ABSTRACT
In some ways, Michigan’s public universities (and, to a lesser extent, community colleges) are the envy of the nation because of the constitutional autonomy they enjoy. Leaders across New York State, for example, looked to the University of Michigan when a statewide commission was considering how best to position the state’s public higher education for the future. Critics argue, however, that the lack of a coordinating body at the state level creates ineffi ciencies, which ultimately drive up the costs of college (Vedder & Denhart, 2007) and make higher education less fi nancially accessible to low-income students and their families (Cunningham, Erisman, & Looney, 2008). In the case of Michigan, it seems both sets of claims are essentially true. The University of Michigan (UM) ranks among the top public universities in the nation (U.S. News & World Report, 2011) and is among the top-ranked research universities in the World (Quacquarelli Symonds Limited, 2011). Michigan State University (MSU) also ranks among the American Association of Universities (AAU). Combined, UM, MSU, and Wayne State University (WSU) conduct more than $1 billion in federally funded research annually (Anderson & LaSalle, 2007).
