Democrats lost control of 61 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, turning control over to a Republican majority. Republicans also gained six seats in the U.S. Senate, although the Democrats recaptured a majority by a slim number.

But the change in power will affect more than how much red and blue are seen on the electoral map. Lobbyists and interest groups from across the country, including MSU, are working overtime to make connections and tell their story to the incoming lawmakers. As the state and federal governments face looming deficits, MSU and other advocacy groups are scrambling to collect dregs of funding and other support.

“The state is facing at least a $2 billion deficit,” said Michael Boulus, executive director of the Presidents Council, State Universities of Michigan. “That in and of itself puts universities behind the eight ball in terms of trying to advance a strategy of investing more in higher education. We want to … (show) the governor and the new legislature what we have and what we can deliver as a powerful resource.”

Conveying the message

MSU long has worked as a lobbyist for itself on both the national and state levels of government. In addition to simply obtaining funding from the state, MSU works to forge strong ties with the government, said Steve Webster, MSU vice president for governmental affairs.

“Our job is to best position the university to impact public policy,” Webster said. “It’s to look for ways that various units of government and, frankly, nongovernment organizations can become partners with us and move our agenda.”

Part of the challenge of new legislatures stems not necessarily from party affiliation, but from the sheer number of new lawmakers, Boulus said.

In addition to a new governor, Michigan citizens chose a staggering number of new legislators, including 30 of 38 senators and 61 of 110 representatives, according to a recent report by Daniel Hurley, director of federal relations and policy analysis at the American Association of State Colleges and Universities.

“We’re just going to be educating different folks with maybe a little different mindset on how to approach the deficit,” Boulus said. “They’re new faces who we need, and have a responsibility, to work with.”

In addition to providing education for thousands of future workers every year, research conducted at MSU makes it indispensable to the state, Webster said. A hope for education coupled with scientific and technological advances is a bipartisan message, and therefore, the university does not have to change its colors every time the Capitol does, he said.

“We’ve never changed our mission,” Webster said. “The best education for our students. The best research we can get through our research faculty and laboratories. And more and more emphasis on turning that into jobs and companies in the economy. What differs is the language you use from governor to governor.”

MSU also is working to increase its international presence through its No. 1 study abroad program and its growing number of international students, Webster said.

“We make the state younger, smarter and more global,” Webster said. “Those are three necessary ingredients if we’re going to pull out of this and begin to lead the country again in company and job creation and prosperity.”

Although the approach might vary between parties, at the end of the day, education and research are nonpartisan issues, said Mark Burnham, MSU’s associate vice president of governmental affairs, whose job primarily is to lobby the federal government.

“Even your staunchest Republican leaders in Congress and your liberal lions on the left have all coalesced around the understanding that education and investment in basic research by the federal government are critical elements to not only the prosperity, but our global competitiveness for the future,” Burnham said.

Red tide

Realistically, however, MSU — and everyone else looking for government funding in the new session — will have to work diligently to persuade the new, fiscally conservative government that tax dollars will be well spent, Hurley said.

“In Michigan and in many other states that were swept by the Republican wave this election, I think it ultimately is going to result in a set of more conservative spending priorities in public higher education and beyond,” Hurley said.

Leaders from the MSU College Democrats and MSU College Republicans said they feel higher education should be a key issue for state legislators. Still, the groups acknowledged funding uncertainties.
“Snyder has said he will make funding for higher education a priority, and we hope that he comes through with that,” MSU College Democrats President Joe Duffy said.

“Unfortunately there will be budget cuts; higher education has always been on the chopping block.”

Andrew Walker, a chairman of the MSU College Republicans, said MSU and other institutions should market themselves to keep support flowing.

“We do need to focus on higher education and developing our research institutions, as well as reinventing urban areas to keep students here,” Walker said. “Cuts are going to have to be across the whole spectrum.”

Although public safety and education remain his top priorities, state Rep. Rick Jones, R-Grand Ledge, said the state will be forced to make many cuts in fiscal year 2012.

“I wouldn’t expect any large increases in the near future, but I’m confident under the new governor (that) Michigan is going to see a bright future,” said Jones, who is term-limited in the House and was elected to the state Senate on Nov. 2.

“Companies and businesses (will) come back to Michigan, the jobs will come back and the increased tax dollars will come in … so we’ll have more money to do good things with.”

As the state faces a looming budget deficit, however, state Rep. Joan Bauer, D-Lansing, current chair of the House Higher Education Appropriations Subcommittee, said she fears higher education will take crippling hits in the next few years.

“If there are huge cuts to higher education, to our universities, the only way the universities can keep their doors open is to raise tuition even more,” Bauer said.

“If by any chance we had voted both houses as a Democratic majority, I think we would’ve seen fewer cuts to higher education.”

On the federal level, the split government likely will put into question the future of financial aid, such as the Pell Grant program, and earmarks benefiting MSU, Hurley said.

“(The Pell Grant) program has generally received bipartisan support, but we’re not going to take anything for granted,” Hurley said. “One of the (other) issues right now is to what extent there will be earmarks in the next session of Congress. It’s no doubt that Michigan State is the recipient sometimes of those earmarks.”

A problem of economics

Despite goals the parties hold for increased higher education funding, the reality of the state’s economic situation will not allow it, Hurley said.

“The Michigan economy has been the most wounded in the last six years,” Hurley said.

“It’s rebounding a bit, but still, (there is) a definite need to pare back spending or increase revenue through taxes, and (the latter is) probably not going to happen.”

Although they might be less willing than Democrats to tax and spend, Republican governors historically have not put any less into higher education, Hurley said.

“Republicans, I think, are a little bit more likely to cut back on social programs,” Hurley said.

“But I think they get the connection quite strongly with higher education, whether it’s the developing (of) a skilled workforce or whether it’s conducting research and launching startup companies, they get that.”

As the recession that defined the past decade plodded on, MSU faced cuts every year. Now that the economy appears to have hit bottom and might be inching toward recovery, the new government has an exciting opportunity to reverse the trend and invest in the future, Webster said.

“I don’t think the last eight years has allowed anyone in Michigan to do anything more than continuous triage,” Webster said.

“The next group has the luxury and the mandate from the voters to fix Michigan. Our message to the governor is put us in the harness and MSU will do its part.”

Even under the leadership of Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm, Michigan faced staggering cuts.
Neither party wants to cut services, but when the government does not have money, it cannot fund higher education at the level it would like, Hurley said.

“It really clearly is an issue of how healthy the state’s economy is, not who’s in office,” Hurley said.

MSU hopes to be a significant player in the recovery of the state’s economy, Burnham said.

Already, the university’s lobbyists are working hard to make connections and convince new lawmakers that the smoothest path to economic recovery and a bright future is found in the education of a new generation and investment in basic research, he said.

“It’s really about making sure we’re just telling that story,” Burnham said.

“We’re telling that story at every level of government so the decision makers understand that MSU is a key player and that they can partner with us on any number of things. By doing so, it will have a net positive effect for their interests and for our interests as an institution.”

Staff writer Andrew Krietz contributed to this report.