Mary Sue Coleman’s open letter to President Obama
BY MARY SUE COLEMAN, President of the University of Michigan
January 11, 2012
Dear Mr. President,
Your recent meeting with college presidents is the best Christmas present I could have hoped for.
By bringing together higher education leaders to discuss college affordability, you have elevated a thorny issue that demands a national conversation because of its impact on all sectors of society. The cost of attending college is one of the most serious matters facing a country that seeks to strengthen its global competitiveness. How we resolve this dilemma requires collaboration, sacrifice and hard choices.
American higher education—particularly public higher education—is one of the monumental achievements of our country. No other nation can rival the innovation, creativity and intellectual fervor of our universities. Our institutions are responsible for America’s knowledge security—an intellectual wellbeing that advances health and medicine, business, social science, the arts, public policy and national defense. Rest