The Wall Street Journal and other publications are reporting that both legislative bodies have now passed a right to work bill that will become law with the signature of the Governor. The Governor has pledged to sign the bill making Michigan the 24th right to work state and joining Indiana that was the first Midwestern state to adopt right to work laws earlier this year.

Organized labor rigorously opposed the bill and put over 10,000 people into the streets of Lansing today to demand this not be passed. President Obama made a trip to Michigan yesterday to voice his opposition to the bill. An analysis by the Taxpayers Protection Alliance finds that Michigan is now the 35th state in overall prosperity measured by per capita income. Had Michigan adopted a right-to-work law in 1977, the group estimates, per capita income for a family of four would have been $13,556 higher by 2008.

“As impressive as all of this evidence is, the best case for right to work is moral: the right of an individual to choose. Union chiefs want to coerce workers to join and pay dues that they then funnel to politicians who protect union power. Right to work breaks this cycle of government-aided monopoly union power for the larger economic good” stated the Wall Street Journal in the article on the following link.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323401904578157453687608428.html?mod=WSJ_hp_mostpop_read

Nearly 400 students participated in Fall 2012 Commencement ceremonies on the campus of the University of Southern Indiana on Saturday.

Of about 600 students eligible to participate, 195 walked in the 10 a.m. ceremony for the College of Business and the Pott College of Science, Engineering, and Education, and 193 in the 1 p.m. ceremony for the College of Liberal Arts, College of Nursing and Health Professions, and Division of Outreach and Engagement.

Eighty-three students graduated with academic honors: five summa cum laude, 29magna cum laude, and 49 cum laude. A dozen Fall 2012 graduates are University Honors Scholars.

Emily B. Rastl ‘12 gave the reflection at the first ceremony and Kasey E. Burns ‘12 at the second. Hope Boeringa ’13 sang the National Anthem at each ceremony.

As the recipient of the 2012 Distinguished Professor Award, Dr. Paul A. Kuban, associate professor of engineering, delivered the Commencement address at both ceremonies.

Here is an excerpt from Kuban’s speech:

Steve Jobs said, “If you don’t have passion, you will give up.” Simple perhaps, but evidently true, because there were many times I would have liked to give up the quest for my bachelor’s degree – things like differential equations and electromagnetic wave theory come to mind – but the passion kept me going.

Some of you may be considering using your college degree to start a new business. You should be aware that most venture capital firms screen for entrepreneurial passion when deciding which ventures to fund. Cognitive passion, which is evident in the preparation and thoughtfulness of the presenter, often brings the investment.

Likewise, studies have shown that employees who are passionate about their work, generally advance at a quicker pace, and achieve higher levels of pay and responsibility. In a nutshell, if you decide to choose passion over pay, eventually you will have both.

President Linda L.M. Bennett shared an anecdote and quote from Dr. Donald E. Pitzer, professor emeritus of history, who told a 1987 USI graduate at that year’s Commencement ceremony, “If you try, you can fly.”

“That’s what our faculty do for our students,” Bennett said.

You can view images from the Fall 2012 Commencement ceremony on the USI Photo Services Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/USIPhotoServices.

USI began holding Fall Commencement in 2006 and added a second ceremony in 2008 to accommodate the growing number of graduates, family, and friends in attendance.

Source: USI.edu

The University of Evansville will award 101 degrees to 96 students during the Winter Commencement ceremony at 2:00 p.m. Wednesday, December 12 in the UE Student Fitness Center.

This year’s Winter Commencement speaker is Mari Plikuhn, assistant professor of sociology, who received the 2012 Outstanding Teacher of the Year Award at May’s commencement ceremony. The University of Evansville Alumni Association presents this award annually to a faculty member who is nominated by students, faculty, or administrators for his or her exemplary teaching abilities.

Plikuhn arrived at the University of Evansville in 2010 after earning a PhD in sociology with a graduate minor in gerontology from Purdue University. She also holds a Master of Science in sociology from Purdue, a Master of Science in child development and family studies from Purdue University Calumet, and a Bachelor of Arts in sociology and clinical psychology from Purdue University Calumet.

Following the Winter Commencement ceremony, a reception sponsored by the UE Alumni Association will take place in the Class of 1959 Gallery and Lounge in the Ridgway University Center.

