Staying Relevant and Responsive: Lessons from Ferris State University

Dr. Bill Pink, President of Ferris State University in Big Rapids, Michigan, has a simple framework for how the institution of over 10,000 students operates after more than 140 years: be relevant and be responsive. For Pink, those two words describe everything from the university's founding mission to how it designs programs and builds employer relationships. "That, to me, is the challenge of Ferris State University: I call it being relevant and responsive," he says.

At the core of his philosophy is the idea that remaining relevant and responsive hinges on connecting students to in-demand, well-paying jobs. "We've got a really cool reputation in the state of Michigan as being that school that not only sends you to work, but sends you to work in a good-paying job." Dr. Pink shared how Ferris State achieves this vision through partnerships, awareness, and a commitment to change.

A Founding Commitment to Access

While Ferris State has undoubtedly changed since its founding more than a century ago, its founding principles remain just as true today as in the 1880s. Founders Woodbridge and Helen Ferris built the institution on a foundation of accessibility. As Pink describes it, "They started it on the premise that everyone in the state of Michigan ought to have access to higher education... no matter what the color of your skin, no matter what gender, no matter who you are. They said 'If you're in Michigan, you ought to have a right and access to higher ed.'"

Pink, the 19th president of Ferris State and its first African American president, sees it as his responsibility to continue the founding vision. While welcoming students of all backgrounds to Ferris State continues to be important, Pink knows this is just the first step in remaining relevant and responsive.

Earning the Opportunity University Designation

Once students arrive at Ferris State, Pink emphasizes that the right programs and structures need to exist to provide students with the opportunity to thrive and secure a good-paying job. While many institutions publicly strive for the same goals, Ferris State can back it up with the "Opportunity University" designation they earned through the Carnegie Foundation. For him, this external validation goes beyond marketing. "Our students have opportunity when they finish a program at Ferris State. They're going to get into not just a job; they're going to get into a good-paying job that has a great pathway to a career," he says. He's direct about why that distinction matters to him: "That Opportunity University designation, that is a third party that's not even us... now we got data that says this is the institution that sends you to work."

Dr. Pink believes that Ferris State's commitment to remaining relevant to Michigan's workforce is one of the reasons the institution received this designation. This spans across programs such as welding and automotive engineering, one of the country's oldest pharmacy programs, a college of optometry, and accredited programs in professional golf and tennis management.

Employer Partnerships as a Built-In Talent Pipeline

While research can help inform program alignment, much of Ferris State's responsiveness comes from how deeply the institution weaves employers into curriculum development. Advisory committees at Ferris State do more than review course content. Pink explains: "They actually come and meet and share with our faculty. 'Here's what we're doing. Here's what the industry looks like now. Here's what we need.'" Students sit in on those conversations too, which Pink describes as a built-in talent pipeline: employers get early exposure to future hires, and students get direct insight into what companies actually need.

This relationship extends into hands-on learning and student opportunities as well. Companies donate equipment, replace it as technology advances, and fund scholarships and lab naming rights. Pink connects this directly to outcomes like the Opportunity University designation: "When I see that kind of connectivity, it doesn't surprise me when we get things like Opportunity University designation, because what it means is that we are that connected to our industry partners."

Diesel Days: Solving an Awareness Problem

While Ferris State offers many programs with well-known career paths, serving a rural community with farming and industrial needs presents opportunities for lesser-known careers. However, even the best-built program can struggle if students aren't aware of the opportunities available to them. For example, Ferris State's heavy equipment technology program prepares students for careers as diesel mechanics on farm and highway equipment. A few years ago, the program was struggling with enrollment for a simple reason: high school students didn't know the program existed. "If you don't know something, you'll never go to something," Pink says.

The solution to this awareness problem came in the form of Diesel Days: an event bringing high school students to campus alongside industry equipment and company representatives. The first year drew 15 company partners and 150 to 200 students. Last October, it drew around 700 high school students and 50 companies over two days, and the model has since expanded to a second event in the Detroit area. Since then, program enrollment has grown by over 100%. Pink frames the result as a three-way win: "The students are going to win because we're going to give them a career path. Certainly, the company wins because we're giving them a workforce. We win because we've upped that enrollment."

No One Wants to Be the Next Blockbuster

When asked about how Ferris State maintains relevancy given the speed at which employer needs are changing, Pink was candid about the pace higher education tends to move at. "I sometimes say, in higher ed we can take six months just to buy a pencil. We take forever to do things," he says. While he praises Ferris State for being more nimble than most, he still acknowledges that this is an area for growth.

He points to Blockbuster as a warning for what happens when an institution stops treating relevance as something it has to keep earning. "If we in higher ed think that we are too big and mighty, we will find ourselves going the way of Blockbuster. We can be deemed irrelevant and no longer exist just like that. Any given November, we can find ourselves in bad spaces. You combine that with the idea of responsiveness. If we're not responsive to what they need, then where are we?" he says.

For Pink, the founding mission, the employer relationships, and programs like Diesel Days aren't a fixed formula the university landed on once. They're the ongoing work of staying responsive to keep up with what students and industry need next.