Lt. Governor Garlin Gilchrist II poses for a portrait after an interview with a reporter while in the studio at The State News Office in East Lansing, Michigan on Tuesday, September 2, 2025.
Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist II remembers how "heartbroken" his mother was when, after graduating from the University of Michigan in 2005, he promptly left the state to work for Microsoft.
Her family had found generational success in the state, working in the automotive plants of metro Detroit, Gilchrist said. His mom worked at General Motors for three decades herself.
The prospect that her son — despite attending a state university, funded in-part by state tax dollars — would have to leave Michigan to build a career was a disappointing indication: Michigan’s days as a bastion of upward working class mobility may have been behind it.
Gilchrist understood her dismay. Now, having moved back to Michigan and running to be the next governor of the state, he’s advocating that investing in its biggest public universities, particularly MSU, is a way to rectify it — especially as their funding from the state and federal government is in peril.
"I don’t want (students) to leave Michigan like I did," Gilchrist said in an interview with The State News. "I want them to stay in Michigan and succeed, and pursue their dreams."
How does he plan to accomplish the goal? Gilchrist said he’ll continue efforts of the Whitmer administration to keep college graduates in state, and fully fund MSU.
He also said he supported the governor’s recent decision not to remove two embattled members of the university’s board, following allegations of misconduct.
An ‘offensive’ funding proposal
Michigan Republicans have seemingly had similar concerns to Gilchrist’s that MSU and UM aren’t serving the state’s economy as they should. Their solution, though, has been markedly different.
The Republican-led House proposed a higher education budget in June that would cut taxpayer support for the institutions by tens of millions. Their plan would instead shift money to smaller public universities, which party leaders said serve more in-state students, compared to MSU and UM’s perceived reliance on out-of-state and international students.
Prior to the budget’s passage in June, Republican Speaker of the House Matt Hall wrote on X, "Whether pursuing a bachelor's degree, associate's degree, or career training, we're keeping Michigan talent here at home and investing boldly in our state's future."
For Gilchrist, the proposal is "offensive" and won’t "see the light of day." His view comports with that of MSU: A spokesperson previously said the funding plan "would hinder (MSU’s) ability to deliver the high-quality, affordable education that Michigan students expect and deserve."
The gubernatorial hopeful frames cuts to MSU’s funding as a disservice to the entire state, given its widespread reach across Michigan. He cited the university’s extension program, which partners with counties to educate locals on agriculture, business development, tourism and health care, among other things.
"The state government and Michigan State are the two institutions that have a presence in all 83 counties," Gilchrist said. "Everybody has a relationship with the university. And so my job is to protect it now as well."
To make Michigan more appealing for graduates, Gilchrist said he would focus on providing opportunities for students to start businesses that will create jobs in the state. He launched the Innovate Capital Fund in January 2024, aimed at growing student-led start-ups.
Gilchrist said he plans on supporting similar programs as governor. He wants to allow for more patenting and commercialization of university research, hoping that will spur economic growth.
‘Case-by-case’ board oversight
In addition to the governor’s capacity to shape policymaking and veto power in the budget process, their most direct power over MSU lies elsewhere: they’re the only person who can remove members of the university’s elected Board of Trustees.
Whitmer was recently asked to employ that seldom-used power when the board referred allegations of misconduct against trustees Rema Vassar and Dennis Denno to her office.
The board was acting on a recommendation from an independent investigation, which found the trustees had interfered in university investigations and lawsuits, accepted improper gifts from donors, and encouraged students to publicly attack their rivals. The actions detailed in the report violated various university bylaws and the board’s code of ethics, according to the law firm that conducted the investigation.
Support student media! Please consider donating to The State News and help fund the future of journalism.
More than a year later, the governor said she had chosen not to remove the trustees and declined to explain the decision publicly.
Asked if he agreed with Whitmer’s choice, Gilchrist said she "has the discretion or the authority to make (the decision), whether to push it, or not to engage, and she chose not to do that."
If confronted with a similar situation, Gilchrist said it would be evaluated on a "case-by-case basis."
