< Previous38 GREAT LAKES ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GUIDE former Canadian Coast Guard vessel and now a floating museum (“the Transportation Museum of Thunder Bay”) docked at the Thunder Bay marina. Built in 1958, the CCGS Alexander Henry was a special purpose light icebreaker boat that cleared waterways for other ships, maintained navigational buoys and performed search and rescue operations in the Great Lakes from 1959 to 1984. Designated as a national historic site in 2023, the Alexander Henry now houses seafaring artifacts and historical documents in its dozen rooms. According to Parks Canada, the vessel is one of the best surviving examples of the government’s icebreaker construction program of the late 1950s, designed to meet Canada’s responsibilities off its coasts and on inland waters. The ship museum is just one place where you can stop by in the Thunder Bay marina, where sailboats aplenty glide along on Lake Superior and activities change from season to season. Summer has splash pads, skate parks and biking opportunities for cyclists, and winter welcomes an ice rink for those eager to put on a pair of ice skates. HOW DO YOU MEASURE QUALITY OF LIFE? As I looked into what makes the Great Lakes a great place to live, I spoke with three scientific heads at the International Joint Commission (IJC) who work closely on delivering the science of the Great Lakes region and who have started evaluating the potential worth of “Great Lakes ecosystem services” and how the Great Lakes enhance quality of life. Discussed in an April 2024 report, “Great Lakes Ecosystem Services Valuation: A Scoping Study,” submitted to the IJC by the Great Lakes Science Advisory Board Work Group on Great Lakes Ecosystem Valuation, “Great Lakes ecosystem services” captures everything from fisheries, tourism, recreation and drinking water to agricultural water, hydroelectricity and marine shipping, says Rajendra Poudel, economist for the IJC Great Lakes Regional Office who is also the project lead for the scoping study. The true scope of benefits provided by the Great Lakes is colossal and quantifying their value is ambitious. Dr. John Livernois, a former IJC Great Lakes Science Advisory Board member and current professor emeritus at the Guelph University Department of Economics A lookout point on Sleeping Giant in northwestern Ontario Photo by Darren McChristie/© Destination OntarioGREAT LAKES ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GUIDE 39 and Finance who served as the board’s chair leading the scoping study, noted that one of the objectives of the project was to acknowledge all the ways the Great Lakes give to the region’s communities. “The jumping off point for this study was first a recognition that the Great Lakes gener- ate immense economic benefits in a variety of ways that most of us are well aware of,” Livernois says. “And measured through market activity — drinking water, shipping, transfer, […] low-cost transportation of bulk materials, for example. But at the same time, the Great Lakes provide an immense variety of benefits that are not transact- ed through markets. […] And that doesn’t mean that that they don’t have value. Tourism, nutri- ent and carbon sequestration, wildlife habitat — all of these things have tremendous value but [are] hard to measure because they’re not bought and sold in markets. “So, the jumping off point for this study,” he reiterates, “was to try to get at how do we measure these immense values that are not trans- acted through markets?” The International Joint Commission and the work done by this group in the Great Lakes has roots in the U.S-Canada Water Quality Agreement of 1972. The. IJC provides advice to the government through projects such as the Great Lakes Ecosystem Services Valuation report. “We want to make everything sustain- able, and basically we focus on conserving the environment,” Poudel says. “So, anything we do will be to protect the natural treasure of the Great Lakes.” Allison Voglesong Zejnati, public affairs specialist for the IJC and former Michigan Sea Grant fellow, noted that the IJC advises the Canadian and U.S. governments with an eye to informing policy and program decisions based on the best available science. “Having information about the value of a wetland might help a local zoning Board of Appeals understand better in terms that they can wrap their minds around and compare with proposals that they’re seeing to really understand we’re getting water quality protection from this wetland,” Zejnati says. “That has meaning in the same terms as ‘What are the tax revenues we would get from putting a shopping mall and draining this wetland in this area?’ It will help governments at many scales be able to protect ecosystem services.” Canoeing in the boundary waters of Minnesota. Photo courtesy of Explore MinnesotaMake Your Next Memory in the Great Lakes TOURISM & HOSPITALITY Fonferek’s Glen in Brown County, Wisconsin Photo courtesy of Eric Fowle Bluffs, trails and historic lighthouses deliver a memorable experience to visitors. 