Michigan
How Michigan universities’ lobbying changed amid threats to higher education
When President Donald Trump took office in January, he promised to fundamentally reshape higher education by cutting research funding, restricting international students, ending diversity, equity and inclusion programs, and taking other actions that higher education leaders scrambled to handle.
Behind the scenes, university government relations, along with private lobbying firms, visited lawmakers to plead their cases. The University of Michigan spent nearly $1.2 million on lobbying this year, more than three times what it spent in total in 2024, public lobbying disclosures show. UM is the largest research university in Michigan, with research spending that totaled $2.04 billion in 2024.
The cuts have affected the state’s three largest research institutions in UM, Michigan State University and Wayne State University the most.
This wasn’t entirely surprising, said Jesse Crosson, an associate professor of political science at Purdue University who studies legislative politics and money in politics, partly focused on how partisan competition has influenced the way interest groups operate. Not only was the university advocating for itself as it always had, but it was pushing back against a Republican White House that was deeply skeptical of higher education’s mission.
“You have to imagine (UM and other universities) are pretty nervous,” Crosson said. “I would say there’s something to the fact they’ve increased their spending.”
Michigan State University has also increased spending on lobbyists this year to $370,000, 15% more than at this time last year.
The job hasn’t changed much amid the change in leadership and money spent, said Rebecca DeVooght, Michigan State University vice president of government relations. It has required her team to move faster, however.
“The pace of federal action has required deeper coordination across campus and a more proactive engagement in Washington,” DeVooght said.
The way universities use their time with lawmakers has also changed slightly, DeVooght said. She said she’s found that policymakers are more receptive to specific real-world examples of MSU’s impact, something Michigan Association of State Universities CEO Dan Hurley said he encourages advocates for the universities to do.
“No matter how positive facts and figures are, it’s often the individual stories of students and graduates that have the most positive impact on legislators,” Hurley said.
How coalition saved $5M for MSU
The Nos. 1, 2 and 3 things on the minds of lawmakers are whether they’ll have a job in the next few years, Crosson said. Anything that can help them secure reelection is something they’ll take seriously, and universities should target that, he said.
Ezemenari Obasi, Wayne State University’s vice president of research, has visited Washington, D.C., alongside Relations Officer Melissa Smiley and the university’s hired lobbying firm, Lewis-Burke Associates. He said he’s found members of Congress are more receptive to stories about how the university has affected people.
“What we found to be most effective is less about dollar amounts, but more around: How would the city of Detroit be impacted if these programs were ended?” Obasi said. “And so we spent a lot of time using case statements to show the value of higher education and the value that the research done has on our local communities.”
In conversations with lawmakers, he said he’s pointed to research and work done by Wayne State’s Karmanos Cancer Institute as an example of the real-world impact.
“We talk about how 60% of cancer patients (in Michigan) will have a touchpoint with Karmanos,” Obasi said. “And so, if you begin to remove funding like that, we have a hard time dealing with prevention and various treatment modalities that are actually saving lives. And I think that story is impactful, because most people can relate with someone who’s experienced cancer.”
These one-on-one conversations with lawmakers are crucial, he said.
“I think oftentimes it’s easy for us to paint our lawmakers with a brush, based on what we see in the media,” Obasi said. “And what I have found is that having these one-on-one conversations are really an excellent opportunity to work through any kind of misunderstandings.”
DeVooght said the conversations have a real impact. She pointed to earlier this year, when it wasn’t clear if the Flint Lead Exposure Registry would be funded for the 2026 fiscal year because the funding was held up due to layoffs at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A bipartisan coalition of 12 Michigan lawmakers and four others signed a letter calling for the registry, which is administered by MSU, to be fully funded.
“It was all hands on deck,” DeVooght said. “(Rep.) Lisa McClain (R-Bruce Township), Tom Barrett, everyone in the state was saying, ‘This is our priority.’”
Through the work of MSU and the bipartisan coalition of lawmakers, the Flint Registry was approved in August for nearly $5 million through 2026.
U.S. Rep. Tom Barrett, R-Charlotte, who represents MSU, has always had “a positive and productive working relationship” with MSU, Barrett spokesman Jeremiah Ward said in an email.
“That relationship recently led to the congressman securing $3 million for MSU to support the innovative agricultural research happening on campus,” Ward said. “We look forward to keeping lines of communication open as we work together to deliver results for the university and the greater mid-Michigan community.”
U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Ann Arbor, said her relationship with UM has fluctuated over the last decade. She said she feels her role is to consider all aspects of the university as a major constituent — both the things she likes that it’s doing and the things she doesn’t.
“My job is to understand their perspectives on issues that impact them, the students, the faculty, the athletes,” Dingell said.
U.S. Rep. Shri Thanedar, a Detroit Democrat who represents Wayne State in his district, said the Detroit urban university has been “a model for higher education everywhere.”
“I am proud to represent the school in Congress, and have an open door policy with them, for anything they need,” Thanedar said in a statement. “Achieving fully funded college for all students is a goal of mine, and making sure to secure as much federal funding as possible for Wayne State is a top priority for me.”
