We are pleased to announce Gloria Robinson, FAICP as Taubman College’s winter 2009 Sojourner Truth Visiting Professor. She will teach a course entitled “Big-City Politics and Planning,” where she will impart her thirty-year career as a planning and economic development professional, which includes positions in both the public and private sectors.
Gloria W. Robinson is currently chief operating officer for Heritage Vision Plans, where she has worked for three years, serving as a consultant for 18 months before moving to chief operating officer in 2006. Since joining Heritage, Robinson has worked with the company on many organizational development and process improvement activities, including leading the proposal effort that enabled Heritage to successfully win the Ford Motor Company Salaried Vision Program for a second three-year contract term.
Prior to Heritage, Robinson served in the administration of former Detroit Mayor Dennis W. Archer, first as director of planning & development, and later as group executive for economic development. Under her leadership, the city attracted over $20 billion in new development, including many of the major development projects in the city, such as the Compuware World Headquarters, General Motors World Headquarters, Campus Martius Park and surrounding development, Ford Field, and Comerica Park.
In addition, Robinson also served in the administration of former President Bill Clinton as an appointee. She was assistant to the secretary for community empowerment at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in Washington, D.C., where she led the Urban Empowerment Zone/Enterprise Community Initiative under the leadership of HUD Secretary Andrew Cuomo and Vice President Al Gore. She also assisted the vice president in organizing and conducting several business round tables.
Gloria Robinson holds a B.A. from the University of Michigan, where she was elected to the Mortarboard Senior Women’s Honorary Society, and she holds a Master of Urban Planning from Michigan State University. She is a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners and a registered community planner in the State of Michigan. She was elected as a fellow of the American Institute of Certified Planners in 2004.
