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Michigan Prepared For University Cuts

ANN ARBOR (WWJ) - With at least a 15-percent cut to university funding proposed in Governor Rick Snyder's budget plan, how are Michigan school's preparing?

University of Michigan Vice Provost for Academic and Budgetary Affairs Martha Pollack said the cuts will hurt, but they are not surprising.

"It is very painful, and it makes it continually difficult for us, but we've been working really, really hard -- basically since about 2002, to reduce our costs," she said.

"Everything from changing the way that we have our employees pay for health care -- they share a lot more of that, and that's saving us about $30 million a year," Pollack said.

"We're a lot more energy-efficient, that's saving us over $5 million a year. We're changing the way we do procurement by supplies, the way of maintaining our facilities. We have all kinds of things we've done so far," she said.

Pollack  says U of M President Mary Sue Coleman is proud of the university's cost containment efforts. She is set to testify in Lansing Wednesday morning on their plans.

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