MSU is very appreciative of the governor's proposal to increase overall funding for higher education (including AgBioResearch and Extension) by 2 percent, especially given the difficult budget situation facing the state.

Higher education took a significant 15 percent cut at the beginning of the Snyder Administration because of the severe budget crisis facing the state. The governor has been working to restore that funding during the past several years, and this proposal keeps us moving in the right direction of reinvestment. An educated workforce is absolutely crucial to the state's economic recovery.

We are eager to work with the governor, lawmakers and key leaders from across the state as the higher education budget process moves forward.

-President Lou Anna K. Simon