For those who cannot attend Winter Commencement in person, a video of the ceremony will stream live at www.evansville.edu/commencement.

Source: Evansville.edu

Study finds Evansville as one of the nation’s top cities for high-tech job growth.

SPRINGFIELD – Evansville, Indiana might not be the first place you’d think of as a high-tech hub, but it is among the fasting-growing metro areas for high-tech jobs in the nation.

From 2010 to 2011, the Evansville area saw a 8.8 percent increase in the number of high-tech jobs created, one of the top 25 metro areas for high-tech employment growth in the United States. The average growth in technology jobs across the country was 2.6 percent.

A new study released today by Engine Advocacy, “Technology Works” ( www.engine.is/techworks), shows that high-tech jobs are growing in communities across the United States, outpacing job growth in the private sector as a whole and boosting local growth and job creation. Engine Advocacy commissioned the Bay Area Council Economic Institute to analyze Bureau of Labor Statistics data to identify communities around the country that are experiencing pronounced job growth in the high-tech sector.

“I’m pleased to hear that Evansville is one of the leading areas in the nation for high- tech job growth,” said Deborah Dewey, president of the Growth Alliance for Greater Evansville. “We strive to attract high paying, high tech jobs and would like to become known as a center for technology-based business and entrepreneurial activity.”

The study went on to show that the average salary of a high-tech worker in the area was $73,488 per year. Additionally, the region has been one of the highest growth metro areas in the past five years with a 15.6 percent increase in high-tech jobs from 2006 to 2011.

“The Evansville metro is a strong advocate for technology, which has grown exponentially over the past 15 years,” said Greg Wathen, president & CEO of the Economic Development Coalition of Southwest Indiana. “Companies like SABIC Innovative Plastics and Mead Johnson Nutrition have significant research and development centers in Southwest Indiana; and, Berry Plastics Group, a $5 billion global plastics company headquartered in Evansville, utilizes graduates from the region’s fast-growing higher educational institutions like the University of Evansville, University of Southern Indiana and Ivy Tech to staff its global design center.”

Dr. Joe Trendowski, assistant professor of management at the University of Evansville, also attributed partnerships between the university and local organizations to the area’s increase in high-tech job concentration.

“I am not surprised to hear that Evansville is one of the leading areas in the nation for high tech job growth,” said Trendowski. “Several local organizations like GAGE, SCORE, and Evansville Tech-On-Tap partner with the University of Evansville to promote and incorporate entrepreneurship in the classroom, and its great to see these efforts being translated into real life practices.”

Key Findings:
Jobs in high-tech industries exist almost everywhere, with 98 percent of U.S. counties home to at least one high-tech business.
Hubs of high-tech employment can be found in unexpected places, including communities in the Midwest, South, West, Northeast and along both coasts.
Employment growth in the high-tech sector has outpaced growth in the private sector by a ratio of 3-to-1 since the dot-com bust’s bottom in early 2004.
High-tech job growth is projected to outpace the job growth of the economy as a whole over this decade, expanding by 16.2 percent between 2011 and 2020.
High-tech workers earn 17 to 27 percent more than their peers in other industries, even when controlling for factors like age, gender, and education.
Higher wages and job growth have significant effects: the creation of one job in the high-tech sector is estimated to best associated with the creation of 4.3 other jobs in local economies.
Enrico Moretti, professor of economics at the University of California Berkeley and author of The New Geography of Jobs, said of the report: “This study addresses an important question: how important is high tech employment growth for the US labor market? As it turns out, the dynamism of the US high-tech companies matters not just to scientists, software engineers and stockholders, but to the community at large. While the average worker may never be employed by Google or a high-tech startup, our jobs are increasingly supported by the wealth created by innovators.”

Not only has high-tech job growth remained strong over the last decade, but also the report shows that the trend will continue and that demand for high-tech workers will surpass demand for workers in other sectors.

“This research confirms the story that I see unfolding every day in cities across the country,” says Michael McGeary, senior strategist for Engine Advocacy. “The trajectory for job growth and the higher incomes of tech workers, combined with the job multiplier effect, make the high-tech sector a key driver of economic growth in cities across America.”

https://s3.amazonaws.com/engine-advocacy/TechReport_LoRes.pdf