Public university group urges larger state investments, highlights Michigan Achievement Scholarship gains

Chair Markkanen and members of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Higher Education and Community Colleges heard a presentation from Dr. Daniel Hurley, chief executive officer of the Michigan Association of State Universities, calling for larger state investments in public universities and continued build-out of the Michigan Achievement Scholarship.

Hurley told the committee that Michigan’s 15 public universities enroll about 260,000 students and award more than 67,000 degrees annually. “We are blessed with 15 public universities,” he said, and added that the institutions serve as “workforce engines” and generators of research and innovation.

Hurley framed three funding priorities for fiscal 2026: (1) increase ongoing state operating support by a proposed 4.8 percent (which he said amounts to about $83,500,000), (2) continue expanding the Michigan Achievement Scholarship (MAS), and (3) create a recurring campus infrastructure line for ITEMS (infrastructure, technology, equipment, maintenance and safety) and requested $100 million for that purpose. “Our ask is a hundred million…