Home / News & Publications / Michigan Catholic News / 2009 / Madonna vies for stimulus funds for 'green' TV, nursing building
Madonna vies for stimulus funds for 'green' TV, nursing building
by Joe Kohn of The Michigan Catholic
Published March 13, 2009
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Joe Kohn | The Michigan Catholic
Timothy Ward (right), project manager for Clark Construction Co., talks with Madonna University Marketing Director Karen Sanborn in a hallway of Madonna’s new “green” building, due for completion in April. |
Detroit – Livonia-based Madonna University is hoping to get a share of the $787 billion stimulus-package money. Ernest Nolan, vice president for academic administration at the Felician Sisters-sponsored university, says Madonna officials have drafted proposals for stimulus funding and sent them to state officials and representatives, as well as federal officials.
"We looked very carefully at language of the federal stimulus bill and sorted out some broad headings for proposals," Nolan said. "Our focus was primarily on green buildings, secondly on job development, and third was on science and technology. We submitted seven different programs connected to those, just in case. We wanted to find one that would be attractive."
As far as they can see, he said, Madonna is in the thick of what the federal government hopes to do – create jobs, fund environmentally friendly building projects and place an emphasis on technology.
Madonna last fall broke ground on what will be Livonia's first certified "green" building – meaning it meets high standards for environmental friendliness. The building, which is 60,000 square feet and cost $20 million, will host its programs in nursing and television production, fields that are growing in the local market.
Among the grants written by Madonna was one seeking funds to help pay off the remaining $3.5 million needed for the project.
"Obviously, an institution like Madonna really does contribute to the whole area of job creation, and it contributes in a number of ways to the welfare of the local community," Nolan said. "We hope that's recognized in the process of discernment that decision makers are going through."
Apparently, neither Marygrove College in Detroit nor the University of Detroit Mercy have entered the competition for stimulus dollars.
UDM spokesman Gary Lichtman said the university is taking a "wait-and-see" approach to the issue, being doubtful that any of the stimulus funds earmarked for education will go to private institutions.
A spokeswoman for Marygrove College said the school had "nothing to share at this time" regarding any attempt to secure stimulus funding.
Nationwide, a number of U.S. Catholic colleges are making efforts to secure a slice of the billions allocated to higher-education projects.
"We're making our case for some of those funds, mostly with greening up our buildings," said Mary J. Meehan, president of Alverno College in Milwaukee. "They are looking for shovel-ready projects, and an architect can get those plans ready quickly."
President Barack Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Feb. 17.
This stimulus package is designed to spend billions in federal dollars on infrastructure, transportation and clean-energy projects in an effort to put millions of Americans back to work and stabilize the economy.
Catholic college presidents attending the 2009 annual meeting of the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities in Washington, D.C., Jan. 31-Feb. 2 were all abuzz about the prospect of tapping into that stimulus money.
The stimulus package includes $53.6 billion in funds to be allocated through the Education Department; portions of it may be used for "modernization, renovation and repairs that are consistent with a recognized green-building rating system" in buildings that "are primarily used for instruction, research or student housing."
Segments of a $54 billion state stabilization fund — with $39 billion set aside for education — can also be used for modernizing facilities on higher education campuses. These funds will be filtered through state governments.
"A few of our trustees are trying to convince the governor of our state that our projects are worthy of the stimulus money that will come to Wisconsin," Meehan said. "I'm not overly optimistic about that, but we are putting forth our best efforts, especially in projects that will make our campus more environmentally friendly and energy efficient." Most of the presidents who spoke with Catholic News Service said they thought public institutions of higher education would get the lion's share of money going to colleges and universities, but they were pulling together infrastructure and green projects they believe would be compatible with the intent of the economic recovery plan.
Duquesne University in Pittsburgh has a lobbying firm keeping the college's president, Charles J. Dougherty, informed about what kind of projects the government is looking for when it comes to spending the stimulus money.
"I am pretty skeptical about us getting any of that money, because so many other organizations are salivating over a slice of that pie," said Holy Cross Fr. Mark T. Cregan, president of Stonehill College in Easton, Mass. "With that said, we are identifying projects that would fit the criteria. We're going to do what we can. We have some alumni who are politically connected."
The stimulus package also provides an estimated $15 billion for scientific research, much of which will go to universities. Funding for the National Institutes of Health includes $1.5 billion to be set aside for university research facilities.
On the whole, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act spends an estimated $32 billion specifically on higher education.
Robert Delaney of The Michigan Catholic and Chaz Muth of Catholic News Service contributed to this story.
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