Bollinger requests an increase in 'U' budget

By Hanna LoPatin

Daily Staff Reporter

University President Lee Bollinger testified in front of members of the Senate Appropriations Committee on Feb. 25 at the University's Dearborn campus to request an increase in the state appropriations to be budgeted for the University for the Fiscal Year 2001.

University Vice President for Government Relations Cynthia Wilbanks said Bollinger noted that to maintain the 2.8 percent tuition increase seen in this year's budget the University would need a 5 percent to 6 percent increase in state appropriations.

In his presentation of the budget in late January, Gov. John Engler recommended a 2.5 percent increase for all state schools.

The University is "expecting that the Senate will approve upon the governor's recommendation but it's very hard to predict by how much," Wilbanks said.

State Sen. John Schwarz (R-Battle Creek) - a member of the higher education subcommittee and representative at the hearing along with Sen. Alma Wheeler Smith (D-Ann Arbor) - said under Engler's recommendation, the University would receive between $9,400 and $9,500 per student.

"I'm going to put more money in the bill than the governor did," Schwarz said. "It will be a significant amount."

Schwarz said under his own recommendation, the University would receive between $9,700 and $9,800 per student.

Smith said she believes the Senate will be able to provide at least a 7 percent increase.

"We are going to be able to do better than (Bollinger) requested," she said.

But not all schools will see their requests met. Smith said the committee has received requests for increases as high as 8.8 percent.

"I think we have a lot of sympathy for all universities and their need for an appropriate level of funding from the state" to keep their tuition down, Smith said.

Wilbanks said Bollinger brought up the poss -iblity of building new residence halls and new science buildings - issues currently being discussed by the recently formed Undergraduate Commission and the Information and Technology Commission.

"Both commissions are going to be looking at these types of issues," Wilbanks said.

Schwarz said Bollinger expressed some general concerns about housing, saying that the non-University housing stock is aging rapidly and that he does not want the campus to become a commuter campus.

Faculty salaries were also discussed, Schwarz said.

Schwarz said three more meetings are to take place before the budget goes to the House of Representatives Appropriations committee.

The Senate subcommittee will have a "mark-up meeting" in Lansing tomorrow or Wednesday. All state schools that have yet to testify will do so at the Ferris State University campus in Grand Rapids on Friday. The higher education budget recommendation will be presented to the full Appropriations committee and full Senate next Tuesday.

At the end of the hearing in Dearborn, Wilbanks said, Students of Color Coalition representatives Joe Reilly and Jujuan Buford spoke about their occupation of the seventh floor of the Michigan Union. SCC is protesting Michigamua, a University group they claim degrades Native American culture.

But Smith said the autonomous nature of the University prevents legislatures from being able to take action on the issue. There is "nothing we can do," she said. "We can be helpful where we can."