40 GREAT LAKES ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GUIDE by KELLY BARRAZA he draw of the Great Lakes is growing, with every state and province bordering the five lakes experiencing record-breaking tourism numbers. Michigan welcomed 128 million visitors and pocketed $29.3 billion in tourism dollars; Wisconsin saw 114 million tourists and $25.8 billion. Carving its way from southern Lake Ontario to the western side of Lake Michigan, the Niagara Escarpment has the oldest forest ecosystem and trees in eastern North America and woos hikers and adventure lovers with its abundance of trails and natural resources. And for marine and history enthusiasts, Whitefish Point in Michigan’s upper peninsula is home to the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum and the oldest operating lighthouse on Lake Superior. CAN YOU FIND THE SLOPE? Spanning about 1,000 miles and about 430 million years old, the Niagara Escarpment opens near Lake Ontario and carves out the top line of the Great Lakes Basin through Michigan, Wisconsin and the famous Niagara Falls until it reaches its conclusion in New York State. Eric Fowle, Niagara Escarpment Resource Network founding co-chair and Lakeshore Natural Resource Partnership board member, works diligently on raising awareness of the bounty of geological resources and natural beauty the UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve has to offer anyone seeking adventure in the great outdoors. “It’s really globally unique — the existence of that feature, the way it was formed, the size,” says Fowle. “And the scale of it, which basically geologically represents the outer edge of the Michigan Basin, and creates environments and habitats that are globally unique and have globally unique species.” TViewed on a map, the , -mile stretch of the escarpment, coined the “Great Arc,” forms a central spine through the Great Lakes as it arcs through the region. In Wisconsin, the Niagara Escarpment Corridor spans about miles and has the Horicon Marsh (a National Wildlife Refuge), seven state parks and forests (Kettle Moraine Forest, High Cliff , Potawatomi, Peninsula, Whitefi sh Dunes, Newport, Rock Island), Designated State Natural Areas, county parks, over local parks, one National Trail (Ice Age Scenic Trail) and fi ve state trails (Wild Goose, Eisenbahn, Friendship, Fox River, Ahnapee). Peninsula and Highcliff are the most visited state parks, with Peninsula State Park boasting trails, overlooks and bluff s and Highcliff marked by its distinctive cliff face exposure trails. In short, there is plenty for nature lovers and adventurers in just this part of the Niagara Escarpment. “[ e Niagara Escarpment has] also since ancient times really served as a natural path because of its size, its scale, its prominence on the landscape,” says Fowle. “ ere’s no part of the Niagara Escarpment that’s more than miles away from a Great Lake. So again, it kind of serves that central path and spine throughout that system. We’ve been working on just building awareness and education for the last years or so, and we obviously kind of tout that land conservation and economic development can co-exist, and this feature can be leveraged by communities to foster new and existing businesses that are tied to the outdoor economy and the tourism economy.” e Niagara Escarpment Resource Network has been developing an initiative to create an interpretive signage program that would indicate about or spots along the escarpment where signs can signal to visitors where they are located in proximity to the geologic feature. “ at way people will know and understand when they’re at Penin- sula State Park in Door County,” says Fowle. “But they do get off the highway and come to Ledge Park. ey’re going to recognize this and see that this is the same feature. […] Many folks don’t realize it’s the same feature as Niagara Falls. We just don’t have billions of gallons of water fl owing over us every day.” In Wisconsin there are dreams of developing an end-to-end hiking trail, not unlike the Bruce Trail in southern Ontario, a -mile footpath that follows along the escarpment and challenges hikers who often aim to hike the entire path. “ at trail certainly has a huge economic impact in Southern Ontario, and I’m sure you could fi nd studies that are tied to that, so we’d like to emulate it,” Fowle says. “We would like to eventually work with communities to try and get an end-to-end -plus-mile-long trail from the southern end up to the tip of Door County.” A SAFE HARBOR Eleven miles north of Paradise on the upper peninsula of Michigan is Whitefi sh Point, a cape and entry point in Whitefi sh Bay on the southeastern side of Lake Superior. e township is known for its historic lighthouse, heavily birded status and affi liated bird observatory, and the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum. Located in Chippewa County, the White Point Light was built in and is the oldest active navigating beacon in the Upper Peninsula and on Lake Superior. e light tower was added in during the Lincoln Administration, and the White Point lighthouse was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and as a Michigan State Historic Site in and , respectively, having helped shepherd voyagers across the unpredictable waves of Lake Superior Rock Island, Wisconsin, is located in the Door Peninsula. Photo courtesy of