Rising costs of lobbying
The costs of lobbying are rising. In UM’s case, the amount of representation is too.
In 2023 and 2024, Michigan State spent the same amount of money on in-house government relations: $340,000. In 2025, MSU has reached $310,000.
In 2023, UM spent $300,000 on in-house government relations and $260,000 in 2024. This year, it has spent $520,000.
UM officials did not respond to questions from The Detroit News, but disclosures show Michigan has retained the Alston and Bird Law Firm and, in 2024, brought on Strategic Marketing Innovations. This year, the university hired Ballard Partners and BGR Group as additional lobbying groups.
Michigan State University retains Bose Public Affairs Group as a partner, specifically to lobby for “issues related to funding for the Department of Energy’s nuclear physics program,” disclosures show. This is primarily used to get contracts or grants for the campus’ Facility for Rare Isotope Beams, spokesperson Amber McCann said.
MSU hasn’t spent considerably more on outside lobbying compared with the last two years, a consistent rate of $20,000 every quarter and $80,000 annually. UM spent $25,000 on outside representation in 2023 and $95,000 in 2024. This year, UM officials have spent $660,000.
Wayne State only retains outside counsel. Like MSU, Wayne State is on pace with 2024 spending at $50,000 a quarter or $200,000 for the year.
Crosson said the practice of retaining both in-house and outside, multi-client lobbyists isn’t unusual. The number of organizations with “hired gun” lobbyists acting on their behalf is the highest it’s been since at least the mid-1990s, he said.
These organizations hire lobbyists for two things, Crosson said: their specialized expertise on a topic, such as nuclear energy programs, and their ability to get access to a lawmaker.
“The advantage (of an in-house lobbyist) is you can look out for MSU’s or UM’s interests, and their interests alone,” Crosson said. “They only have one client to care about. On the other hand, you may hire a contractor because they specialize in something. Maybe they’ve spent their career inside the Department of Energy and know what they’re looking for in a grant application, or what they’re looking for in a contract like the back of their hand. So they’re more specialized than you can ever hope to be.”
As Congress has become less autonomous and more decisions are made by party leadership behind closed doors, it’s even more important to know who can get a university official in the room with a lawmaker, he said.
University networks
Universities don’t always need to rely on firms or government relations executives to get their points heard by lawmakers. Institutions can lean on their alumni, especially those who hold seats in Congress or roles in legislative offices, to help get their message heard. Former longtime U.S. Rep. Fred Upton, R-St. Joseph, was a UM graduate.
“Lobbyists do have the impression that sharing an alma mater can improve access, either with an individual staffer or with the legislator themselves,” Crosson said. “There’s 20,000 lobbyists in Washington and only 535 legislator offices. Competition for access is pretty steep, and you’re looking for any sort of advantage you can find to make a connection with that office.”
But the real influence of universities is hard to quantify through just the information on lobbying disclosures, Crosson said. Prominent alumni often are influential with lawmakers, particularly the ones to whom they’ve donated, and universities sometimes tap into these informal relationships to advocate their causes, he said.
“Asking a prominent alum who happens to be a big-time businessperson or a big-time media influencer or whatever, who lives in the district of a member of Congress to talk to them on (the university’s) behalf, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that,” Crosson said. “And (the alum) would not need to register to do that because it’s just an American exercising their First Amendment right to petition one’s government.”
Michigan State has started tapping into its student and parent base, along with alumni and faculty, for its “Spartan Advocate” initiative.
“We’re trying to mobilize thousands of Spartans; students, alumni, and now we’ve expanded it to employees and faculty to help tell the story better in D.C., in Lansing and across the state,” DeVooght said. “I think this is a modernized advocacy network that’s really grassroots-based and allows us to speak with a more unified voice.”
What universities are asking for
Although the job of a university government relations team hasn’t changed, the focus of the conversations has, Wayne State’s Obasi said.
“Last year, we were much more future-oriented,” he said. “We’d talk about how we can collaborate around shared interests and so forth. Whereas this year, we were in a more defensive posture around how we protect our interests.”
Wayne State’s disclosures show something similar. Along with what they’ve lobbied for in the past, the disclosures show the Detroit-based university lobbying specifically about “issues related to grant funding” and, before it was passed, lobbying on “issues pertaining to higher education policies, student aid, and taxes” that were part of the One Big Beautiful Bill signed by Trump on July 4.
Like Wayne State, Michigan State and Michigan both lobbied specifically on grant cancellations this year, something they haven’t had to do in the past two years, according to disclosures.
DeVooght and Obasi agreed that their relationships with lawmakers were one of the most important parts of their jobs and said they had good relationships, despite more scrutiny about higher education from Trump officials and Congress.
“Our delegation is exceedingly available, and they are beyond available to Michigan State,” DeVooght said. “We are lucky that we have individuals that are willing to pick up the phone, are willing to text.
