Michigan's University Research Corridor appoints new program manager

August 2, 2012

LANSING, Mich. – Dr. Britany Affolter-Caine, current director of talent enhancement for Ann Arbor SPARK, has been named program manager for Michigan’s University Research Corridor. The appointment is effective August 6.

“Britany has spent the last 12 years living and working in Michigan on key policy issues in higher education, innovation, clean water and energy, and talent,’’ said URC Executive Director Jeff Mason. “Her experience in these areas will be a valuable addition to the URC team as we continue our efforts to transform, strengthen and diversity our state’s economy.”

“I am excited to be a part of the URC and have the opportunity to work with three of the top research universities in the country and collaborate with business to further the URC’s mission," Affolter-Caine said.

The URC, an alliance of the state’s three research universities, Michigan State University, the University of Michigan and Wayne State University, was established in recognition of the key role these institutions play in creating a vibrant Michigan economy that leverages the intellectual capital of these three public research universities; their efforts to proactively attract the knowledge economy businesses that can take advantage of the $1.8 billion in annual research conducted at these three institutions; educate the workforce; and plant the seeds for the new industries of tomorrow.

Ann Arbor SPARK is a nonprofit economic development organization that promotes business expansion, retention and location throughout Washtenaw County.

Prior to SPARK, Affolter-Caine was a consultant to the non-profit sector, where her work focused on program management, strategic planning, and policy research. She has had the opportunity to serve as a researcher on the 2004 Governor Granholm-appointed Cherry Commission on Higher Education and Economic Growth, policy advocate for Great Lakes Restoration with the Healing Our Waters Coalition and Great Lakes Commission, strategic planning consultant on an environmental agenda for Detroit Public Television, and program manager for the Third 90 Network with the Michigan Colleges Foundation, a college access program with an environmental focus. Affolter-Caine also served as senior research associate for the Great Lakes Economic Initiative with the Brookings Institution’s Metropolitan Policy Program, which focused on developing a federal-state agenda to address the challenges facing the larger Great Lakes region by leveraging collective assets.

She earned her Ph.D. in higher education policy and organizational behavior from the University of Michigan, where her doctorate research focused on studying the processes for successful inter-organizational collaboration. She also earned a Masters of Education from Wright State University with a focus on economics, and a Bachelors of Arts in political science at Wittenberg University.