Michigan Matters Exclusive: Higher Education and Saying Goodbye to a Legend

(CBS Detroit) - Western Michigan President Edward Montgomery – the "Auto Recovery Czar" who served under former President Barack Obama – talked about the challenges and opportunities before his school and shared thoughts about the auto industry with Carol Cain, Senior Producer/Host of "Michigan Matters" which airs 11:30 this Sunday on CBS 62.

Montgomery, a nationally known economist who hails from Pittsburgh, talked about joining the Kalamazoo-based university as its ninth president a year ago and his focus in his "sophomore" year.

He also discussed better times in the auto industry and in communities like Detroit where it dominates a result of the government-ordered bankruptcies that GM and FCA went through.

The roundtable of Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson, Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel and President Montgomery then joined Cain to celebrate the life of Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul who died this week of pancreatic cancer at the age of 76.

Ms. Franklin was the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and sold over 75 million records during her epic career.

Montgomery talked about her impact on the nation and recalled seeing her sing the national anthem at President Obama's inauguration. She impacted a new generation of singers as tributes for her poured in from Beyonce, Mariah Carey and many others across the globe.

The roundtable also talked about her imprint on the civil rights and women's movements and how intertwined she was with Detroit.

Watch MICHIGAN MATTERS Sunday at 11:30 on CBS 62.