© 2025 MICHIGAN PUBLIC
91.7 Ann Arbor/Detroit 104.1 Grand Rapids 91.3 Port Huron 89.7 Lansing 91.1 Flint
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Flint listeners: WFUM 91.1 FM continues to undergo maintenance and will be at low power throughout the week. We expect there to be periodic outages. We apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate your patience. Click here to find other ways to listen.

One out of five Michigan lawmakers does not have a college degree

Wikimedia Commons

Research by The Detroit News finds that 20% of Michigan lawmakers don't have a college degree. 

A conversation about lawmakers' education has emerged after Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker entered the presidential race. He attended college, but didn't graduate.

Edward Sidlow is a political science professor at Eastern Michigan University.

He says fewer state legislators were college educated in the 1970s and '80s.

"It was part-time work with a part-time wage, so non-college educated people fit in quite well," Sidlow said. 

Sidlow  says there is a difference between people who attended college to those who never attended college.

"If someone had a university experience and did a bulk of the work, I am not sure the credential itself is absolutely critical," Sidlow said.

According to the Lumina Foundation, about 40% of working-age Americans have a college degree.

Related Content