Eastern Michigan University has been a staple of Michigan's
higher education system for 160 years with more than 105,000
EMU graduates currently living and working in Michigan.
To continue that contribution to the state, Eastern Michigan
University President Susan Martin urged state legislators
to provide more funding for higher education.
"We really strongly recommend that higher education support
be increased," said Martin during hearings before the House
Appropriations Subcommittee on Higher Education that
took place in room 310 of the Student Center Feb. 27.
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ASKING FOR APPROPRIATIONS: Eastern Michigan
University President Susan Martin makes a point
during her testimony before the House
Appropriations
Subcommittee on Higher Education
Feb. 27. The University
hosted the hearings, which
included testimony from
the presidents of Central
Michigan and Oakland universities,
at the Student
Center.
|
Higher education funding in the state of Michigan has
been cut for most of the past seven years, going back to
2002. In the 2009-2010 budget proposed by Gov. Jennifer
Granholm, universities are scheduled to take a 3 percent
cut from FY 2008-09 state appropriations. Granholm simultaneously
is calling for universities to implement a tuition freeze.
Under that scenario, Martin said EMU would be facing a
$12 million hole in its budget.
The state currently faces a $1.6 billion deficit, but
it is expected that federal stimulus dollars will close
that gap and provide some dollars for universities. Even
if the 3 percent proposed cut to higher education is made
up through stimulus dollars, EMU still faces a $9 million
deficit in next year's budget that has to be balanced.
"Higher education will play a critical role in Michigan
and this nation's economic recovery," Martin said, pointing
to herself as a product of Michigan's educational system,
having attended a one-room schoolhouse in Croswell during
her formative years, and then receiving degrees from Central
Michigan and Michigan State universities.
Martin stressed EMU has remained accessible and affordable
through a number of cost-savings measures, including increasing
the amount of money designated to scholarships, implementing
of Energy Savings Days and identifying ways to conduct
business more efficiently.
Eastern Michigan also has responded to the shifting marketplace,
Martin said, pointing to its new major in autistic spectrum
disorders and the College of Health and Human Services
expanding its nursing program to meet the growing healthcare
need in the state.
In 2009, EMU increased its BSN program by 32 students
(80 to 112, a 40-percent increase) and 70 students in its
RN-to-BSN program (58 to 128 students). In addition, EMU
will launch a doctoral nursing program, the first of its
kind in the Midwest, to prepare nursing faculty, Martin
said. The program expects to admit 15 nurses who already
have master's degrees.
Martin said a recent report to the Michigan House Health
Policy Committee states that Michigan's demand for registered
nurses is expected to exceed supply by 7,000 nurses in
2010.
Other highlights Martin touched upon included:
*The School of Engineering Technology faculty is using
a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to develop
novel polyester polyols and their derivatives to formulate
environmentally friendly and sustainable coatings.
*The Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Foundation and
EMU's health education professors are working with Lincoln
Consolidated Schools in Ypsilanti to bring a wellness program
to approximately 1,770 elementary school children, teachers
and school employees.
*Eastern Michigan scientists will use coupled remote sensing
to biologically monitor invasive plants and measure their
impact on the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge.
At one point, Representative Bob Genetski, R-Saugatuck,
asked Martin if it was feasible to have two colleges of
education within six miles of each other (a reference to
the University of Michigan) churning out teaching majors "in
a time when we have more certified teachers in the system
than we need."
Martin responded by saying EMU produces one in every four
teachers in the state of Michigan and that EMU teaching
graduates are finding jobs. Vernon Polite, dean of EMU's
College of Education, added that EMU and the University
of Michigan "are complementary" in nature in terms of education
programs.
"Different disciplines have more interest or need at different
times," Polite said. "The University's job is balancing
this need."
Martin thanked legislators for the $31.5 million it approved
in capital outlay dollars last September to renovate Pray-Harrold
and mentioned that EMU is self-funding a $90-million renovation
of the Mark Jefferson science complex. But Martin said
more state aid is needed to address EMU's aging infrastructure,
which she described as "tired and wheezy."
"There's never a time — as much as now — to
reinvest in universities and facilities, specifically," Martin
said. "We're
reaping the results of drops in funding that has put off
renovations and repairs."
Howard Bunsis, an EMU accounting professor and a member
of EMU's American Association of University Professors
(AAUP), also presented a report to the subcommittee that
showed Michigan lags behind most other states in dollars
earmarked for higher education. Bunsis focused on the state's
trend of spending less per student, starting in 2001, and
its inability to keep pace with corresponding inflation
over the past nine years.
"The most effective way to spend is in the classrooms.
The deepest reductions in spending occurred at 'teaching
institutions,'" Bunsis told subcommittee members as he
pointed to Bureau of Labor Standards data.
Bunsis stressed the state should put a higher priority
on providing more higher education dollars, but said universities
should be held accountable to ensure spending matches educational
goals and performance.
In addition, Bunsis pointed out that Michigan has the
seventh-highest average annual tuition ($9,079) nationally
compared to the US. average of $6.537, according to statistics
from the College Board in October 2008. At the same time,
Michigan is spending more on prisons compared to education
than all but one other state while Michigan's percentage
of adults with at least a bachelor's degree ranks 34 th
nationally, according to data from the Delta Project, which
analyzes higher education spending.
Michael Rao, president of Central Michigan University,
and Gary Rossi, president of Oakland University, also provided
testimony before the subcommittee. After the hearings,
legislators joined EMU officials for lunch at the Student
Center and a tour of campus, which included stops at Halle
Library, Mark Jefferson and Pray-Harrold.
For a full recap of Martin's testimony, go to http://www.emich.edu/president/spch022709houseapprop.html
