Bollinger to ask for increase in state funding

Provost Nancy Cantor is quick to highlight the direct connection between this year's generous increase in state higher education funding and the University's lowest tuition hike in more than a decade.

"We want to keep tuition low - that's what people forget," Cantor said. "We want people to have access to these institutions. We don't want tuition to get so high that we can't cover it with financial aid."

In a letter to State Budget Director Mary Lannoye, University President Lee Bollinger will ask the state for a 5 percent, or nearly $17 million, base funding increase. He also proposes an additional $4 million to create two new living-learning communities and $3 million for information technology improvements.

The state gave the University a 4.8 percent funding increase for the fiscal year that began last month, resulting in a 2.8 percent hike in tuition rates for the current academic year.

The University Board of Regents is expected to approve Bollinger's fiscal year 2001 budget request this morning.

"We thought it was very important to emphasize for the state our efforts at cross-cutting, interdisciplinary opportunities for undergraduates," said Cantor, who plans to make a presentation detailing the request to the regents this morning.

Vice President for Government Relations Cynthia Wilbanks said it's too Vice President for Government Relations Cynthia Wilbanks said it's too early in the budget process to tell whether Gov. John Engler's proposed higher education budget would recognize the University's two proposed initiatives.

"It's a good way for us to communicate with the policy makers some of the areas where we feel it's important to be making investments," Wilbanks said. "Even though they may not fund them, it's a way to say, 'Here's our plan.'"

Regent Larry Deitch (D-Bloomfield Hills) said he supports the request and the regents wouldn't ask for more money than necessary to maintain a quality institution.

"The University advocates funding for programs we think are critical to our mission," Deitch said.

One initiative calls for the creation of an environmental learning community as well as another residential community health sciences that eventually would be tied to the Life Sciences Institute.

Cantor said the University also would like to use the requested information technology funds to upgrade computer hardware and software, hire additional support staff and wire the campus to accommodate future technological advances. The University also hopes to invest more money in developing fields such as bio-informatics.

"This is an area we'll be putting a lot of emphasis on," Cantor said. "This is just the tip of the iceberg."

Regent Andrea Fischer Newman (R-Ann Arbor) said both initiatives are "extremely important" but was skeptical that the state would be willing to finance them and still be able to provide adequate funding to the other 14 institutions.

"I think all the universities have wish lists," Newman said. "We all try to be reasonable in our requests."

11-19-99