Tom Coon, director of MSU Extension, said he did not expect a recommendation for a cut of that size. In addition to causing problems for MSU, the funding cut also could cause a drop-off in the state’s economy, he said.

“We’re conducting some of most cutting-edge research in the world for biofuels,” he said. “We’re involved in strengthening Michigan’s economy.”

Leslee Fritz, spokeswoman for the Office of the Budget, said particular programs won’t see the brunt of the cuts. Granholm’s budget sets aside specific funding for programs targeting the renewable energy sector, she said.

“We simply had a budget full of a lot of cuts, and like a lot of other good, valuable programs, we had to reduce the funding,” she said. “There are no easy cuts left to make.”

Combining the two programs would make the programs more efficient to manage, Fritz said.

MSU President Lou Anna K. Simon said although she was disheartened by the recommendation, she was not surprised.

“In five of the seven budgets presented by the governor, extension and experiment stations have in some way been impacted,” she said.

Other Michigan universities have a number of ongoing research projects similar to the MSU programs, but none are state-funded, Fritz said.

State Rep. Mark Meadows, D-East Lansing, said he is unsure whether Granholm’s recommendation will come to fruition.

“If it did, it would be a serious problem in my district,” he said. “What it means is at MSU, we, like every other university, we will take the 3 percent reduction and then another $30 million on top of that.”

Coon said there are more than 300 MSU faculty members whose salary is at least partially paid for by one of the programs.

“The university would have to find a way to fund those salaries some other way,” he said.

Fritz said a budget committee considered the impact each recommendation would have, and program cuts weren’t avoidable.

“The simple reality we face is we need to make a series of budget cuts,” she said.

Staff writer Justin Harris contributed to this report.