Michigan gets hailed for Top 10 university president
Michigan likes to boast about its higher education system, and Time magazine has given it a boost by naming University of Michigan President Mary Sue Coleman one of the top 10 university leaders in the country. See here.
Coleman gets special kudos for fund-raising, generating $3.2 billion from 2000 to 2008, $700 million more than her $2.5 billion goal.
Time doesn't even note what makes this more impressive -- Coleman raised the money in a state that has been in recession for nearly eight years. Of course, U-M has plenty of out-of-state students and alumni, which helps with raising money.
Amazingly, Time doesn't make a huge deal about the lack of state aid to U-M -- it gets less than 10 percent of its budget from state funds. Michigan usually ranks in the bottom 5 for state support of universities in recent years.
Reports Gilbert Cruz: "On the academic front, she has helped increase Michigan's already robust profile as one of the nation's premier research institutions; this past year, the university passed the $1 billion mark for research expenditures. Coleman also wants to help prop up nearby Detroit, where the school has just launched a 'semester abroad' for students.
