Metro
ON THE COVER
Instilling Hope from page A15
place for kids, and second as hope for
their child. Everything's about college!'
UPA currently serves 1,225 students,
spread over three New Center area
campuses in the shadow of the Fisher
Building. His goal over the next decade
is to help create 20-25,000 tuition-free,
viable K-12 opportunities in Detroit.
Although the buildings are funded by
the Thompson Educational Foundation
and leased to UPA for $1 a year, "I get the
same $7,400 per pupil as DPS," Ross says.
"Our (teacher) pay scale is roughly the
same. We pay a little more for beginning
teachers. There's some sense of mission!"
Principal Chalita Middleton with Doug Ross
A Well-Examined Life
Who: Douglas (Doug) Ross, co-founder and superintendent,
University Preparatory Academy, Detroit
Resides: Birmingham
Education: Born in Detroit. Graduated Mumford High
School, the University of Michigan (bachelor's degree, his-
tory) and Princeton University (master's degree, public
affairs). During and between degrees, taught in the Detroit
Public Schools and worked stints for U.S. Rep. John Dingell,
D-Dearborn, and Sen. Joseph Tydings, D-Maryland. "I
haven't led a very stable life."
Getting started politically: Served as field director for
then-Michigan Attorney General Frank Kelley's 1972 unsuc-
cessful bid for U.S. Senate. Headed Michigan Citizens'
Lobby, a consumer taxpayer group responsible for get-
ting rid of the state sales tax on food and medicine, for
Michigan having the first generic prescription law in the
country and for the law mandating companies to stand
behind faulty cars, known as the Lemon Law. Elected to
state Senate representing southern Oakland County (1978).
Lost to now-U.S. Rep. Sandy Levin, D-Royal Oak, in 1982
primary for U.S. Congress.
From Michigan to D.C. and back: Served in Blanchard
administration, starting up the Michigan Youth Corps and
as Michigan commerce director. Moved family in 1989
to Washington, D.C., to become CEO of the non-profit
Corporation for Enterprise Development where "I got
involved with then-Gov. Bill Clinton." After running Clinton's
1992 primary campaign in Michigan, was appointed by
President Clinton as U.S. Assistant Secretary of Labor
for Employment and Training (1993-95). "I left because I
wanted to run for governor. I needed lead time." Lost to
attorney Geoffrey Feiger in 1998 Democratic primary.
What's next: "I'm 56 and really not interested in going
back into government" so is looking for "the next worth-
while thing to do." Taught public policy at the Gerald R.
Ford School of Public Policy at U-M. Started University
Preparatory Academy, Detroit.
Family: Married to Karol, psychologist and attorney,
employed at Macomb County Circuit Court. Three married
children: Mitchell, professor of cultural geography at Hull
University, Great Britain; Doug, IT entrepreneur, Atlanta;
and Julie, counselor at Jewish Day School, Washington, D.C.
Two grandchildren, Tobias and Leo.
Influences: Mumford journalism teacher Charles Kaufman,
"who really taught me how to write ... I started U-M in the
fall of '60, the year that John Kennedy spoke on the steps
of the Michigan Union. Kennedy and the early civil rights
movement seemed to indicate that a small group of people
could have a big impact ... I was also greatly influenced by
Neil Staebler, the man who built the state Democratic Party
after World War II with (former governor) Mennon Williams.
Staebler taught me that you could be both ethical and
effective in politics; that it wasn't a choice."
Outside interests: "Between the ages of 16 and 26, I played
bass and sang in a band called the Classics. We played
school dances, bar mitzvahs, weddings, country clubs, sum-
mer resorts in South Haven, fraternity parties." Now, Ross
concentrates on "things I can do with Karol, with movies
and travel at the top of the list."
- Judy Doner Berne
The Mumford Mix
Ross, who graduated Detroit's Mumford
High School in 1960, says, "Mumford
served as a model for what is possible in
Detroit."
"What made Mumford was the culture,"
Ross says. "That culture was brought from
home!'
Studies show that a mother's education
and economic level are powerful indica-
tors of what a child achieves. The idea,
he says, "is to create a school culture so
strong that it negates that mother's educa-
tion and income!'
So far, despite UPiks success, "We still
don't know how to prepare our kids aca-
demically as well as the kids coming out
of Birmingham or Troy."
Ross uses his political ties, forged as an
assistant secretary of labor in the Clinton
administration and in various positions
in Michigan government.
He uses his Jewish ties, forged at
Mumford, at Temple Beth El in Bloomfield
Township where he was president of
Michigan State Temple Youth and at
Birmingham Temple in Farmington Hills,
where he and wife Karol now belong.
So far, his ties have resulted in private
donations, recruitment of committed peo-
ple for his staff and boards of education,
and access for students to internships,
cultural and other educational oppor-
tunities. It's no fluke, Ross says, that the
school's three campuses are located near
the city's cultural center.
The School Setting
Inside his office in the academy's elemen-
tary school, he is surrounded by family
photographs including one of him and
Karol with President Bill and Hillary
Clinton.
Outside the office, he is surrounded by
children dressed in red, white and black.
"Hi, Mr. Ross:' says one small girl who
greets him with a hug. The boy sitting
next to her extends his hand.
Instilling Hope on page A18
A16
April 3 • 2008