Pioneer Land-Grant U Faces Restructuring
Now, it appears, MSU will pioneer once again. Caught between a rock and a hard place, it pledged to restructure and address new state needs. And it was do or die, literally.
MSU released a statement on Oct. 28 announcing MSU Extension’s realignment as part of the university-wide “Shaping the Future” initiative. It highlighted the results of a strategic planning process that the organization undertook to maintain its responsiveness to meeting the state’s needs during challenging economic times.
Two days later, Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm signed the state’s budget for the 2009-2010 fiscal year, a day before a continuing resolution funding state government was set to expire. The budget included funding for the Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station (MAES) and Michigan State University Extension (MSUE). This followed two weeks of concern on the part of MSU officials and Michigan farm leaders about the possibility of a line-item veto that would have eliminated funding completely.
“We are very pleased that the budget was signed and that it reflects the governor and the Legislature’s support for our programs,” said Jeffrey Armstrong, dean of the MSU College of Agriculture and Natural Resources. “We look forward to mobilizing and even more tightly focusing our already strong research and education programs to help move Michigan’s economy forward, support our communities and build on our strengths in agriculture and natural resources to support the burgeoning green industries.”
It is far from clear what this all means.
According to MSU’s announcement, Extension’s new mission “will be focusing its resources across Michigan around initiatives that will help build a ‘green’ economy; continue to offer valuable support for the agriculture sector; develop community practices for energy efficiency and use of renewable energy; support urban centers to revitalize businesses and communities; and build urban farming and regional food systems. It will also offer expertise to restructured state and local agencies and foster inter-jurisdictional cooperation for regional prosperity.”
Putting the best face on it, MSU Extension Director Tom Coon said that “great things will come as we engage with new and existing partners and create new initiatives with our existing network. We have had long and successful interactions with our partners in state government, communities and agriculture and natural resources, and those relationships will only get stronger and provide more benefits to the people and communities of the state in the future.”
Steven Pueppke, director of the Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station that, combined with Extension, gets $63 million in state funding that was threatened with elimination, said “MAES has one goal – to work with all of its partners to make Michigan’s economy as viable, environmentally sound and as sustainable as possible. We’re particularly pleased to partner with the state to help grow green industries in Michigan, especially related to the emerging bio-economy.”
While the $63 million budget for these two lines appears to represent the same 0.04 percent cut as all parts of the higher education budget, both the experiment station and Extension are actually facing 44 percent cuts that could come next year.
A year ago, the governor threatened the lives of MSU research and Extension but, in a compromise, federal stimulus dollars were used for funding last year and will also be applied in the just-signed 2010-2011 budget.
But what about next year? That’s the big question.
In her radio address the same day she signed the budget, Granholm applauded the decision to restructure Extension in ways that would help it support a green economy.
“For almost a century, the services provided by MSU Extension have concentrated on assisting farmers and our state’s agricultural community,” she said. “Now, MSU Extension is transforming itself into a 21st century organization, one that will broaden its scope and help grow Michigan’s green economy.
“While agriculture and its role in the green economy will continue to be important for MSU Extension, there will also be new areas of emphasis. MSU Extension will assist local communities across Michigan in working together for regional prosperity. And it will focus on specific areas such as energy efficiency and renewable energy.”
In early November, Michigan was identified as one of the “top” 10 states experiencing the worst financial crises, with California being the worst off. In Michigan, a battle has developed between the Democratic governor and the Republican state senate over whether to cut more deeply or raise taxes, and the impasse has resulted in great gamesmanship.
Tom Coon, director of MSU Extension, spoke to Fruit Growers News during the October crisis.
“I think the governor understands the value of agriculture in the state, even though it has been overshadowed by the automobile industry,” he said. “She thinks agriculture is politically strong and that we can help her get what she wants, which is concessions on increasing revenue from Republicans and some members of her own party. It is a game of chicken, though, and she knows that few vetoes get overridden.”
Are the fruit and vegetable industries more vulnerable because the crops are more specific to a state than field crops would be?
“Both the fruit and vegetable industries show, by their support, how much they value MSU research and Extension. They invest a great deal,” he said.
Both the Michigan Vegetable Council and the Michigan State Horticultural Society Foundation Trust invest money each year in research at MSU, but it comes nowhere close to funding the structure.
Funding for Extension and research at MSU had been flat to declining for some eight years now, Coon said. So, there was much internal discussion about how to address it.
Still, it seems more than coincidental that the governor withheld the normal monthly payment from Extension and research on Oct. 15, and that on Oct. 28 the university announced its restructuring plan.
“Michigan State University for the past several months has been engaged in a comprehensive process that acknowledges constrained state support and emerging challenges to society. Units from every quarter of the university have submitted restructuring plans to the provost, and those plans are now undergoing reviews,” the MSU announcement said.
“We at MSU have been engaged in the reshaping of MSU Extension to best meet the prosperity needs of Michigan in the 21st century,” said MSU President Lou Anna K. Simon.
The same announcement said, “The plan is strongly endorsed by Simon, Granholm and MSU Provost Kim Wilcox. Structural changes in MSU Extension will be announced in the months ahead.”
Everyone is eager to see what the structural changes will be, but lips are closed now. The governor offered some hints in her radio message.
“In the field of renewable energy, MSU Extension will assist in developing community-based wind and solar energy projects as well as support the growth of biomass-based companies,” she said. “MSU’s Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station, partnering with MSU Extension, already is working on biomass and energy issues.
“As Michigan continues to grow its green economy, MSU Extension will be there to help,” Granholm said. “Its new programs and partnerships will spur innovation, economic development and regional cooperation. As we build a new economy based on clean energy, we can all agree that now is the time to ‘Go Green.’”
MSU’s school colors are green and white, and the double meaning in the governor’s words wasn’t lost on MSU leaders.