MichMash: The 2026 Mackinac Policy Conference focuses on common ground
From higher education shakeups to discussions about Michigan’s standing among other states, this week’s episode explores the key takeaways and biggest headlines from Mackinac Island.
Liz Nass joins Zach Gorchow and Alethia Kasben on this week's episode of MichMash.
In this episode:
- Why did Michigan State University President Kevin Guskiewicz leave to go to Clemson?
- What was the general theme of this year’s policy conference?
- Who gave standout speeches during the conference?
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The Mackinac Policy Conference had a couple of surprising moments from lawmakers, leaders, and political candidates. This week on WDET’s MichMash, Gongwer News Service’s Zach Gorchow and Alethia Kasben give a glimpse of some of the news happening on the island. Gongwer reporter Liz Nass joins the conversation from the conference to share her coverage of the annual meeting.
Unlike other years, the conference was focused more on where Michigan ranked in comparison to the rest of the nation. “It’s very stat heavy. Everybody is really focused on numbers, specifically Michigan’s rankings. There isn’t specific legislation being spoken about, but more so about competition with the rest of the country,” said Nass.
The conference had its fair share of news-breaking moments. One of the biggest was Michigan State University President Kevin Guskiewicz leaving his position to become the 16th president of Clemson University. Nass said his departure points to a larger story.
“It follows what the MSU Board of Trustees have been dealing with for a while. A while ago, they had a special emergency meeting discussing [possibly] changing the code of ethics because of rogue trustees writing op-eds, which they expressed created a bad environment for our president.”
There is a conversation about changing how these positions are nominated.
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