Editor's Column: A Showcase of Spartan Bipartisanship

            MSU’s Michigan Political Leadership Program is running strong after nearly two decades of creating leaders from the grassroots to the governor’s mansion.

            Political pundits who bemoan the lack of political bipartisanship in Michigan should take a look at MSU’s Michigan Political Leadership Program (MPLP).  Run by MSU’s Institute For Public Policy And Social Research (IPPSR), the MPLP program seeks to train political leaders of the future. 

Everything it does, it does in bipartisan fashion—from its leadership and its fellows, to the celebrity guests who headline its annual fundraisers.

            In February, former Michigan Governors Jim Blanchard and John Engler—one a Democrat, one a Republican, and both Spartans—served as the keynote speakers at MPLP fundraisers in Livonia and Grand Rapids.  In previous years, headline duos from both sides of the aisle have included Jack Kemp and Bill Bradley, Leon Panetta and Haley Barbour, Karen Hughes and Dee Dee Meyers, Howard Dean and Pat Buchanan, and other national political figures. One year the guests were Mary Matalin and James Carville, living proof that civility can arise from a “marriage” of opposing political views.

            The audiences at the fundraisers represent the entire political spectrum; they have supported the MPLP program since 1992, when the program started partly as term limits appeared on the horizon along with the sense that newcomers would need to know their way around the Capitol when they arrived in Lansing.

            The co-directors of the program hail from each party. Currently, they are Steve Tobocman, a Democrat and former House Majority Floor Leader, and Anne Mervenne, who held several executive positions in the administration of Gov. Engler.

            Every year, 24 aspiring politicians—12 Republicans and 12 Democrats—are selected to take part in the MPLP’s 10-month, weekend course on how to be a successful political leader.  The “Fellows” learn practical skills from elected officials, professors, and professionals from business, labor and media. Since 1992, 480 Fellows have graduated from the program.

            “To date, one-quarter of the program’s graduates are serving or have served in elected or appointed office,” says Douglas B. Roberts, the former state treasurer who oversees MPLP as IPPSR director. “This is a truly solid record.”

            Roberts, who worked for Blanchard and Engler, played an instrumental role in bringing them to their first MPLP stage together.

            Among the MPLP alumni are a leader of a sovereign nation, Aaron Payment, former chair of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians.  Another is former Detroit Mayor and current City Council Member Kenneth Cockrel, Jr.

            Eight MPLP alumni now serve in the Michigan Legislature.  Rep. Richard Ball, Rep. Ed Clemente, Rep. Robert Dean, Rep. Gail Haines, Rep. Ken Horn, Rep. Kate Segal and Rep. Wayne Schmidt serve in the state House.  Sen. Wayne Kuipers serves in the Michigan Senate.

“In an era of term limits, more MPLP-trained leaders are preparing to run for office—from school boards to Congress,” notes Roberts.

            MPLP is a non-profit, 501c3 entity, supported by the MSU Office of the Provost, the College of Social Science and IPPSR.  Roberts notes that significant grant funding comes from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation of Battle Creek and the Herbert H. and Grace A. Dow Foundation of Midland.

            “We also receive generous contributions from Michigan associations, corporations, labor organizations, MPLP alumni and individuals,” says Roberts. “There is widespread support for this educational program.”

            Fellowship applications are available this summer.  For more information, or to help the program, visit ippsr.msu.edu/mplp. You can also become a fan of the Michigan Political Leadership Program in Facebook and receive Twitter updates at mplpmsu.