Rebuilding Place in the Urban Space

"A community’s physical form, rather than its land uses, is its most intrinsic and enduring characteristic." [Katz, EPA] This blog focuses on place and placemaking and all that makes it work--historic preservation, urban design, transportation, asset-based community development, arts & cultural development, commercial district revitalization, tourism & destination development, and quality of life advocacy--along with doses of civic engagement and good governance watchdogging.

Sunday, February 05, 2023

Michigan universities are considered a fourth branch of government, with separation of powers

Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Will Bunch wrote a book on the issues faced today by the higher education sector.  Supporting independent inquiry in the face of ideology is very difficult, and universities bear the brunt of this.

In the 1960s, with student activism rising significantly on college campuses, plenty of state governors and legislatures, starting with Ronald Reagan in California ("Ronald Reagan launched political career using the Berkeley campus as a target"), aimed to put a stop to it in various ways.  

That's when state appropriations to colleges and universities started to decline, leading to a significant increase in tuition costs.

So the Republican focus on colleges and universities these days:

Isn't new.

Michigan colleges have an independence most other public schools do not. It does remind me of one advantage that universities have in Michigan.  They are considered a fourth branch of government, with separation of powers, so they aren't subject to the same levels of interference that happen in other states ("Explaining Michigan’s one-of-a-kind university governance model").  Some of these provisions date to 1850, and are unique in the United States.

That doesn't mean there still isn't interference and the ability to influence colleges.  Most of the boards of the state funded colleges are still appointed by the Governor--Michigan, Michigan State, and Wayne State, the trustees are elected on a state-wide ballot--and the Legislature still appropriates some monies to the schools, and that can be used to shape outcomes in nefarious ways.

But there's more independence.  The kinds of actions taken by Walker or DeSantis couldn't really happen to Michigan colleges.  Although I suppose a Governor could try to take over a college, by firing all the trustees and appointing hacks, but it would be really hard.

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8 Comments:

At 2:26 PM, Blogger Richard Layman said...

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/feb/05/schools-and-universities-are-ground-zero-for-americas-culture-war

"Schools and universities are ground zero for America’s culture war"

 
At 9:39 PM, Blogger Richard Layman said...

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/feb/05/ron-desantis-war-on-woke-florida-higher-education-new-college

 
At 10:47 PM, Blogger Richard Layman said...

https://www.charlotteobserver.com/opinion/article272173008.html

"Republican crusade to convert UNC-Chapel Hill will lead to its demise"
2/6/2023

 
At 7:38 PM, Blogger Richard Layman said...

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/02/christopher-rufo-manhattan-institute/673008/

 
At 7:39 PM, Blogger Richard Layman said...

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2023/02/ron-desantis-new-college-florida

 
At 11:18 PM, Blogger Richard Layman said...

DeSantis threatens to rid Florida of Advanced Placement classes

https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2023/02/14/desantis-florida-ap-classes-college-board/

 
At 7:54 PM, Blogger Richard Layman said...

In texts, Youngkin appointee plots ‘battle royale for the soul of UVA’

https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2023/02/23/uva-bert-ellis-text-messages/

 
At 6:29 PM, Blogger Richard Layman said...

"Republicans are turning colleges into the thing they claim to hate"

NYT, 3/30/24

What students care about versus what Conservatives are legislating. Will it lead to changes in where students choose to matriculate (eg Tiebout, people vote with their feet).

 

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