Michigan Virtual University to Host Manufacturers at Ford Field

2nd Annual e-Learning Summit Thursday, June 5

LANSING, Mich., May 22 -- Michigan Virtual University will host an e-learning summit Thursday, June 5, to provide manufacturers with global training resources and solutions. Titled "Lessons from Building a Manufacturing Training Consortium," the event will cover such topics as:

  * Train the Chain -- employee development in the automotive industry
  * Building a world-class leadership development program for manufacturing
    managers
  * Corporate training lessons learned from the U.S. Department of Defense
  * Workforce Development Challenges in Michigan
  * Partnership trends in corporate training
  * Employee development strategies for small businesses
  * Sharing Web-based courses through the Consortium

The summit includes a panel discussion with Ford, DaimlerChrysler and the Society of Automotive Engineers training executives.

Speakers will include:

* Retired U.S. Air Force Brigadier General Frank J. Anderson, Jr., president of the Defense Acquisition University. Anderson was a commandant of the Defense Systems Management College, deputy assistant secretary of the Air Force for contracting, and Air Force competition advocate general. He also served as the first chairman of the federal inter-agency working group for alternate dispute resolution and was recognized by Attorney General Janet Reno for his leadership.

* Frank Mayadas, Ph.D., president of the Sloan Foundation and former IBM vice president. Mayadas is involved in online education and the globalization of industries. He launched the Sloan online learning network, through which some 80 members offer 250 full-programs online offering degrees and certifications. He has published more than 35 papers on systems, devices and solid state physics, and holds several patents.

* Author Jeanne C. Meister, consultant and founder of the Corporate University Xchange. Meister created the Xchange as a research, consulting and event business targeting corporate university directors and chief learning officers. She has helped launch corporate universities for Anheuser-Busch, Bank of Montreal, Vanguard, Fire Department of New York, Guardian Life Insurance, Tenet Healthcare, Wachovia Corporation and Toyota, and has appeared on National Public Radio Marketplace, CNN and CNBC.

Interested individuals can get more information at www.mivu.org/conf . The event runs 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., followed by a reception and tour of the Detroit Lions facility. It is free to members of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers, Society of Automotive Engineers, and Michigan Manufacturing Association, $49 for others.