Senate reform proposal a threat to all public universities' independence, University of Michigan president says - Juliana Keeping, AnnArbor.com

A budget reform plan that would include cutting all public university employees' salaries by 5 percent for three years isn't sitting well with University of Michigan President Mary Sue Coleman. "I am very concerned about any proposal that would threaten the independence of the university," Coleman said at a faculty governance meeting in Ann Arbor Tuesday. Coleman was referring to a budget reform plan proposed in January by Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop, R-Rochester. His is one of several proposals circulating Lansing, leading up to the budget planning process for the next fiscal year. That process is set to begin this month. Of the $2 billion in proposed savings in Bishop's plan, $1.2 billion would come from salary reductions, and $615 million would come from health care reforms.