The good news is that it appears the estimated 15,000 phone calls, letters, e-mails, and visits made by University supporters helped convince state legislators to almost double the governor’s proposed increase for the University over the next two years. Unfortunately, the increase was less than half of the $221.5 million University President Mark Yudof argued was absolutely vital to solidify the University’s base and to build strategic programs. In a special session in June, state legislators approved $110.6 million in new state funding: $90.7 million in general funds and another $19.9 million from the tobacco endowment that will go to long-term funding for the University’s Academic Health Center.

While Yudof and regents must wrestle with serious budget questions, the outpouring of public support heartens the president. "The silver lining to all this is the way alumni and friends responded to our calls for assistance," he says. "It proves to me that people around the state understand what a vital and precious resource this University is. They see and feel it working in our economy and in our quality of life."

At a reception for legislative volunteers, Yudof also pointed out that the University’s appropriation is likely to be among the highest percentage increases for any state agency and that volunteers helped "raise the profile of higher education issues at the state level. . . . Let’s face it, 15,000 phone calls are hard to ignore."

For several weeks in winter and spring, the UMAA organized hundreds of alumni volunteers to call members around the state, encouraging them to contact legislators. "We stepped up our efforts this year because we saw the fight we had on our hands," says UMAA executive director Margaret Carlson. The UMAA-organized Legislative Network ordinarily sends e-mails and letters to its volunteers to encourage them to contact their legislators. This time, the Legislative Network volunteers not only contacted their legislators, they also called thousands of other alumni to ask them to do the same. "I believe this outpouring will convince the governor and legislators in coming years that there is significant public support for higher education," Carlson says.

The University must now contend with how to mix budget cuts and tuition increases with program improvements. Employee health-care premiums and a 3 percent faculty raise alone could cost $120 million during the next two years. Yudof has announced he will slice $30 million from administrative budgets on top of $33 million in cuts already accomplished. A new health-insurance plan will reduce the percentage of premium costs the University pays. Still, the regents will vote on double-digit tuition increases—approximately 27 percent over two years—in July.

Yudof has spoken about the need to find where the University fits in the continuum between the low-tuition and low-financial-aid approach that has traditionally been the standard for public universities and the high-tuition, high-aid model that has been embraced by private colleges. Some public universities, like Michigan and Penn State, have been moving toward the high-tuition, high-aid approach. "The questions are, how much can we really cut in the next two years? . . . What should tuition be and how much do we want to scale back our expectations?" Yudof told regents in June.