Presidents of the three major research universities, Wayne State, the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor and Michigan State, will testify before the state House Appropriations Subcommittee on Higher Education on Feb. 28, 2007 on the Wayne State University (WSU) School of Medicine campus. As partners collaborating in the University Research Corridor (URC), the three institutions will highlight how their aggregate contributions in scientific research, health care and technology are powerful catalysts for stimulating Michigan’s lagging economy.

“We are honored to host members of the Michigan legislature on our campus,” noted WSU President Irvin D. Reid. “This visit is an unprecedented opportunity for them to see firsthand the impressive return on their higher education investment. Universities cultivate the talent, technology and economic stimuli that propel Michigan’s economy forward.

The testimony will be delivered from 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. in the Lawrence M. Weiner Faculty Senate and Graduate Student Hall in the Scott Hall Building of the WSU School of Medicine on 540 E. Canfield. Wayne State will highlight its leadership in technology and research including life sciences, alternative energy and medicine. President Reid is also expected to cite the impressive achievements of TechTown, Wayne State University’s 12-block, 43-acre research and Technology Park located adjacent to the WSU main campus.

Reid notes, “By infusing high-tech start-up companies with university research, student and faculty support and access to venture capital, TechTown embraces ‘educational entrepreneurialism’ as an effective means for achieving state and local economic growth.”

Wayne State University is a premier institution of higher education offering more than 350 academic programs through 11 schools and colleges to more than 33,000 students in metropolitan Detroit.