LANSING – State Representative Pam Byrnes (D-Lyndon Township), Chair of the Higher Education Subcommittee of Appropriations, today announced that a plan to turn Michigan into a magnet for jobs by increasing higher-education funding has passed the House.
"All of Michigan's 15 public universities make enormous contributions toward the mission of moving our state forward," Byrnes said. "Our students must be highly educated to compete in the global marketplace. Investing in higher education is an important component to ensuring Michigan's future economic success."
New this year is an innovative funding strategy that calls for a separate "Research Universities" budget, which allocates money to Michigan State University, the University of Michigan – Ann Arbor, and Wayne State University. The Research Universities budget capitalizes on the ability of those three universities to bring in almost $1 billion in federal research money to the state each year.
Under the plan for the 2007-08 fiscal year, state universities will see:
- An overall funding increase of 5 percent.
- An increase of more than $3.5 million to all 15 universities to make up for unfunded shortfalls created by the federal Indian Tuition Waiver program.
- An addition of $3 million in federal grants to increase the number of low-income students prepared to enter post-secondary education.
"Michigan's current economic woes dictate that we change the status quo," Byrnes said. "During the past five years, the University of Michigan has added about 4,000 jobs, primarily in the fields of research and health care. The jobs and venture capital generated by high-tech research will send a message to the rest of the world that Michigan is poised and ready to lead the way in the 21st century economy."