Ross testifies to Senate panel for funding
Testifying before a Michigan Senate panel in the Charles V. Park Library, Central Michigan University President George Ross highlighted how achievements of faculty and students directly benefit the state.
The Senate Subcommittee on Higher Education selected CMU to host its first 2015 hearing on state funding for Michigan’s 15 public universities, also listening to testimony from Wayne State University and Michigan State University's Extension. Ross appealed to panel members in to consider the impact of Gov. Rick Snyder's cuts to higher education funding, which puts a heavier burden on students and their families to pay for college.
“There are universities that serve a largely homegrown population and who transform Michigan youth into the leaders of tomorrow," Ross said. "CMU is one of those. Ninety-five percent of our students hail from this Great Lakes State. When they graduate, about 76 percent choose to stay in Michigan and make a difference.”
Under Snyder's budget proposal, public universities would see an additional $28 million for general operations, including a 3 percent restoration of funds taken from CMU since Snyder's first budget. However, increases during the past three years would still not fully make up for the cuts.
The panel was comprised of House Speaker Kevin Cotter, R-Mount Pleasant, and Senators Peter MacGregor, Tonya Schuitmaker, Curtis Hertel Jr. and Judy Emmons.
"We firmly believe providing a quality affordable education is an important role that our public universities do," Schuitmaker said. "The impact on this state is immeasurable. Nationwide, the long-term trend has been to disinvest in our students and I think that is the wrong approach."
She added this year's budget is uniquely difficult, as business tax credits for a road funding tax proposal have presented challenges.
State funding today accounts for 17 percent of the CMU operating budget. Ross said if the university operated on state funding alone, the money would run out in 62 days.
In his testimony, Ross lauded the university's fiscal responsibility, stating CMU has maintained the lowest cumulative tuition increase in Michigan for the past five years.
Ross asked senators for equity in per-student funding, where CMU ranks 10th among Michigan's 15 public universities at $3,600 per student. He said funding in the state ranges from $2,800 to $8,100 per-student.
Ross introduced Delton native and College of Medicine student Barbara Buehler and Galesburg senior Kyle McPherson as examples of students at CMU who are making an impact in their home state through medicine and engineering.
He also pointed to a recently awarded $10 million grant from the Environmental Protection Agency to protect the Great Lakes coastal wetlands and the College of Medicine's commitment to rural medical care in the state.
CMU alumnus and accounting department Chair Chad Stefaniak was also recognized for returning to his alma mater after earning his master’s and PhD at the University of Alabama and teaching at Oklahoma State.
