Senators search for extra higher ed funds
By Louie Meizlish
Daily News Editor
Following Michigan Gov. John Engler's recommendation last week that the Um-
versity receive no base increase in fuding, the state Senate Subcommittee on Higher
Education met at Concordia College Friday to discuss ways to obtain more funding.
The proposal, originally offered by state Budget Director Maty Lannoye, gave a
1.5 percent increase to the University. That increase was upped to 2 percent in the
House of Representatives. That bill passed the full House and is now in the hands of
the Senate subcommittee.
University President Lee Bollinger was the first of several local college heads to
testify before the committee. Bollinger described the financial success of the Univer-
sity to committee members. Bollinger said he was proud the University's average
tuition increase per year over the last six years has been only 3.3 percent. He also dis-
State Rp
Chris Kob
shakes
hands with
University .
Prsden
Lee
following
Bollinger's
testimony
LWothe
Senate
Higher:
Education
subcom-
mittee.
ROSENBAUM/
'U' can lead the way in
infonation revolution
By Michael Osinsi
For the Daily
A study conducted at the request of
University President Lee Bollinger
concluded that "the University can
take the lead in redefining higher
education in light of the information
revolution."
The Information Revolution Com-
mission issued its final report last Friday
Wser meeting for a year. Commission
co-chair Stephen Director said the IRC
held meetings, discussions and open
forums and ended up with several pro-
posals for improvements.
The first change the IRC recom-
mended was to the University's infra-
structure. The commission reported
that the University needs to upgrade its
building wiring and also increase com-
puter network bandwidth. The Univer-
's external connectivity must also
be improved in order to handle
increased demand for information
services.
Jose-Marie Griffiths, the University's
chief information officer, said the Uni-
versity was already on its way to mak-
ing the improvements. "Some of the
recommendations are already in the
liplementation stage - namely the
network backbone and in-building
wiring," she said, adding that these
upgrades are necessary for any further
improvements. But she cautioned
against making sweeping changes with-
out careful thought.
In its report, the IRC suggests the
University should also support emerg-
ing technologies with experimental pro-
grams to determine their future value.
For example, the commission calls for a
Pilot Wireless Infrastructure Initiative to
test the possibility of a wireless network
over a large campus.
The IRC recommended ways to
improve and change education in light
of the information revolution. It pro-
posed the University connect more
classrooms to its computer network and
implement undergraduate requirements
to further knowledge of information
technology.
A concentration in "multimedia stud-
ies" might also be in order. The require-
ments for the new interdisciplinary
major would likely be determined after
discussions with officials from various
schools within the University.
Increasing faculty use of information
technology was also important, the
report said. Recommended support pro-
grams would help educate instructors,
while innovative use of new technology
would be considered positively on
tenure or promotion files.
Finally, the report called for hir-
ing more information technology
staff. Compensation packages, it
urged, should be developed so the
University can compete with indus-
try for professional information
technology staff.
cussed the current expansion projects, including the development of the Life Sci-
ences Institute and plans for new residence halls. By Ezabeth Kassa
Bollinger said the University required additional funds to prevent high-quality Dal y News
professors from going to Ivy League schools, which have more funds with which to
recruit professors. The Dep atment of P
"Our concerns should be how do we preserve a great university such as the Uni- iasued a crime alrt Frida
versity of Michigan as the wealth of the great private universities has skyrocketed," try, elas if4ed as "str
he said. ocurred in the d iag
Bollinger said a zero percentage increase for the University would force a sub- An Ann Arbor eId]t 0
stantial tuition increase on students. "We just don't know exactly but I would think attend te University I
something between 5 and 10 percent," he said. proachxed by a us
Members of the committee have expressed optimism that additional sources o through5the iag friay r
revenue can be sought for funding increases. Some possible sources of revenue, spoksw mn Blatne Brwn
such as those mentioned by committee chairman John Th ec s e p
Schwarz (R-Battle Creek), includeare meal of the tuitionIax it y ayb
crcdt, money from Michigan's settlement with tobacco r 'd '415,s
companies, extra money uso the M AP Merit Scholarship ~n i .i 1 ph'f ,r~i:
Trust and money from the states surplus revenueafund.rsh1p omt
r Inan effort o build a case aong his fellow legislators 1 ,T .us w crib11
for using these sources, Sc asked Bollinger if he sup- 21-yca -old s's e
ported using those sources. Bolinger said he did..) eh d t7f t i go
Sen. Alma Wheeler Smith (-Salem Twp.) echoed ioi c use al Tb
" Schwarz's comments regarding finding additional sources o black i a a light
revenue. "Some of the institutions have forecast that if they w a tag a yeII w -
get a 2 percent increase the tuition increase could be as high 4red 'argo pnts at d 1 red
as 10to 12 percent. That's unacceptable, so we need to do an B aid ie a
appropriate appropriation:' as w r i s arco
For now, it seems that most majorebudget decisions aeon t W t ,a aesi
hold until he May 15 Consensus Revenue Estimating Con- Wedn to 1
ference, when budget revenue projections will be updated. on; arwn said,
"PACKT LIKE SARDINES IN
A CRUSHD TIN BOX..."
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