OPINION

State Sen. Curtis Hertel and State Rep. Jon Hoadley | Detroit Free Press

As members of the Michigan State Legislature, we are incredibly proud that our state is home to the University of Michigan. It has served, educated, and molded millions of Michiganders into the Leaders and Best, and has more than earned its title as the Nation’s top public University.

But we were elected to stand up for all Michiganders – and today, we call on the Leaders and Best to do better.

According to data from the U.S. Department of Education, the University of Michigan has enjoyed cash surpluses for over a decade and its endowment sits just below $12 billion. Yet, the U-M Flint and U-M Dearborn campuses continue to suffer from extreme budget shortages – and are not receiving nearly enough money to support their students, faculty and staff.

Free Press Investigation: The University of Michigan's Endowment

Indeed, Dearborn and Flint students pay 80% of the tuition that Ann Arbor students pay, but their per-student funding is drastically lower than that – 23% and 25%, respectively, per the U.S. Department of Education.

This means that their students receive about a quarter of the resources that Ann Arbor provides to its students for instructional support, financial aid, health services, and more.

Rates of student debt are similarly staggering. Average student loan debt for Ann Arbor students in 2017 was $25,712. That measure for Dearborn students is $25,759, and it's $33,528 for Flint students. But when considering that the median family income of Ann Arbor students is $154,000, the debt burden becomes considerably heavier for students in Dearborn, where median family income is $84,200 and in Flint, where it's $77,200.

The Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiative and Go Blue Guarantee that this university champions – and rightfully so – exist only on the Ann Arbor campus. The medical services Ann Arbor students enjoy are not made available on the Flint and Dearborn campuses either.

We could go on – the disparities between the three campuses are vast.

We have always been proud of the University of Michigan’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion. But the reality is that the Dearborn and Flint communities consist of disproportionately high numbers of low-income students and students of color. The lives of these students would be drastically altered with the Go Blue Guarantee, a broader spectrum of instructional support programs, and on-campus medical services. In failing to support them, the university’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion rings hollow.

The good news is that the university need not scramble to find the funds to support these life-changing initiatives. An increased annual investment of just a few million dollars to these campuses – a tiny fraction of the university’s budget – would allow these communities to benefit greatly from increased institutional investment and opportunities to succeed. Our entire state would improve as a result.

We were elected by the people of Michigan to serve the people of Michigan – those who work in our communities, who pay taxes for our public institutions, and who trust that their government will work to support them in return. As legislators our responsibility is to provide equitable funding to our state's universities and campuses. This is an essential longer-term solution. But the need at the U-M Dearborn and Flint campuses is urgent, and we call on the University of Michigan to serve the students who strive to make Michigan home to the Leaders and Best every day. The disparities on these campuses can be rectified, and Michigan will be a stronger state once they are. We look forward to working with the University of Michigan to make this a reality.