Wayne State University
COM 5500: Journalism & New Media
By Brittany Thomas
TechTown Detroit and Wayne State University’s Division of Entrepreneurship and Economic Development held a faculty seminar discussing efforts to elevate the university’s economic impact through corporate engagement and a robust suite of entrepreneurship programs.
Economic Development at Wayne State University seminar panel, September 15, 2024.
Photo credit: Brittany Thomas.
TechTown Detroit and Wayne State University’s Division of Entrepreneurship and Economic Development (DEED) co-led an informational seminar for Wayne State faculty on Thursday, Sept. 12 dedicated to each organization’s role in driving the city’s economic growth.
The virtual program heard from six speakers representing both organizations and introduced 14 faculty members to services offered to the campus community, such as student workforce development and talent pipelines, entrepreneurial support to reduce intergenerational poverty, and engagement opportunities with corporate partners to enhance the quality of life in our Detroit neighborhoods.
Screenshot of economic development faculty seminar introduction slide via Zoom, September 15, 2024. Photo credit: Brittany Thomas.
“The Division of Entrepreneurship and Economic Development is a non-academic unit, and oftentimes in non-academic units, there’s a disconnect between faculty and those working in those [non-academic] units,” said Danielle Manley, associate vice president of corporate development at Wayne State University and senior director for strategic partnerships at TechTown. “We’re speaking different languages, so being able to give information — provide information — on the impact that the Division of Entrepreneurship and Economic Development provides to [faculty] them as a resource is crucial.”
During the event, Manley discussed DEED’s five high-level 2022-27 strategic goals, emphasizing those involving student support and developmental resources. One such strategic goal is to prepare a diverse student body for and connect them to good, household-supporting jobs. Central in the discussion of this strategic goal was how faculty can help develop and promote career-ready and fiscally responsible graduates while aligning their curricula with city, regional, and state workforce needs and opportunities.
Curriculum Development Consultant and Part-time Faculty Tonya Anderson discussing how WSU students can apply economic development knowledge and resources to their lives, September 15, 2024. Audio credit: Brittany Thomas.
“DEED and TechTown definitely have programming that would be valuable to [students] in terms of learning how to identify their audiences for their work, or their service, or their art,” said Tonya Anderson, curriculum development consultant for Wayne State’s School of Medicine and part-time faculty for the university. “They have access to the professional network that [the organizers] mentioned during the webinar, where they can ask questions of entrepreneurs in specific sectors.”
A detailed overview of TechTown and DEED’s community impact closed out the seminar. TechTown reports having a $2.75B annual impact with 1,059 entrepreneurs supported in 2023 and nearly 7,000 businesses supported between 2007 and 2023, which created 2,340 new jobs. With Wayne State’s recent launch of its presidential College to Career initiative and an organizational restructuring in May that birthed WSU OPEN — an acronym for Opportunity, Partnership, Engagement and Navigation — Detroit’s economic viability looks more than hopeful.
AVP of Corporate Development and Senior Director of Strategic Partnerships Danielle Manley speaks on the future and vision for economic development at Wayne State, September 16, 2024. Video credit: Brittany Thomas.
“The most important takeaways that I’m hoping our faculty will remember and will make actionable after the seminar are that they have a whole division that is here to support their pursuits,” said Manley. “Whether that be making sure that their students are prepared to take the jobs of the industries that are hiring, whether it’s to connect industry partners with their own research, whether it’s to find ways to co-locate on campus and/or to be closer to the entrepreneurial pursuits of the division.”
TechTown’s next developmental program is a “Service to Software” workshop scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 17 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the TechTown building at 440 Burroughs St., Detroit, MI 48202.