Dec. 15, 2025
Crain’s Detroit Business
Philomena V. Mantella
The Detroit Regional Chamber’s latest State of Education and Talent report rightly raises urgent alarms about Michigan’s economic standing. Our per-capita income has fallen to 40th in the nation, bachelor’s degree holders continue to earn dramatically more than those with only a high school diploma, and two-thirds of the state’s best-paying jobs now require a four-year degree.
These facts should sharpen our focus on the State’s “60 by 30” attainment goal and the need to expand Michigan’s talent pipeline.
But the public conversation, and even this otherwise important report, misses one crucial point: Michigan systematically underinvests in the very institutions most responsible for producing the degree-holders our economy depends on.
Michigan’s public universities are not simply underfunded; they are funded at a level that ranks them in the bottom 10 states for per-student funding of public universities. At the same time, Michigan ranks first in the country for funding community colleges. While community colleges do play a vital role, Michigan has created a funding model in which the institutions producing the bachelor’s degrees, which are linked most directly to income growth, innovation and the jobs of the future, operate at a structural disadvantage.
Moreover, the funding formula for four-year institutions varies greatly from school to school and does not properly acknowledge growth, performance or keeping our talent in Michigan.
We cannot continue to ignore these facts and expect a different economic outcome. Bachelor’s degree attainment is the single strongest predictor of a state’s economic prosperity. Michigan employers consistently report that they need more engineers, nurses, computer scientists, educators, analysts and health-care professionals than our current system can supply. Yet the institutions preparing those very graduates are funded at levels far below institutions in our competitor states.
If Michigan is serious about strengthening incomes, reversing population decline and fueling innovation-driven growth, then “60 by 30” cannot be measured with just any credential. A report from the Michigan Center for Data and Analytics shows 42 of Michigan’s 50 “hottest jobs” require a bachelor’s degree or higher. That’s why Michigan needs a review of its public university funding model to recognize the distinct and essential contribution of public universities.
Funding models should reflect the economic reality highlighted in the Chamber’s report: “Michigan’s growth depends on the production and retention of bachelor’s degree holders.”
Michigan cannot fund its universities like a bottom-10 state and expect top-tier outcomes. If we want to change the trajectory of our income, our population and our economic vibrancy, we must first change how we invest in the institutions capable of powering that future.
This is not a request for institutions; it is a strategy for the state. Public universities are economic infrastructure, no less essential than roads or utilities. They anchor regional economies, attract and retain young talent and serve as engines of research and innovation.
Whether Michigan competes at the top or slides to the bottom will depend on whether a commitment is made to investing in them at a level that will fuel our state’s economic growth.
Philomena V. Mantella is the president of Grand Valley State University, located in Grand Rapids.