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(By Andrew MacKie-Mason)
Wayne State is the third and final public university in Michigan whose governing board is elected through statewide elections. And the candidates are...
Satish Jasti (R): While Jasti is correct that universities need to find ways to compensate for decreased public funds without raising tuition, he has one troubling focus. He says that Wayne State needs to cut costs "without sacrificing ... all-important academic rankings." While doing well in rankings is an unfortunate necessity for a certain group of schools, Wayne State is not one of them. The university would thrive far better with a focus on real academic quality and on serving specific local and regional needs, rather than catering to national interests. He wants the state to give per-student funding to Wayne State that is equal to what the University of Michigan and Michigan State get, but it's not clear that that's a reasonable goal. Shouldn't the state give more support to universities that provide better outcomes to their students, rather than equal support across the board? He does have the right ideas when it comes to the importance of increasing graduation rates and encouraging students to attend community colleges before transferring to Wayne. Overall, while I have some quibbles with Jasti's positions, he seems well-informed and prepared, if not extremely eloquent.
Sandra Hughes O'Brien (D): O'Brien's statements are light on substance, but correct in tone. She stresses accessibility, retention, and serving the specific community — Metropolitan Detroit — of which Wayne State forms a part.
Kim Trent (D): Trent is even lighter on the issues than O'Brien is, with only a few brief bullet points. Graduation, retention, and lowering costs are all laudable, but there's absolutely no detail here.
Margaret Guttshall (G): It's always weird when a candidate's issues page includes positions that have absolutely nothing to do with the office their running for; Guttshall's inclusion of her positions on taxation, military policy, Israel, transportation policy, and imprisonment are extremely odd. It's also troubling that she has apparently decided that support for the disabled is the most important thing — after becoming disabled herself. Guttshall has some decent ideas for Wayne State, but we shouldn't elect someone who clearly has an extreme political agenda to run a university.
Michael Bushito (R), Robert Gale and Marc Sosnowski (UST), and Latham Redding (G) do not appear to have campaign websites.
Summary: I'll support Jasti (R) and O'Brien (D). Of the candidates who appear to have put some effort into this race, they at least have some ideas and positions (Jasti more than O'Brien). Wayne State deserves a Board that will devote time and energy to it, and there's at least some indication that those two will do so.
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