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Lawrence Tech Hosts Oct. 24 Lecture On Michigan's Economic Future

SOUTHFIELD -- Charles Ballard, a professor of economics at Michigan State University, will discuss "Michigan's Economic Future: Cultivating a More Skilled Workforce"  for the Harold Hotelling Memorial Lecture on Monday, Oct. 24, at 7:30 p.m. at Lawrence Technological University, 21000 West Ten Mile Road, Southfield.

The annual lecture, which is free and open to the public, will be held in the Lear Auditorium in the University Technology and Learning Center near the Ten Mile Road entrance to the LTU campus.

The average income in Michigan is now below the national average in most years, and Ballard will argue this disturbing trend is partly because Michigan lags behind the national averages in many aspects of educational attainment. He believes the skill levels of Michigan's workforce will need to increase in order for the state to realize its economic potential, and he will identify policies that can help to achieve that brighter future.

Ballard has taught in the department of economics at Michigan State since 1983, when he received his PhD from Stanford University. Since 2007 he has been director of the State of the State Survey -- the only survey conducted in Michigan that systematically monitors the public mood on important issues -- for MSU's Institute for Public Policy and Social Research.

He has served as a consultant with the U.S. Departments of Agriculture, Health and Human Services, and Treasury, and with research institutes in Australia, Denmark and Finland. His books include "Michigan at the Millennium" and "Michigan's Economic Future."

The lecture series honors the memory of Associate Professor Harold Hotelling, who died in 2009 after teaching at Lawrence Tech for 20 years. He taught courses in business law, business ethics, constitutional law, urban social issues, and law and economics. He is remembered for his keen intellect, tireless devotion, quick wit and wonderful sense of humor.

Lawrence Technological University, www.ltu.edu, offers more than 100 undergraduate, master's and doctoral degree programs in the Colleges of Architecture and Design, Arts and Sciences, Engineering and Management. Founded in 1932, the 4,500-student, private university pioneered evening classes and today has a growing number of weekend and online programs. Lawrence Tech's 102-acre campus is in Southfield, and programs are also offered in Detroit, Lansing, Petoskey, Traverse City and Toronto. Lawrence Tech also partners with universities in Mexico, Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

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