Light Up Our City Extravaganza 

Your Chamber announces its partnership with the City of Forest Lake in the second annual community tree lighting festivities, when we Light up our City on Saturday, November 28th. We are planning an afternoon of festivities that will showcase Forest Lake's abundant business and recreational resources. This event will be heavily advertised as an opportunity to build community and is the perfect platform to showcase our Shop Local promotion.
Your chamber is offering several levels of sponsorship in order to allow as many member businesses to participate as possible. Don't miss this opportunity to be an active participant and showcase your business to our growing community!  

 College presidents' pay aligns with accountability
    By David C. Olson
 
Strengthening the relationship among Minnesota's higher education systems and the statewide business community has been at the forefront of my priorities since being elected chair of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities Board of Trustees in 2007. Accountability is the common thread.
 
We've made noteworthy strides:
 
·     Employers and prospective students now have the ability to view the ratings and compare the performance of schools thanks to the Board of Trustees Accountability Dashboard.
 
·     Focus groups from underrepresented populations in higher ed were convened to identify initiatives to recruit and retain these students.
 
·     Projects and courses have been launched at selected schools to increase the rigor of and student participation in STEM curricula - science, technology, engineering, math.
 
Achieving these goals is a team effort, and our college presidents are integral to achieving success. Especially heartening is that our school presidents are becoming adept at creating opportunities in the midst of state government's financial crisis.
 
As they have performed, they should be rewarded. And they were, as recently announced. The executives earned between $3,000 and $12,000 for achieving certain goals for 2008.
 
College presidents were given specific and broad-based goals in order to receive the incentive. Initiatives ranged from improved graduation rate for underrepresented students and increasing the percentage of students taking STEM courses to expansion of custom training for regional industries and implementation of globalization initiatives.
 
No doubt, the incentives raised some eyebrows as we all face sacrifices during this challenging economy. In fact, the payments were mischaracterized as bonuses and were strictly "pay for performance." Presidents' base pay was not raised during the time they were eligible for incentives.
 
An editorial by The Mankato Free Press hit the mark: "MnSCU was right in setting up a system of accountability for its executives. It was right to pay for achieving those goals."
 
The Minnesota Chamber will continue to foster the connection between higher education and Minnesota businesses. That link is more important than ever as businesses face the challenges of a global marketplace.
 
Our workforce has always been among Minnesota's biggest competitive advantages. Once this economy turns around, we will need an adequate supply of skilled workers. The leadership of our state colleges and universities plays a critical role in making sure that happens.
 
David Olson is president of the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce. For more information, visit the Web at www.mnchamber.com.