Eric Fowle GREAT LAKES ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GUIDE 4142 GREAT LAKES ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GUIDE for over 100 years. The lighthouse is the most eastern point of a stretch of shore in Michigan known as the Shipwreck Coast, where hundreds of ships met their fate before sinking to the bottom of Lake Superior. In the 1980s, the Whitefish Township received assistance from the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society, an endeavor that eventually led to the creation of the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum that same decade. Built to honor lost mariners who perished on the Great Lakes, the Shipwreck Museum is one of the top tourist destinations in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, welcoming approximately 80,000 visitors annually to Whitefish Point. “People often don’t know what history they will uncover at Whitefish Point,” says Corey Adkins, content and communications director of the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society. “People often walk away from our museum with a sense of wonderment, amazement and curiosity about all the other shipwrecks in the Great Lakes.” The Shipwreck Museum also partners with the Whitefish Point Underwater Preserve, a group that protects and preserves shipwrecks and their artifacts that line nearly 400 miles of land at the bottom of Lake Superior. Several artifacts are housed in the Shipwreck Museum, with the most significant being the bell of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald and a rare and treasured second order Fresnel lens from White Shoal Light, located 20 miles west of the Mackinac Bridge in Lake Michigan. Fresnel lenses were used to focus light beams from lighthouses in the 1800s with the second order of these kinds of lenses designed for the Great Lakes region, seacoasts, islands and smaller bodies of water. Lost in “a storm no one will forget,” the SS Edmund Fitzgerald was an American freight ship that sank in Lake Superior on November 10, 1975, after leaving the port of Superior in Wisconsin the day before the sinking. All 29 crewmen on board were lost. The tragedy prompted changes in Great Lakes maritime shipping that included mandatory immersion suits, increased inspections of ships and new technologies that aided in the navigation and safety of future courses. The Shipwreck Museum and White Point Light in Whitefish Point, Michigan Photo courtesy of the Shipwreck Museum The bell of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald Photo courtesy of the Shipwreck MuseumGREAT LAKES INVESTMENT GUIDE 2025 43 t’s hard to argue with the career, R&D and thought leadership of Great Lakes higher education institutions, providing brainpower and innovation to fuel the fortunes of competitive employers and startups alike. As of the - academic year, there were , degree-granting post-secondary institutions in the United States. e eight states in the Great Lakes region accounted for more than one- quarter of them ( . %), led by New York ( ), Pennsylvania ( ) and Ohio (). But wait, there’s more: Between them, Ontario () and Quebec ( ) bring the Great Lakes higher education institutional roster to a grand total of , colleges and universities. Travel the educational waterfront of this world region and you’ll fi nd institutions from Carleton College in Minnesota to Carleton University in Ottawa, McGill in Montreal to Notre Dame in Indiana. You’ll encounter the giants of the Big as well as the little schools with big infl uence that dot the Great Lakes region with nodes of intellectual fi repower. e Great Lakes Higher Education Consortium (GLHEC) was formed fi ve years ago with funding from the United States Mission in Canada to the Council of the Great Lakes Region (CGLR, based in Toronto and in Cleveland, Ohio). Founding institutions include McGill University, Queen’s University and the University of Toronto in Canada and the University of Illinois System, University of Wisconsin and University of Michigan in the United States. In announcing a new strategic plan in , the consortium cited its “Great Lakes, Great Minds” report, noting that of the world’s top universities are Great Lakes institutions, one-third of the top engineering schools in the U.S. and Canada are in the region, and % of the world’s top medical research schools call the region home. “ e region’s institutions are poised to lead complex fi elds, notably advanced manufacturing and logistics, AI, semiconductors and many other domains,” the GLHEC stated. “But, while the combined strengths and assets of these world- class institutions are well-known and clearly exceptional, they remain largely disconnected and untapped from a region-building perspective. e urgency to change this is growing, especially with respect to addressing talent gaps through student development and mobility as well as the region’s performance with respect to converting science by ADAM BRUNS I Ready to Learn, Ready to Earn HIGHER EDUCATION An archive photo shows students lounging on “the beach” in front of Redpath Museum on the campus of McGill University in Montreal, Quebec. Photo by Valeria Lau courtesy of McGill University44 GREAT LAKES