University officials are working to restore $700,000 in funding for a diagnostic veterinary laboratory vetoed by former Gov. John Engler during his final days in office.
"We're being very plain to the state," MSU President M. Peter McPherson said. "We very much needed the money."
The money was to support the December opening of the Animal Health Diagnostic Laboratory on campus, leaving university officials unclear about the future of the lab.
Engler, who attended the construction ceremony for the laboratory, also vetoed two agricultural projects at MSU, making the total loss about $4 million. The vetoes follow budget cuts to higher education last month that cost MSU $6 million.
"I don't think these vetoes, particularly of the diagnostic center, were prudent," McPherson said.
The new lab, which would be the only facility of its kind in the state, is designed to detect diseases such as the West Nile virus and bovine tuberculosis in animals, Director Willie Reed said. It remains under construction at the corner of Forest and Beaumont roads.
"This is the facility that could be where the first bioterrorism agent is detected, if animals are dying from things like anthrax," Reed said. "If not funded sufficiently, disease will go undetected."
The $58 million diagnostic lab will cost $3 million to operate each year, university officials said.
It's not clear if the new state Legislature will introduce any plans to restore the funding. The state budget faces a $1.8 billion shortfall for next year.
Reed said he doesn't know who will finance the lab's opening.
"At this point we are unsure how we will replace those dollars," he said. "We do not have the needed funds to operate the facility."
Gary Watson, biopsy chief of the lab, said reasons for the veto weren't clear.
"It's kind of silly. (The state) invests $58 million in the lab and then vetoes at the last minute," Watson said, adding he didn't know how the lab's opening would be affected.
Reed said they would continue with construction and remain hopeful that the operating funds would be provided.
The existing animal diagnostic lab is spread across five buildings and was built in the 1970s. Last fall, the lab tested dead blue jays and crows from across Michigan for the West Nile virus. The new lab will be centralized, have more modern testing capabilities and house a fish diagnostic center.
Mary Dettloff, a spokeswoman for Gov. Jennifer Granholm, said the new administration is reviewing Engler's veto.
Staff writer Kurt Ludke contributed to this report.
