b The Michigan Daily-michigandaily.com Monday, March 12, 2012 - 7A The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Monday, March 12, 2012 - 7A Provost talks budget at Occupy lecture forum Hanlon reaffirms University's commitment to affordability By MOLLY BLOCK Daily NewsEditor Armed with a PowerPoint presentation before an open forum of about 50 students, Uni- versity Provost Philip Hanlon and Martha Pollack, the Univer- sity's vice provost for academic and budgetary affairs, delved into the details of University financing as part of a newly launched lecture series based on the Occupy movement. In the presentation, which was part of the University's "Equity, Justice and Social Change: The Michigan Tradi- tion of Activism and Educa- tional Opportunity" program, Hanlon and Pollack discussed how budgetary priorities range from ensuring student access to financial aid, fostering innova- tion in research and garnering strong faculty at the University. Specifically, they addressed the role tuition costs play in the budget. According to Hanlon, tuition and fees constitute 68.7 per- cent of the University's revenue, state appropriation constitutes 16.9 percent and indirect cost recovery constitutes 13.8 per- cent. University schools and colleges receive 57.4 percent of the budget from those areas of revenue. Hanlon used these fig- ures to explain why tuition has increased. "What drove us to the actual tuition increases was loss in state appropriation and invest- ment in financial aid," Hanlon said. Tuition at the University has grown at an annual rate of 5.56 percent due to reductions in state appropriation, invest- ments in financial aid and annual cost increases, Hanlon explained. To maintain costs, Hanlon said the University has under- taken several initiatives to combat the decrease in state appropriations, which amounts to approximately 10 percent less than the annual appropriations received in 2002. While Hanlon described a variety of University initiatives, such as eliminating lower pri- ority services and activities, he added that cost-saving mecha- nisms take time to make an impact. "All of these initiatives take a long time to execute," Han- lon said. "So from the day you say, 'Okay, I want to put a regional chiller serving these five buildings' until it's actually constructed in the ground and operating is two to three years." Hanlon also addressed Presi- dent Barack Obama's shared responsibility framework for public universities, a topic Obama discussed during his speech at Al Glick Field House on Jan. 27. This system relies on a partnership between the fed- eral government, the state gov- ernment and public universities. If Obama's framework is implemented, the relationship could provide more money from the state, according to Han- lon, who is hopeful for a budget increase that could allow the University to further invest in financial aid and hire more fac- ulty members. "Universities are all about people," Hanlon said. "What makes a great university is great faculty, great students and great staff, so the budget priorities are really about trying to get the best people here and help them succeed." Currently, the University invests in financial aid through a raise in tuition costs. After the presentation, students partici- pated in a question and answer session, where they specifically addressed this policy. Hanlon supported the prac- tice, explaining that financial aid is necessary to increase socioeconomic diversity at the University and emphasizing that there is an inherent trad- eoff between lowering costs and maintaining academic excel- lence with both students and faculty. "At the University of Michi- gan, the chief academic officer is the chief budget officer, and I think that's one of the strengths we have here because the com- bination ensures that academics get the highest priority when the budget is allocated," Hanlon said. According to Hanlon, the University competes for fac- ulty with Harvard University; Stanford University; the Uni- versity of California, Berkley; University of Texas at Austin and the University of Chicago. This competitive environment ultimately leads to higher costs to keep great educators, and recruiting and retaining out- standing faculty is a necessary factor to function as a success- ful academic institution, Han- lon added. Both Hanlon and Pollack will be teaching a one-credit UC course in fall 2012 regarding the University's budget. This Friday, Hanlon and Pol- lack will further discuss how the University is funded at 5:15 'p.m. in the Kalamazoo Room of the Michigan League, in a dis- cussion open to students. MICHIGAN From Page 1A The Wolverines were among the last names to be called, sim- ply because the Midwest brack- et was the last region unveiled during the selection show. That meant the team had a good idea of where it was likely to end up in the first round as other sites filled up. Leading up to Sunday eve- ning, most analysts and brack- etologists pegged Michigan as a No. 3 seed in Columbus, the sec- ond and third round site closest to Ann Arbor. Thus, it could've been a slight disappointment to instead end up on a lower seed line and in a location further away. But players said they weren't keeping up with all of the pro- jections and didn't feel slighted in the least. Michigan coach John Beilein, for his part, said he was just enjoying watching the show. "You just don't get over the moment where you see your name up there, and then the suspense of who you're going to play, and then who you'd play if you're fortunate enough to advance," Beilein said. "There's a lot that goes through our minds. Our kids are all thrilled. With the loss (to Ohio State on Saturday), we're eager to get back to work." The team will have quite a bit of work to do, considering how poorly the Wolverines played in the 77-55 loss to the Buckeyes in the Big Ten Tournament semi- final, and given that Michigan does not know much about its second round opponent. 13-seed Ohio wasn't the best team in the Mid-American Conference, finishing in third place in the East division. But the Bobcats got hot at the right time. They won three games in three days to take the confer- ence tournament championship, defeating Akron, who finished with the best record in the MAC, by one point in the finals. Ohio faced just one team from the six power conferences this season, falling to then-No. 7 Louisville by five points back in November. The team faces long odds in trying to topple Michigan, but it's pulled an upset before - the last time the Bobcats made the NCAA Tour- nament, they defeated George- town in 2010 as a No. 14-seed in their first game. Other than a couple con- nections to individual players on Ohio, the Wolverines don't know anything about their foe besides what they've gleaned from occasionally watching the Bobcats on television. Beilein, though, is familiar with coach John Groce. Groce was an assis- tant for Thad Matta at Xavier when Beilein was also in the Atlantic 10 at Richmond, and Groce also assisted Matta at Ohio State before taking the Ohio job. "He's done a great job," Beilein said. "I believe he's a very good friend, a close friend, of (assistant coach) Jeff Meyer as well. I haven't seen him alot, (but) you can bet your paycheck I'm going to be watching a lot of (his team) the next couple of days." The only bright side of Michi- gan's blowout loss to Ohio State is that it didn't end the team's season. Players said that the defeat will help refocus and remotivate them heading into the NCAA Tournament. The Wolverines are looking to take another step forward in the Big Dance, having only made it to the third round in the two times they've made the tourney under Beilein. Michi- gan hasn't made it to the Sweet 16 since 1994, when members of the Fab 5 were still patrolling the court. "Our kids love this time of the year, and they really liked their experience last year, and I'm sure every one of them would want to play right until the end," Beilein said. "And hope- fully we'll get victory, after vic- tory, after victory. Just got to get number one first." DEMOCRATS From Page 1A funding from the state of Mich- igan was also important for the growth of the University, say- ing that in the 1970s, 75 percent of the University's academic funding came from the state. Today, he said about 25 percent of the general fund is from the state. "While it's essential for the University and the region to aggressively advocate for fund- ing for public universities, we need to (be able to) realistically assume that this source of fund- ing needs to be stable," Bern- stein said. University alum Shauna Ryder Diggs, a Grosse Pointe dermatologist, was unavailable for comment. In the Supreme Court endorsement, the Democratic Party press release stated that the party was dissatisfied with the current Republican-majori- ty court and its rulings. "Under the current Supreme Court, Michigan families have been under assault with robo- foreclosures, taxing senior pen- sions and allowing polluters to pollute and the taxpayers paying the cleanup bill," the statement read. "We need a Supreme Court that will work to make our com- munities safe, and where middle class families can be protected." Law Prof. Bridget McCor- mack was also unavailable for comment. LIKE THE DAILY ON FACEBOOK Central Michigan University can help you out! 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