INVESTMENT GUIDE 2025 into innovations and creating new businesses that drive regional commerce, job creation and international trade.” Those new businesses have an enormous ecosystem at hand: If it were a country, the GLHEC said, the Great Lakes region would be the world’s third largest economy, supporting over 50 million jobs with an estimated annual economic output of US$6 trillion. Vance Badawey, a longtime corporate strategy consultant and a former Member of Parliament in Canada, in September 2025 was named the new president and CEO of the Council of the Great Lakes Region, whose board includes prominent experts and program directors from York University in Toronto and Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. He says the vision of the organization is to “position this region as the world’s leading model for sustainable economic growth and integrated binational collaboration.” And higher education has an important role to play. “The Great Lakes Higher Education Consortium has an extraordinary opportunity to align the talent and research capacity of our universities and colleges with the transformational challenges of our time,” he says in an email. “I see the focus turning toward building cross- border, industry-connected programs in advanced and green automotive manufacturing, artificial intelligence, digital logistics, freshwater innovation and climate-smart infrastructure.” By doing so, he says, “we are not simply preparing students for today’s workforce. We are cultivating the innovators, engineers and leaders who will future-proof the Great Lakes and ensure it remains globally competitive. Education, research, and workforce training must be the foundation of a long-term strategy for regional resilience and prosperity.” Signs that this foundation is strong can be found on hundreds of campuses. For starters, check out these recent highlights from some of the founding members of the GLHEC: MCGILL UNIVERSITY, MONTREAL, QUEBEC Researchers in McGill’s Department of Mechanical Engineering have discovered a safe and low-cost method of engineering living materials such as tissues, organs and blood clots, the university reports. “By simply vibrating these materials as they form, scientists can dramatically influence how strong or, weak they become. The findings could have a range of innovative applications, including in organ transplants, wound healing and regenerative medicine” as well as advanced medical devices. Aram Bahmani, study co-author and Yale postdoctoral fellow, conducted the research at McGill as a PhD student with Associate Professor Jianyu Li’s Biomaterials Engineering lab. “What makes this especially exciting is that our method is non-invasive, low-cost and easy to implement,” Bahmani said in a university release. “It does not rely on expensive machines or complex chemicals, meaning it could one day be built into portable medical devices, like a hand-held tool to stop bleeding, or a smart bandage that speeds up healing.” QUEEN’S UNIVERSITY, KINGSTON, ONTARIO A September release from the university highlights efforts by researcher and Ryan Grant, associate professor in electrical and computer engineering at the university’s Ingenuity Labs Research Institute, to bring Canada up to par in the world of supercomputers, a field in which he excelled while working with Sandia National Laboratories in New Mexico. “As of September 2024, Canada’s most powerful supercomputer ranks 123rd in the world,” the Queen’s Gazette reported. “This places Canada as the only G7 nation without a supercomputer in the Top 50. Once the United Kingdom completes its upgrades, Canada will be the only G7 country without a supercomputer in the Top 25.” But Grant sees public-private partnership as the way forward. “Opening supercomputing to industry could have an immense impact on Canada’s economy,” he told the publication. “U.S. studies show a $43 return for every dollar invested, while in Europe it’s closer to $60:$1. For Canada, the benefits to productivity and competitiveness could be huge, and allow us to keep up and even surpass current world leaders in the space. With enough time to train a pipeline of made-in-Canada supercomputer experts, we can be caught up in “ We are not simply preparing students for today’s workforce. We are cultivating the innovators, engineers and leaders who will future-proof the Great Lakes and ensure it remains globally competitive. ” — Vance Badawey, President and CEO, Council of the Great Lakes RegionGREAT LAKES INVESTMENT GUIDE 2025 45 only a few years.” And geography favors Eastern Ontario, he said. “Kingston is centrally located between several large centers of government and industry — Toronto, Montreal, and Ottawa — putting us in an ideal location,” he said, backed by a team of 18 he’s assembled at the university and called the Computing at Extreme Scale Advanced Research (CAESAR) lab. UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO The 2025 NTU World University Rankings in September named the University of Toronto No. 4 globally among 1,200 ranked institutions and more than 2,000 considered. Among public universities, U of T ranked second worldwide and was the top public university in North America. U of T ranked