A comprehensive grassroots initiative to forestall passage of a House bill that would have had a devastating effect on the Wayne State University budget was successfully executed by the Wayne State community last week. Although House Bill 4400 still passed, the thousands of Warrior voices that were heard had a tremendous effect on legislators.
The Michigan House of Representatives voted 57-50 to approve House Bill 4400. While the approval of the bill is disappointing, legislators rallied around WSU in attempts to amend the budget bill and delivered passionate floor speeches highlighting Wayne State students and alumni, and the irreplaceable value they bring to Michigan. No other university had elected officials stand up for them during the budget deliberations.
Just days before the May 13 vote, Wayne State leadership — led by President M. Roy Wilson and Director of State Relations Elizabeth Kutter — galvanized donors, alumni, current students, faculty and staff in a massive targeted effort to urge lawmakers not to drastically cut Wayne State’s appropriations. A message was sent to the university community urging them to contact their representatives in the state House; the message even provided a simple way to locate the name and address of each representative by typing in the sender’s ZIP code. A sample letter was also provided. In the end, more than 3,600 members of the community reached out to their representatives.
Even more significantly, the Michigan Senate also heard the call to action, and voted to increase its investment in Wayne State by $4.06 million in its proposed budget. “This increase is a direct result of these advocacy efforts reaching far beyond each individual note sent, and collectively sparking action to ensure higher education investments are prioritized,” Kutter said.
The budget bills now go to conference committee for further debate. Kutter said that the effort to advocate for an appropriations increase for Wayne State will continue during the next phase of the legislative process. “We’ve seen how successful such an effort can be. If we work together for this common purpose, we’re confident we can achieve our goal so that Wayne State receives the kind of financial support it needs to continue its mission of providing a high-quality education and conducting ground-breaking research.”