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Printer-Friendly ModeSenate hears testimony on appropriations
March 20, 2006 —
The Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Higher Education met in the Emeriti Room last Monday, where several administrative officials testified before State Senators Mike Prusi, Mike Goschka, and Shirley Johnson. After hearing testimony from many collegiate officials over the past few weeks at Michigan State University, Kettering University, and Western Michigan University, the Subcommittee capped off its traveling hearings at SVSU in a 2 hour session.
Testifying before a medium-sized group of faculty, staff, administrative officials and members of the press were Betty Youngblood, president of Lake Superior State University; Mike Mroz, president of Michigan Technological University; Dan Little, chancellor of the University of Michigan at Dearborn, and SVSU President Eric R. Gilbertson, whose testimony was the denouement of the session.
Gilbertson addressed the committe last. After Goshcka thanked those present, Gilbertson testified before a now two-seat board (Prusi had left for other engagements).
He opened his testimony with an articulate observation on the nature and role of the University, noting that educational institutions are an integral element of the "American Experiment." He followed his assertion by discussing the current strengths SVSU possesses and some of the problems that the University currently faces - most notably, the reductions in state appropriations.
As he has mentioned in numerous other public pronouncements, in order to supply an increasing amount of students with a first rate education and living experience, SVSU has been forced to raise tuition and other costs. Gilbertson said these measures have been especially "painful," as SVSU has prided itself on being the most inexpensive public university in the state. In a supplemental packet SVSU provided to the hearing's attendees, a revenue chart indicates the current trend: in 1995, SVSU's revenue pool depended heavily on state appropriations: 51.9 percent with 43 percent being provided by tuition and fees. In 2005, 61 percent of SVSU's revenue was from tuition and fees with state appropriations dropping below the 37 percent mark.
After his testimony, Goschka asked Gilbertson how University officials managed to keep tuition rates so low. Gilbertson responded frankly, noting frugality and a delicate balancing act between student needs and the low cost of attendance. Following this response, Goshcka thanked those in attendance and adjourned the hearing, the last before the subcommittee submitted its recommendations to the legislature on Wednesday.
Youngblood, the president of Lake State, was the first to testify. In her testimony, Youngblood outlined LSSU's strengths and the challenges the university is facing heading into 2006.
Most prominent among the many challenges mentioned was the difficulty in continuing to waive tuition payments for Native American students. Youngblood argued that the state funding for the program was insufficient, leaving the university to bear the cost of Native American enrollment, which at LSSU constitutes a significant portion of the student body, especially when compared to other universities.
"We serve a large Native American community and being penalized for doing so is ... difficult," she stated.
Youngblood also noted that, aside from the fiscal problems caused by a lack of state funding for the Native American tuition waivers, general budgetary cutbacks have had a considerable impact upon LSSU.
"We are seriously challenged by the way public universities are funded," she lamented, citing 50 eliminated positions. Youngblood went on to say that, since LSSU is a smaller university, it has proven quite difficult creating an "economy-of-scale;" that is, the cost of producing education is rapidly outstripping the available funds.
After her 20-minute testimony, Youngblood turned the podium over to Mroz.
After taking the stand, Mroz began his testimony citing Thomas Friedman, author of A Brief History of the 21st Century, who argued that the world, with the development of the Internet, was turning "flat." In other words, all information, being quickly accessible to all, is making the world a much more connected place.
This, Mroz argued, creates challenges for higher education.
Mroz provided some sobering statistics to reinforce this argument: by 2010, over 90 percent of the world's scientists will live in Asia. Even now, one-sixth of all college graduates in South Korea are science majors.
On Michigan's competitiveness, Mroz said, "We can't beat them in numbers, but we can be the best." Mroz then made note of some of MTU's achievements in this regard, pointing out the university's broadly developed research base, 13 percent of which is funded by private industry - an impressive figure - and the high quality of MTU graduates.
Mroz took some time to emphasize the importance of creating an entrepreneurial spirit in all students - not just at the collegiate level.
"We have to build a culture of entrepreneurship in our community," he argued. To this end, MTU created a program funded by a grant that will develop students' entrepreneurial senses.
He brought his testimony to an end on an optimistic note, saying, "We have to do everything we can to develop the talent we have." While he didn't mention what effects recent state budget cutbacks had on MTU specifically, Mroz did make note that funding science and technology programs is often extraordinarily expensive, and given the economic importance of students that graduate from these programs, in reducing funding, legislators are undermining investment in Michigan's future.
After a short break, Goshcka called the hearing back into session and Little, of U of M-Dearborn, took to the stand. The Chancellor opened his testimony quite frankly, presenting the fundamental problems and strengths that his university and region are currently facing. Among the problems discussed were racial conflicts, the future of manufacturing, and K-12 education. Little emphasized the importance of improving primary and secondary education, arguing, "This is the key to progress in the region." He also shared Mroz's vision that students with STEM skills - that is, science, technology, engineering, and mathematics - will prove vital to Michigan's future.
Little later addressed the budget cuts directly. He said that while the budget cut he and his administrators have made up to this point have been largely "invisible," he said "this cannot continue."
He argued that further reductions in public funding risk compromising the learning environment, as U of M-Dearborn has experienced significant expansion in recent years, and that such expansion requires the necessary means to finance continual operation.