?In his annual 2006 “State of American Business” report, Tom Donohue, president and chief executive officer of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, broke with years of tradition by outlining a plan to measure and rank the performance of state school systems.

Historically, the chamber has refrained from weighing in on educational reform at both the state and local levels. But as the report contends “…with the increasingly poor performance of many schools and the rise of global competitors with increasingly well-educated workforces, we must get involved.”

The U.S. Chamber plans to model its educational report upon its annual state-by-state rankings of legal systems across the country, disseminating the results to investors, the press, the public and the business community.

“The bottom line is that this nation cannot rightfully expect to lead the 21st century’s information and technology-driven global economy when we have upwards of 30 percent of our young people not even graduating from high school,” says Donohue.

With tighter immigration requirements restricting the flow of foreign workers and the looming retirement of baby boomers—who make up more than one-third of the nation’s population—businesses are under increasing pressure to form innovative, mutually-beneficial partnerships with educational institutions.

We’ve highlighted just a few of the many creative connections linking area colleges with local, regional, national and, increasingly, international businesses.

A Powerful Partnership

One of the area's most innovative corporate-college partnerships combines Harley-Davidson and Metropolitan Community College - Business and Technology College.

Harley-Davidson employees take classes to learn the fabrication and assembly processes they’ll need to produce the powerful motorcycles at the company’s 358,000 square-foot Kansas City plant. Two rooms at the Business and Technology College are chock full of the latest Harleys, which just might make those classrooms the coolest in Kansas City.

The college is also handling more screening and administrative work for the plant. “This partnership allows us to focus on doing what we do best: making motorcycles,” says Karl Eberle, vice president and general manager of the Kansas City Harley-Davidson facility. “We can focus our resources on adding value to our product.”

Although all five MCC campuses have unique partnerships, the Business and Technology College, located right off I-435, is dedicated to “advancing economic growth and workforce development by providing quality education and consulting services.”

“We have a constant stream of em-ployees coming and going out of that facility,” says Tom Vansaghi, associate vice chancellor. “Of all of our campuses, the Business and Technology College does the most training.”

In 1995, Metropolitan Community College combined and centralized its economic development, industrial and business training from each of its entities into one facility—the Business and Technology Center. In 2002, the center tripled its size, added a 56,500 sq. ft. exhibit hall and formally became a college.

The college enjoys relationships with Cerner, Ford Motor Company and Sprint-Nextel in addition to many regional, state and federal train-ing programs and workforce development organizations.

A Well-Tuned Education

?Working with Ford and Toyota, Johnson County Community College prepares students with specific training geared toward manufacturers’ procedures, service and repairs.

“We’ve found that dealerships appreciate specific training for automotive brands,” says Bill Brown, assistant dean of Industrial Technology Programs. “Our students leave our campus not only with college credit, but with technician certification. We’re able to send students into dealerships with training credentials already in their pockets.”

The school’s unique partnership with the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad illustrates the benefits of a long-term partnership, formed in 1985. In 1988, they opened the 52,000-sq.ft. Industrial Technical Center, half of which houses the National Academy of Railroad Science. The center, since expanded to 119,000 square feet, trains approximately 8,000 BNSF employees and 3,000 employees from other railroads each year.

“This partnership is a model locally as well as nationally,” says Jim Williams, dean, Division of Business and Technology. “It represents the proverbial ‘win-win’ for both organizations.”

Another Take On Animal House

?Kansas State University is home to some of the region’s more unique business and education partnerships.

Hills Pet Nutrition has teamed with the university’s College of Veterinary Medicine and Developing Scholars Program to create “Pathways in Veterinary Medicine.” According to the school, the goal of the program is to “increase the recruitment and retention of historically under-represented groups into careers in veterinary medicine and animal health.” Students are matched with faculty mentors and are provided financial support, as well.

Merck-Merial has also joined with K-State to support the Veterinary Research Scholars Program. The program aims to expose second and third-year veterinary students to biomedical research by providing summer research opportunities in established research laboratories. The program, started in 2002, also includes seminars and discussion groups about biomedical ethics and career options. The National Institutes of Health and the K-State College of Veterinary Medicine also provide support.

Numerous partnerships at the university enhance human health, as well.

A host of regional hospitals, health departments and school districts have formal affiliation agreements with the dietetics program in the hotel, restaurant, institution management and dietetics department in the College of Human Ecology at K-State. Professionals supervise students pursuing a bachelor’s degree in dietetics as they gain more than 900 hours of hands-on experience in clinical nutrition, community nutrition and food service management. Similar affiliations assist students seeking counseling experience through the university’s School of Family Studies and Human Services.

A Taste of the Real World

?By far the most common business and educational partnership is the traditional internship.

“Internships are one example of our efforts to bring the business community into the educational process,” says James Knudsen, associate dean for undergraduate programs in the College of Business Administration at Creighton University.

That commitment is reflected in one vital statistic: more than 80 percent of the students in the class of 2005 held at least one internship before graduating. The internships take place either in Omaha, where Creighton is located, or in the hometown of the student.

All business students at Benedictine College are required to hold an internship before venturing out into the real world. “Students return saying ‘Wow, I didn’t realize how much of what I’m learning in class I’ll actually apply in my career,’” says Don Hoy, chair of BC’s business department. “They also return to campus with a real sense of accomplishment—particularly those students who work at a non-profit organization.”

While Benedictine students might work at companies such as Cerner, Deloitte & Touche or the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, they are just as likely to be spotted interning at a museum, an art gallery or a small local business such as Schaeffer Computer. “Students who work at a non-profit or at a small business often get a broader sense of what it takes to run a business,” says Hoy. “At a large company, a student might work in one department. But at a smaller organization, they might be exposed to marketing, production and human resources.”

Students as Teachers

?In a novel twist, many schools offer symposiums or seminars to professionals that are organized and sponsored by students. At Benedictine, students went a step farther and led a program for which local insurance agents received continuing education credits from the state.

Northeast Kansas insurance agents approached members of the Students In Free Enterprise (SIFE) group to put together a program examining ethical issues faced by the insurance industry. Students researched the issues, developed the curriculum and facilitated the entire four-hour seminar “Value Based Ethics and Your Agency Practice.”

“The students designed the program to address the ethical obligations of an insurance agent—not simply the legal requirements,” says John Bunch, coordinator of the Institute for Professional Ethics and Responsibility. “It was a real eye-opener for the students.

The seminar was such a success that the professionals asked the group to repeat it. “Students are now working to gather relevant dilemmas, such as those that arise with flood insurance and storm damage,” says Bunch.

As the challenges for our business and educational systems grow in-creasingly complex, ties will only tighten between both worlds.