among the top 50 globally in four of six broad academic fields and first in Canada in each of those four fields: medicine (second globally); social sciences (fourth); life sciences (12th); and natural sciences (29th). It also ranked in the global top 10 in five subjects: clinical medicine (second); neurosciences and behaviour (third); social sciences, general (fourth); psychiatry and psychology (fourth); and biology and biochemistry (ninth). “This ranking reflects the University of Toronto’s world-leading strength in generating new discoveries and knowledge that are making an impact in Canada and around the globe,” said Leah Cowen, U of T’s vice-president, research and innovation, and strategic initiatives. UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS SYSTEM Spring 2025 saw the 20th Americas Competitiveness Exchange (ACE) bring 50 delegates from around the world to Illinois. ACE is a program of the Organization of American States (OAS), which fosters conversations across 35 independent states of the Americas focusing on democracy, human rights, security and development. The University of Illinois System was a linchpin as the weeklong event explored the state’s assets, talent and economic development progress in such areas as quantum computing, AI, advanced manufacturing and agriculture, including stops at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) and University of Illinois Urbana- Champaign (UIUC) campuses as well as visits to Peoria and Naperville. U of I System Associate Vice President for Workforce Development and Community Engagement Jeannette Tamayo said the event garnered the most letters of interest and memoranda of understanding for future projects and partnerships ever executed during ACE. A release also noted that the U of I System-led Illinois Innovation Network (IIN), led by Tamayo as executive director, “played a key role in OAS and the federal government choosing Illinois for its most recent ACE edition. IIN’s public university-based hubs join with industry and communities on entrepreneurship, research and workforce development across the state.” UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN In September, Bjorn Borgen, a native of Strum, Wisconsin, who went on to build a multibillion- dollar investment firm, announced on his 88th birthday a $25 million gift including a $5 million endowment to support experiential learning woven through the Department of Mechanical Engineering curriculum, and a $20 million gift to the Engineering the Future Capital Campaign Fund. “Through the $20 million gift, Borgen’s name will adorn the active learning wing of the Phillip A. Levy Engineering Center, the College of Engineering’s forthcoming new building,” said a university release, noting the space will be called the Bjorn Borgen Learning Commons. “I want to be part of this new phase of making the University of Wisconsin-Madison College of Engineering one of the top public engineering schools in the country and increasing student enrollment,” said Borgen, whose support of the mechanical engineering department has established the Borgen Design Fund, an endowed fund that enables hands-on learning activities and financial resources from first- year introductory courses through senior capstone experiences. “The Borgen ME Design Lab in the Mechanical Engineering Building now includes 3D printers, allowing students to rapidly prototype projects,” the university said. “The Borgen Design Competition encourages students to pursue ambitious entrepreneurial and community service projects. And the gift also supports student teams that compete nationally in robotics, aerospace, autonomous vehicle, racing events and more.” 46 GREAT LAKES INVESTMENT GUIDE 2025 hen the nation’s first public community college planted roots in Joliet, Illinois, in 1901, its concept sought to emulate curriculum offerings students typically encounter in the first two years of a four- year college or university. This innovative launch carved a new path for higher education opportunities that emphasize the needs of the local community. At the time, Joliet Junior College served just six postgraduate high school students, a number that has now grown to an average of 27,000 students per year. The state’s roster has risen to 48 colleges across 39 community college districts who see more than 500,000 students per year. On a greater scale, this initiative led to the development of over 1,000 two- year public institutions now positioned throughout the U.S., consistently moving skilled talent into careers vital to the nation’s economic success. The Great Lakes region is a known manufacturing powerhouse that depends on skilled talent across a diverse range of industries. From Minnesota to New York, one can find more than 230 community colleges in the Great Lakes states. In the Canadian provinces, Ontario holds 24 publicly assisted colleges, half of Quebec’s 48 public colleges. Many of these institutions have become the center of talent development strategies for businesses located in or coming into the region. A peek into current activity provides insight into a few ways community colleges and industries located across the Great Lakes are perfecting the region’s talent