After a unanimous vote by the Michigan House of Representatives on Tuesday afternoon, MSU’s College of Osteopathic Medicine is one step closer to attaining independence after legislators passed a bill to eliminate the college’s state appointed advisory board — a mandate that has been in place since the 1960s.
According to Pat Grauer, the College of Osteopathic Medicine, or COM, public relations director, throughout the past few decades advisory committee members were appointed by the state to provide guidance and advocate for the college.
This state connection was part of the original public act of 1969, which allowed a private institution of osteopathic medicine in Pontiac, Mich., to move and become a part of MSU, which now is known as COM, she said.
“That was huge — it was the first time that a college of osteopathic medicine had ever been affiliated with a public institution or major university,” Grauer said.
“And this was the first time there were two different medical schools on the same campus.”
COM Dean William Strampel said the college will keep an advisory committee, but it now will be directed from within COM, rather than by the state government. He said the college reports and abides by the rules appointed by the Board of Trustees.
Reporting to both was an unnecessary and outdated procedure, he said.
The bill results are an administrative change and likely will not directly affect the college, he said.
“It will absolutely have no impact on the students in the college,” Strampel said. “I will have to have one less report written every year to the governor’s office.”
The bill still needs to be passed by the Senate and signed by Gov. Rick Snyder before it passes into law.
State Rep. Al Pscholka, R-Stevensville, the bill’s lead sponsor, said the bill is a way to “clean up” loose ends in legislation and help things run smoothly.
“There’s really no need for it, and (so) let’s take it off the books so nobody has to worry about it,” he said.
“So somewhere down the line, no state lawmaker can attach a fee to it … Weird things happen in government.”
Pscholka said this is the second time the bill is going through the legislative process. It was passed unanimously by the House last year, but never made it to the Senate, he said.
Strampel said the bill has been in the works for about eight months, and he thought it had already passed.
State Rep. Sam Singh, D-East Lansing, voted for the bill and said he was not surprised the committee was “demolished” with the vote.
He said there is a movement taking place to evaluate whether or not certain state committees and boards are necessary.
After a conversation with Strampel, Singh said he felt comfortable supporting the bill.
Jonathon Blais, a graduate student in COM, said he is familiar with the history of the college and feels it is to the point where it does not require the state’s oversight.
“As a college we’ve grown enough,” Blais said.
“We’ve shown what we can do and I don’t think we need (state) advisory any more.”
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