League of Women Voters of
© LWVMI Education Fund 2008
Candidates were asked to summarize their backgrounds in 75
words and were allotted 75 words to answer each question. If the candidate did not reply by the
required date for publication, the words, “Did not respond in time for
publication” appear under the candidate’s name.
1.
What role should this university play in the economic development of
the state of
2. Given the current economic climate, what measures will you support to make education more affordable for students and
their parents
without sacrificing quality? (75 words)
3.
What is the most important issue facing this
public university today and what is your position on that issue? (75 words)
Susan Brown, Republican
U of M graduate, 1963 (BA) degree. Susan has
served on the U of M President's Advisory Board and is currently on the Boards
of the U of M Museum of Art and Ford School of Public Policy. She is a lifetime
member of the Alumni Association. In addition to her service to the U of M she
has served as trustee of
1. A positive future for
2. With a University the size of
3. In order to maintain the quality of U of
M's education
John G. LaFond,
Republican
An
1. The
University has three crucial roles to play:
to provide a stimulating and challenging educational environment which
prepares graduates to meet the challenges of a global Michigan economy; to help
create new business enterprises arising through the deployment of intellectual
capital from a multitude of University resources; and to help develop a state
infrastructure that will keep the best and brightest graduates in Michigan as
entrepreneurs for the future.
2. I will
support the enactment of business principles and strategies that will provide a
new focus on cost and spending controls, the initiation of new ideas to
increase both existing and new sources of revenue streams to help deal with
decreasing state funding, and the development of a more dynamic and accurate
business model that addresses the impact of a global economy on the families
and students who live in our state.
3. The most
important problem is the lack of bold and decisive leadership. University leaders, including the Regents,
must develop productive ideas that will create a quality educational experience
at an affordable tuition. Leadership
must reverse the trend of continually increasing tuition, while academic
University rankings decrease. As a
Regent with extensive business experience I will represent the families and
taxpayers of our state and bring more accountability for University decisions
and actions.
Laurence B. Deitch,
Democrat
Lifelong resident of
Corporate Attorney - Partner, Bodman LLP,
1. Any cogent strategy to rejuvenate the
2. As a center for the creation of knowledge, U of M
is not a business. Yet, it has to be run in a business-like manner. We have
to enhance our already great fundraising and continue our top quality investment
returns in order to create a large endowment with as much emphasis on general
fund support as possible. As tuition increases, there must be a like or greater
increase in financial aid.
3. Maintaining excellence and accessibility in the face of declining
state support: My answers include: Public advocacy on the value of higher
education, increasing efficiency, fundraising, attracting greater indirect
support for research from both the federal government and the private sector,
putting greater emphasis on technology transfer, harnessing U of M's world wide
reputation to develop distanced learning and satellite classes in Asia and the
Middle East as profit centers.
Denise Ilitch,
Democrat
I am a
1. With
total net assets of $11.5 billion and 32,000 employees, the
2. Avoiding tuition increases will be my top priority. I will use my extensive background in
business to advance ways to increase revenue, promote cost-savings and
efficiencies and create ways to help students finance their college education,
using my relationships with banks and financial institutions. And finally, I will work to continue the
growth of the hospitals and health systems, which are important components to
the University’s long and proud history of excellence.
3. Ensuring
the
Eric L. Larson, Libertarian
I attended
1. The
University of
2. The
increase in cost of higher education is unsustainable. We are making college
too expensive for many Michiganders. To control the cost we must use innovative
ways of saving money like forming public-private partnerships. These can be in
the form of outsourcing janitorial and maintenance services. Or turn the
construction and ownership of buildings to the private sector. Many
universities have private firms run their dorms and food service, which frees
up money for education.
3. The most important issue facing the U of M is the silencing
of free speech through the university’s Student Code. College is a place where
students should be challenged intellectually both in and out of the classroom.
There is no better time to deal with offensive topics (that one will most
certainly confront after college) than in an environment in which there are
resources at hand (professors, libraries, etc.) to factually defend or debunk
ideas.
Kerry L. Morgan, Libertarian
Kerry Lee
Morgan is an attorney and author. His legal practice involves municipal law,
employment discrimination, environmental law and educational policy. He
previously served as an Attorney-Advisor with the United States Commission on
Civil Rights in
1. The
University should remain true to its primary mission of higher education. To
the extent that it promotes economic development it should do so by creating
incentives for its faculty to undertake educational seminars. These University
sponsored seminars should be geared to meet the needs of
2. Tenure must be seen as it is -- an economic decision, not an academic one.
The entire idea of tenure and compensation associated with it must be explored.
The private sector has seen the necessity of buying out senior management
because of economic realities. The University cannot long escape those
realities either.
3. The current Board of Regents and Administration of the
Richard Ryskamp,
US Taxpayers
Richard Ryskamp is a 52 year-old physician. He graduated from
1. Section
8:1 of our state constitution has the answer as to how
2. 1.
Stimulate the economy by lowering taxes. 2. Increase tax incentives for
charitable contributions to educational institutions. 3. Concentrate current
financial assistance and tuition subsidies in areas where graduates will
provide critical skills to our economy (e.g. science, engineering, business).
4. Better stewardship of tuition and tax dollars. When U of M offers
politicized courses like "How to be Gay", they demonstrate that they
are poor stewards and that new leadership is required.
3. State educational institutions, especially the U of M,
have been hijacked by those who are attempting to indoctrinate the next
generation in their reckless and amoral social agenda. The U of M mission
statement calls it "developing leaders ... who will challenge the
present." In practice this means free condoms, graduate certificates in
"Gay, Lesbian, Transgender and Queer Studies", and training young
doctors to kill babies in their mothers' wombs. It's time for a turnaround!
Joe Sanger, US Taxpayers
Married, 1
daughter, 3 grandchildren. Self-employed Certified Public Accountant
for the past 38 years. BA and MBA from the
1. Article
III of the Northwest Ordinance provides that: "Religion, morality
and knowledge being necessary to good government and the hapiness of mankind,
schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged."
Since runaway courts have now banned religion and morality from public
life, the University's remaining role is to provide "knowledge".
2. According to the Minneapolis Federal Reserve
Bank, since the autumn of 1955 the cost of living has increased by 774%.
At the same time, full-time in-state tuition at the
3. After restoring financial responsibility and
rolling back tuition increases to a level consistent with the cost of living
increase since 1955, the most important issue is elimination of the abuse of
power by faculty and administrators in substituting ideological advocacy for
education. The University must not be used to indoctrinate students in
the perverse ideology of the state sponsored false pagan religion of
"political correctness".
Ellis Boal,
Green
Ellis Boal matriculated at
1. It's a global economy. In assessing its development role, the
university should not limit itself to
2. There must be a reordering of the federal
budget priorities. Half of the total federal budget operating
expenditures goes to the military, starving the education sector. Less military, more education.
3. As Ralph Nader told the Michigan Daily in
2004, large research universities like the