MCC President’s Leadership Series Concludes May 10 with Ellen Jeffries, Bill Bowerman

Ellen Jeffries and Bill Bowerman, two former Michigan Senate Fiscal Agency administrators, will discuss “The Michigan Legislature and the Appropriations Process” on Tuesday, May 10, at Muskegon Community College.

The talk, which is free and open to the public, is the final lecture of the MCC President’s Speakers Series: Lessons in Leadership. The presentation takes place from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in Stevenson Center Room 1300 on the main campus and will also be available online via Zoom. To participate online, click on the following link: https://muskegoncc-edu.zoom.us/j/91212772026?pwd=SG5CdURpS3VOUWE4VzFTSjJZU1lOQT09 Passcode: 111120

The lecture series features individuals selected by MCC President Dale K. Nesbary for their impact on the growth of his professional career. Dr. Nesbary is retiring at the end of June after 44 years in higher education, research, and public policy work.

“The Lessons in Leadership series is intended ​to allow colleagues from education, the public sector, business, and the community to share their ideas on the state of higher education, offering solutions to issues that we face daily,” explained Nesbary.

Ellen Jeffries
Jeffries began working for the Michigan Senate Fiscal Agency in 1977, just a few months before Nesbary started his employment there. She began as a fiscal analyst, moved up to chief analyst for seven years, was deputy director for 20 years, and retired as the director after serving 41 years with the agency.

Ellen Jeffries

She graduated from Hillsdale College with a degree in political economy and received a Master’s in Political Science from the University of Chicago. While at Hillsdale, she was the sports information director for the men’s varsity basketball team. As a graduate student, she worked as a research assistant for the University of Chicago’s Billings Hospital.

While working for the Senate Fiscal Agency, Jeffries served as the staff chair for the National Conference of State Legislatures’ Assembly on the Legislature Education Committee, was a charter member of both Women in State Government and the Lansing Women’s Economic Club, and was a member of the Michigan Higher Education Database Advisory Committee. She also served as a member and chairwoman of the Lansing Entertainment and Public Facilities Authority.

Bill Bowerman
A former associate director of the Senate Fiscal Agency, Bowerman worked at the agency for almost 38 years. Before retiring at the end of 2018, he worked on nearly every State budget during his tenure at the Senate Fiscal Agency.

Bill Bowerman

His experience with state government dates to 1971, when he was employed as a page for the State House of Representatives during his senior year in high school. His father was a State Representative during the 1950s and mayor of the City of Lansing in the 1960s, which provided Bowerman with a deep appreciation for state and local government at an early age.

Bowerman is a graduate of Michigan State University and the Thomas M. Cooley Law School.

For more information on the lecture series, contact Kristin Tank, dean of marketing and communications at MCC, at kristin.tank@muskegoncc.edu.