Waiting on the corner of 5th and Olive, I stood behind a man dressed sharply in his brown suit. "I bet he's going the the Prosperity Partnership (PP) luncheon," I thought to myself. (C'mon, you and I both know higher ed folks wear a lot of suits.) I followed him across the street, through the revolving doors into the Westin, past the lobby and up the escalators. Who needs the perfectly positioned signs with arrows directing me to the luncheon? I had brown suit man.
Hopping off the escalators on the third floor, brown suit man immediately disappeared into a sea of suits -- 40-50 men and women in black, blue and grey (or some family or those colors) milling about in front of the ballroom doors, checking in and chatting. This seemed like serious business.
And it was...but with a few surprises along the way.
The luncheon began with a video. Not unusual, still along the lines of same 'ole, same 'ole in my book. But to everyone's enjoyment, the video featured elementary students delivering the key PP messages like, "We need to revitalize our communities!" (or something of the sort). Unbelievably cute and extremely engaging. You could hear many chuckles between bites of Westin cuisine.
The event then moved on to a keynote address by Gov. Gregoire. Again, I'm always impressed by her poise, passion and ability to carry a thoughtful message with a good balance of humor and seriousness. She talked about the main issues PP is helping to advance in WA, from education to the economy to new innovative solutions like clean technology. No matter what your stance on an issue she advocates, it's just hard not to like her. I find that to be an impressive quality in and of itself.
Moving right along, PP had a short (which was key!) panel discussion with UW pres, Dr. Mark Emmert; WSU pres Dr. Elson Floyd and Seattle Community Colleges Chancellor, Dr. Charles Mitchell. Ann Daley, executive director of WA Higher Ed Coordinating Board facilitated the discussion. It was interesting to get the "inside perspective" on key education issues from these important leaders in our higher-ed community. From faculty recruitment difficulties to Dr. Emmert noting that there's been a recent spike in students majoring in STEM fields, it was quite interesting. (Although students may not be prepared (for STEM) they're getting the message, he said.)
It was also nice to hear that the colleges, like those of us in the K-12 space, want a seamless transition from high school to postsecondary training. Dr. Floyd even said that he believes our K-12 grad requirements should align to higher-ed expectations. I hope Dr. Floyd will repeat that message at the SBE meeting on Dec. 3 in Spokane!
But the biggest surprise of all at what turned out to be the best luncheon I think I've ever been to, was the closing remarks. Dave Ross from 710 KIRO sang, yes sang, a satirical song about various issues in Washington. Check out some of his other songs and maybe book him for an upcoming event of your own!
Great job, Prosperity Partnership! You suits sure know how to have a good time.
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