Saint Lawrence?

Whatever became of David Lawrence Jr., someone I used to look for every Sunday?

No, not my parish priest, not that David Lawrence. This David Lawrence was Detroit Free Press executive editor from 1978 to 1985 and publisher from 1985 to 1989.

His weekly column on the Freep’s editorial page was always thoughtful and provocative, and it offered a perspective few had articulated before. I did not agree with every opinion piece, but each one made me think, feel, reflect and, on some occasions, take action that I would not have taken otherwise. That, my friends, is influence.

The highest compliment I offer is to regard a person as “a good man” or “a good woman.” David Lawrence is a good man. He has devoted his life to adding value to society and making a difference in people’s lives, especially for the disenfranchised and children.

Our paths have continued to cross for three decades.

They crossed for the first time during the early days of Gov. Jim Blanchard’s second term, after C. Patrick Babcock — a fixture in the Milliken cabinet who became one in Blanchard’s as well — moved from the top spot in the Department of Mental Health to lead the Department of Social Services. I learned “the ways under the Dome,” at Babcock’s side, having served as his deputy and later chief deputy director in Mental Health. When Babcock switched departments, I was named acting director of Mental Health and, a few months later, director.

Lawrence, after hearing about a 14-hour whirlwind tour of Michigan’s mental health system that I had conducted for his editorial page editor, Joe Stroud, asked that I conduct a similar one for him and every editor at the paper (as I recall, the sports page editor was given a reprieve). They got a tour of the system all right — “the good, the bad and the ugly.”

Although this cemented our relationship, it did not inoculate me or the department from the Freep raking us over the coals on some issues. While not liking all the coverage the department received, I believed it was fair and, for the most part, accurate.

I watched Dave interact with the people with mental illness and developmental disabilities and the doctors and direct care staff. Treating people with care, respect and dignity oozed from his pores. He asked probing questions and actually listened as intently to the man struggling to cope with schizophrenia as he did to the doctors and medical researchers.

Carol Cain, a veteran columnist for the Free Press and host of WWJ-TV’s Michigan Matters, was just beginning her career in journalism when Lawrence led the paper. She remembers him this way: “Dave Lawrence is a decent man who always made time for young reporters or a person on the street in need, in spite of the great demands on his time.”

Fast forward four years: Blanchard loses his bid for a third term and I eventually land in Florida leading an economic development organization. When I arrived in South Florida, Dave Lawrence was the publisher of the Miami Herald. He would retire from there in 1999, and during his tenure the paper won five Pulitzer Prizes.

He subsequently retired from journalism, but not from making a difference. He turned his exceptional skills and connections into a movement to make sure all children could have a good start in life.

He is currently president of The Early Childhood Initiative Foundation and serves as “University Scholar for Early Childhood Development and Readiness” at the University of Florida. He also leads The Children’s Movement of Florida, “building an enduring, sustainable movement to make all children the state’s number one priority.”

Greg Taylor, vice president for youth and education with the W.K. Kellogg Foundation in Battle Creek, says: “It would be difficult to find a more dedicated, selfless person to the cause of high-quality early childhood initiatives, and simply doing right by youth, than Dave Lawrence. He leverages his lifetime of powerful connections for the betterment of all children. He is a true inspiration.”

Perhaps it was being one of nine children that motivated Dave’s later devotion to quality early childhood initiatives. A fully endowed chair in early childhood studies was established in his name at the University of Florida College of Education.

Miami-Dade County, Florida’s largest county with 2.4 million people and a larger population than 16 states, is home to what many consider a national model for a community-wide, high-quality early childhood initiative. This feat is due in great part to Lawrence’s exceptional team and the community partners with whom he has engaged and worked.

Lawrence understands that the early childhood years are the foundation on which a child’s and our communities’, states’ and nation’s future are built.

Dave and I reconnected when I led the Economic Council of Palm Beach County, a private business organization consisting of the top 150 presidents and CEOs in the community. They partnered with school officials, The Children’s Services Council and other child advocates to support and ultimately pass a 1/2 mil tax dedicated to early childhood programs.

Selling 150 of the top business leaders in Palm Beach County on the wisdom of any tax increase, let alone one with such a long-term payout as investing in the earliest years of life, took some convincing. Lawrence’s impassioned speech that wove human values and economic sense into a coherent rationale for backing such a bold proposal was a major impetus for our ballot support.

He convinced many a conservative to embrace all children, all families, and reminded us it is never about “those” kids, but rather “everyone’s child” and our collective future.

The underpinnings of a strong individual are set in the critical first years of life. It is on this foundation that everything else is built. The victory of the early childhood ballot proposal in the 2000 election was overshadowed by the “hanging chads” and “Bush v Gore” voting fiasco in Palm Beach County, yet, the benefits of this vote continue to pay dividends today.

In 2002, Dave Lawrence was a key figure in passing a statewide constitutional amendment to provide pre-K education for all four-year-olds in Florida.

Sara Watson, a project director at the Pew Center on the States, a nonpartisan policy group, says: “David is an incredibly effective champion for early childhood because he can communicate with and bring together politicians of all perspectives, business leaders, parents and advocates. Pew supported his successful ballot initiative campaign for pre-kindergarten in Florida, because he used objective research and effective strategy to win over many different groups of voters.”

Dave and I have communicated over the years and he has posted comments on columns I have written for Dome. We met again recently in Florida when I worked with educators and business leaders there while seeking ways to transform teaching and learning.

His values, common sense, humor and curiosity come through in every encounter.

As I traveled the state of Florida, Dave Lawrence’s name was a constant whenever children, fairness or education issues were touched upon. He is recognized and respected by people from all walks of life. His honors, both in and out of journalism, are as numerous as they are impressive. Perhaps the most meaningful for this father of five, with five grandchildren, was being named “Father of the Year” by the South Florida Father’s Day Council.

There is also the David Lawrence Jr. K-8 Center, a public school located in Miami with 1,381 students, named in his honor. Some honors are given because a person has given millions. In David’s case it is because he constantly gives of himself.

A Detroit legend, U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Damon Keith, spoke with a special memory of the many Thanksgiving dinners his family shared with the Lawrences at his home in Detroit and sums up the values that make up the man with this comment: “Dave Lawrence is a man of great integrity who cares about people and has devoted his significant talents to making a difference in this world.” The judge continued, “It was a loss to Michigan and especially to Detroit when Dave and his family relocated to his native home in Florida — all these years later and he still is missed.”

Dave maintains his intensity, humor and focus in his home in Coral Gables, Florida, with his soul mate, wife, and social work professional, Roberta. He would welcome hearing from his northern friends and can be reached at dlawrence@childreadiness.org.

I suggest you not contact him if you are not ready to be recruited to his cause of high-quality care for all children.

Lawrence will remind you to “not let anyone tell you that the future of children needs to await better economic times. Making children the Number One priority in this nation is a matter of decency, wisdom, smart investment and economic development. The very future of our nation is tied to how we invest in our children today.”

David Lawrence Jr. continues to touch the future by his efforts to assure that all our children get a great start in life. Now that is something to write about.

Tom Watkins, EducationNews.org’s 2010 Upton Sinclair Award winner, is a business and educational consultant in the U.S. and China. He served as director of the Michigan Department of Mental Health in Gov. Blanchard’s administration and state school superintendent during the Engler and Granholm administrations.

Read the full article here.