pool. by ALEXIS ELMORE W How Industries Manufacture Top Great Lakes Talent COMMUNITY COLLEGES & WORKFORCE TRAINING The Pennsylvania Commission for Community Colleges prepares its talent to get in front of new tech and construction job opportunities heading to the state, thanks to Amazon Web Services. Photo courtesy of Amazon Web ServicesGREAT LAKES INVESTMENT GUIDE 2025 47 AMAZON When Amazon Web Services announced plans to distribute $20 billion across multiple data center campuses throughout Pennsylvania in July 2025, it additionally brought news of up to 1,250 new high-tech jobs. Two site locations — Salem Township and Falls Township — have already been identified for development, although the company has stated there are many more coming down its project pipeline. In the meantime, the Pennsylvania Commission for Community Colleges (PACCC) is wasting no time ensuring local talent are prepared for an influx of new construction and technology roles. Under PACCC leadership, four regional institutions — Luzerne County Community College, Lehigh Carbon Community College, Northampton Community College and Bucks County Community College — will come together to form an ADVANCEPA Technology and Trades Workforce Consortium. Prime proximity to Amazon’s sites in Luzerne and Bucks counties presents an ideal opportunity to cultivate targeted workforce development programs that hit on technology and skilled construction trades related to hyperscale data centers. PACCC Vice President Dr. Nicholas Neupauer says the beauty of Pennsylvania’s overall network of 15 community colleges is that they always do the right thing for the almost 240,000 students that enter these institutions each year. Industry collaboration has been key to refreshing curriculum and programming. He says this opportunity will “elevate the credibility, worthiness and value of partnering with community colleges,” when crafting a local workforce pipeline. The consortium will launch three pillar training academies: a Career & Technology Academy, a MicroCredential Academy and a Construction & Trade Pre-Apprenticeship Academy. Dr. Neupauer says the consortium is in the midst of its planning stages to identify which colleges will be responsible for specific trainings. “In the big picture, this approach encompasses a ton of what we in Pennsylvania call high-priority occupations. Electricians, carpenters, plumbers, HVAC, construction and the list goes on,” he continues. “So, while this is specific to data centers, and in this case AWS, this is going to encompass a very wide scope for our local communities, the region and Commonwealth as a whole.” A closer look into the purpose of each academy shows that talent, at any level, can tailor their approach to skills development. The Career & Technology Academy seeks to form new regional partnerships between the community colleges and career and technical center high schools in northeast Pennsylvania. The goal will be to highlight post-secondary construction or technology credential programs that lead to entry-level roles for high school students. For seasoned talent looking to upskill or switch careers, the MicroCredential Academy is designed to be a quick and cost-effective avenue to explore roles in high demand industry clusters. This academy provides flexibility by enabling participants to gain credentials in- person or online. The Pennsylvania Building and Construction Trade Unions will partner with the consortium as part of the Construction & Trades Pre- Apprenticeship Academy, providing talent with targeted curriculum that guides them through a preferred apprenticeship. This on-the-job training is vital to landing direct employment, but more importantly keeping skilled talent at home. “We do plan on replicating this model across the state for data centers as a whole, not just AWS,” says Neupauer. “While we’re kicking things off with AWS, we are creating a model, and this will be our debut. We are looking to replicate the model with other community colleges across the state and other data centers as they emerge.” He says while this is an incredibly big initiative for members of the consortium and PACCC, this approach is far from unique for Pennsylvania’s community colleges. It builds upon years of community and industry engagement hitting on in-demand occupations, which will only continue as large-scale project investments continue to pour into the state. “[This] really speaks to our sector’s agility and nimbleness to move forward, plan quickly, adapt, fall back on the expertise of our faculty and staff at representative colleges and move forward and help the communities we serve,” says Neupauer. JOHNSON CONTROLS Since 2021, building technology, software and services company Johnson Controls has been on a nationwide mission to expand academic programming specific to HVAC, fire, security and building automation systems. The company’s goal is to invest $15 million into community colleges located in regions that hold a strong customer and Johnson Controls employee presence by 2026. It turns out nine colleges in the Great Lakes fit the bill so far: Henry Ford Community College in Detroit, Michigan; Kennedy-King College in Chicago, Illinois; Milwaukee Area Next >