Regional universities team up to fight separate funding for U-M, MSU and Wayne State
Nine regional public universities in Michigan have formed an alliance to oppose separate funding for Wayne State, Michigan State and the University of Michigan. Although Gov. Granholm's budget proposal calls for all 15 universities to get the same 2.5 percent increase, the coalition fears that separating money into two pots would lead to a bigger share for the research institutions at the expense of the others in future years. The announcement of the united effort comes on the heels of a recent poll that showed 76 percent of Michigan residents oppose the idea of providing more money to the "Big Three" universities because of research and development opportunities they bring to the state. U-M, WSU and MSU "already get 57 percent of the state funding while the remaining 12 have to share 43 percent," said Kathy Wilbur, vice president for government relations and public affairs at Central Michigan University. "Apparently receiving a majority of the funding isn't enough for them." The nine smaller universities have formed The Education Alliance for Michigan, or TEAM, to advance their interests in the budget debate. The strong reaction came as a surprise to some leaders at U-M, WSU and MSU, whose presidents testified recently before lawmakers about their universities' unique economic contributions and their importance to Michigan's turnaround. Wayne State spokeswoman Francine Wunder pointed out that by investing in research to stimulate the economy, the state can better facilitate collaboration and coordination among all its public universities, and benefit from their unique strengths. Mike Boulus, executive director of the Presidents Council, State Universities of Michigan noted that "we've always had our differences, but collectively we've always had much in common."
