The Greater Milwaukee Committee, a civic and business group, is taking a proactive approach to sustain the city’s growth and development by increasing the number of college graduates who stay in the southeastern Wisconsin area.

The committee’s mission, according to its Web site, is to “keep southeastern Wisconsin the best community to live, learn, work and play.”

Michael Mortell, coordinator of the RWA WIRED initiative, a program within GMC, said its newest goal is to promote higher levels of education.

According to CEOs for Cities, a national network of urban leaders, colleges and universities are key in sustaining a city’s economic and regional growth.

CEOs for Cities recently reported in “CityDividends: Gains from Improving Metropolitan Performance” that increasing the number of a city’s residents with four-year college degrees one percentage point would equal a total dividend of $1.5 billion.

“We’re setting a goal for the region,” Mortell said. “If colleges and businesses work together, we could get to that goal by 2013.”

This initiative comes as an approach to maintain the workforce in the Milwaukee area.

“This is not so much of a reaction,” Mortell said. “Instead, it’s being proactive.”

Mortell said demographics show there is a sizeable portion of the population that will be reaching retirement in the next few years. This fact and continuous changes in technology could present a problem in the near future if college graduates in the Milwaukee area leave the city.

“We’re going to want to make sure we have a sufficient number of skilled, educated workers,” Mortell said.

The report said in order for a city to thrive, its college degree attainment is crucial. If the number of residents with degrees increases, so will their level of income.

“The education and skills of a city’s population are critical to determining its success in the global, knowledge-driven economy,” the report stated.

The GMC has made contacts with two-year technical colleges and private and public colleges in the seven-county region to promote four-year college degrees among students. Marquette has not been formally contacted.

“This is an emerging story,” Mortell said. “We are not at a point yet where we have a formal structure to work with schools.”

Tim Olsen, communication manager in the Office of Marketing and Communication, said the Office of Public Affairs has been asked to work on the initiative with the GMC, but is unsure of specific plans.

“Marquette applauds any and every effort to increase the number of college graduates in the Milwaukee region,” Olsen said.

But some Marquette students are not limiting themselves to the Milwaukee area upon graduation.

Aaron Van Dyke, a senior in the College of Engineering, said he is not planning on making Milwaukee his home once he graduates.

“I would love to stay, but it doesn’t seem like my best option,” he said. “Job opportunities and volunteering are pulling me elsewhere.”

Melissa Jensen, a senior in the College of Business Administration, thinks Milwaukee is a great atmosphere for young adults.

“There are so many neighborhoods and places to live in and experience outside of Marquette’s campus,” Jensen said. “It’s a city with a lot of young people, it’s large enough not to be boring but small enough not to be overwhelming, and has a lot of great opportunities.”

However, Jensen will be moving to Chicago to work as an account coordinator at News America Marketing.

“My job doesn’t have an office in Milwaukee,” she said. “And I want an adventure to a new city.”