I didn’t have a chance to write a post over the weekend, but President Susan Martin sent around the email I include below about the prospect of fairly severe budget cuts for 2010. Martin’s email was mostly a cheer-leading effort to buck up the troops, including a reference to her one-room schooling with a school teacher who graduated from what was EMU, the Michigan Normal School.
I appreciate Martin’s efforts, and I also appreciate what appears to be a comparatively open process. Budgets were never this openly discussed prior to John Fallon’s presidency, who tried to open things up but bungled that process a bit. But it’s awfully hard to really know what the cuts are going to be.
Martin suggests up to $12 million, but that assumes that EMU really won’t raise tuition, which seems ridiculous to me. I was at a meeting last week about Pray-Harrold that included actual suits from Welch Hall (more about that tomorrow or so) in which the deficit was described as being more like $3 million. And besides, the governor’s budget still has to be approved by the state and we aren’t quite sure what the impact of the federal stimulus is going to be.
So I predict a budget cut between $12 million and $0.
It’d be nice if this were to settle into place though….
Here is Martin’s letter:
ear Colleagues,
Gov. Granholm made her budget recommendations for fiscal 2010 yesterday and, as expected, the news was not good.
It was recommended that all public universities in the state would be funded at $1.4 billion – a 3 percent reduction across-the-board. The net effect of a 3 percent cut in state appropriations, along with the Governor’s request to freeze tuition, could translate into about a $12 million impact for EMU, based on the current budget.
While I applaud that the State held community colleges harmless from any cuts, I hope our leaders will recognize that the future of this great state depends on the reinvestment in all levels of education – K-12, public universities and our partners at community colleges.
Michigan has incredible assets to attract innovation, investment and jobs. Our wonderful public universities develop knowledge and create learning communities that attract students from around the world. They recognize, as I did, that our state is a unique and valuable place to learn.
My education started in a one-room school with an incredible teacher who was educated at EMU when it was called Michigan Normal School. I studied at public universities in Michigan where I had to pay or borrow little because the citizens of the state supported public universities like Eastern at a higher level.
Eastern Michigan University prides itself on being an institution of accessibility and affordability. We will do everything within our power to guard those attributes and continue to be a place where students gain the education they need to realize their dreams.
It has been said that where there is challenge, there is opportunity. I couldn’t agree more.
Yet I believe this is a time to be fearless. A time when we can come together as a campus and work hard to fulfill our dreams as we continue the 160-year legacy that has made us a leader in so many areas.
This is an opportunity for EMU to continue its critical role as an institution whose students have a substantial impact on the state economy and who support the state by staying here to live and work.
While the news is not good, this is just the first step in a long conversation about the way the State of Michigan and our public universities can balance our budgets and be strong enough to move this state forward.
I look forward to hearing more about the details of the Governor’s proposal on February 26 at her residence, where she has invited the public university presidents to discuss this, along with more details about the role that the federal economic stimulus package will play.
I also have accepted an invitation from State Representative Joan Bauer, Chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Higher Education, to host their hearings at EMU, Friday, Feb. 27.
This is our opportunity to show our support by telling our story about the power of education and the importance of renewing the investment in education at EMU and its sister universities, the K-12 schools and our community colleges.
Let’s strengthen education so every child in Michigan has the opportunity to receive an outstanding education and realize their dreams like I did.
Sue Martin
President
