In his column, Phil Power indicates that he was favorably impressed by the effort last week of Wayne State University, Michigan State University and the University of Michigan to come together and propose that they be funded separately from the state's other public universities. "The core of the argument for supporting research universities is a powerful one," Power writes. "Collectively, they return $26 to the state for each dollar of state support." He adds, "If we're going to get anywhere, the corporation known as the state of Michigan needs to figure out what kinds of long-term investments we need to make in order to survive and compete. Our great universities are a terrific place to start."