation, Michigan Small Business & Technology Development Center, the Small Business Association of Michigan, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation and the Edward Lowe Foundation. Judges evaluat- ed the nominees\u2019 demonstrated intent and capacity to grow based on one or more of the following: employee or sales growth, exceptional entrepreneurial leadership, sustainable competitive advantage and other notable factors that showcase the

Innovation Award: K-Space of Ann Arbor. To be eligible for this award, a product or service must have been devel- oped and earned revenue for the first time during 2007 and be nominated to the Small Business Association of Michigan.

Best Small Business \u2013 Main Street USA Award: Relevar Home Care LLC of Mt. Clemens. The Michigan Small Business & Technology Development Center statewide network consists of 12 regions. Each region internally nominates a small business they have been assisting, for a minimum of one year. These 12 nominations are then be submitted to a panel for further review; one of the 12 is honored at the statewide level.

Government Contracting Award: Armor Express of Central Lake. The Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (PTACs) of Michigan help small firms sell to the government and explore export opportunities. The network of 13 statewide offices nominates a business they have been assisting for a minimum of one year. The nominations are then submitted to a panel for further review.