“They’re busy people, and we’re busy people,” DeVooght continued. “But there’s not a time that we don’t have access to all of them.”
satwood@detroitnews.com
Michigan’s Morez Johnson Jr. on 101-80 win over Howard in NCAA opener
Morez Johnson Jr. scored 21 points with 10 rebounds in 101-80 victory over Howard in Buffalo.
James Hawkins of The Detroit News breaks down Michigan’s second-round opponent in the NCAA Tournament and predicts the outcome:
Michigan vs. Saint Louis scouting report
▶ Saint Louis (29-5) set a school record for victories in a season in dominate fashion. The ninth-seeded Billikens shot 58% from the field and set numerous program marks for an NCAA Tournament game in Thursday’s 102-77 shellacking of No. 8 seed Georgia, including points scored, field goals (42), assists (27) and margin of victory. Per KenPom’s rankings, the Bulldogs (No. 37) are the highest-rated team that Saint Louis has beaten this season and just the third top-50 team, after Santa Clara (No. 38) and VCU (No. 42), who both made the Big Dance.
▶ The Billikens rank in the top 15 nationally in numerous offensive and defensive categories. On offense, they’re second in 3-point shooting (40.2%), sixth in field-goal percentage (50.9%), 10th in made 3-pointers (10.9) and assists (18.3) per game, 10th in scoring offense (87.2 points) and 11th in 2-point shooting (59.6%). On defense, they lead the nation in opposing field goal percentage (37.9%), rank fifth in 2-point field goal percentage (44.6%) and are seventh in 3-point field goal percentage (29.8%).
▶ Redshirt junior guard Kellen Thames and redshirt sophomore guard Trey Green led the Atlantic 10 in 2-point shooting (67.8%) and 3-point shooting (45.7%), respectively. Green’s 3-point mark also ranks third in the nation and headlines a long-range attack that features four Billikens who are shooting at least 40% from deep on 50-plus attempts. The others are forward Brady Dunlap (44.1%), guard Ishan Sharma (42.8%), center Robbie Avila (41.6%) and guard Dion Brown (40.4%). Saint Louis has made as many as 19 3-pointers in a game this season and has drained at least 10 deep balls 22 times across 34 contests.
Get Fubo to watch the Michigan vs. Saint Louis game
Michigan vs. Saint Louis prediction
Saint Louis, the Atlantic 10 regular-season champion, carved up and dissected Georgia’s defense in a blowout win. The Billikens will provide much more of a test than Howard did, and Michigan is going to need to be locked in defensively from the start.
The Wolverines have struggled to guard stretch fives (see both Wisconsin games) and Saint Louis just so happens to have a big man — the bespectacled Robbie Avila — who shoots 40% from deep. If Michigan can find a way to solve that defensive dilemma, it should be Sweet 16-bound in its seventh straight NCAA Tournament appearance, though it might not come comfortably. Pick: Michigan, 84-78
➤MICHIGAN TICKETS: Buy Michigan basketball tickets for March Madness
NCAA Tournament
NO. 1 SEED MICHIGAN VS. NO. 9 SEED SAINT LOUIS
What: Second-round NCAA Tournament game
When: Saturday, 12:10 p.m.
Where: KeyBank Arena, Buffalo
TV: CBS
Records: Michigan 32-3, Saint Louis 29-5
A woman whose high school photos were digitally altered to appear nude and then shared online says she feels “completely manipulated” and let down by a justice system that has so far spared one of the men involved from jail time.
Madison Kinsella, 32, graduated from Plymouth-Canton Educational Park in 2011.
She said she first learned in 2023 that images of her as a minor had been hacked from her and altered to appear nude.
“I received a message from a fellow victim,” Kinsella said in an interview with the Investigators on Local 4. “She informed me that an agent that was involved in the case that they were building was also going to reach out, and later on that week, they actually came to my parents’ home in Michigan and spoke with them about what was going on.”
Kinsella said she was traveling when she got the call, trying to process what federal investigators were telling her.
“Your brain has never moved faster than when you’re hearing that information,” Kinsella said. “And then all of a sudden, you’re realizing that’s why I had my Apple ID password changing every day for two years, because these people were hacking into my phone and doing God knows what. And it’s just a violation of privacy, of trust, of thinking you know someone.”
The backstory
Federal prosecutors said three former P-CEP students, Daniel Bihn, an engineer; Michael Justus, who worked in digital technology and AI; and Bernard Rice, a psychiatric nurse practitioner, conspired for years to hack accounts and steal or manipulate intimate photos of women, often former classmates, then trade or post them online.
Investigators said the men used a Russian website and the anonymous messaging platform Discord to exchange nude images, some of which were obtained by hacking Snapchat accounts and accessing the password-protected “My Eyes Only” feature.
Court records show agents eventually tied online usernames, including “Triangle Guy,” alleged to be Bihn, to the former students and raided Bihn’s home in January 2021, seizing electronics.
Later that year, investigators searched Justus’ Illinois home and connected Rice to the chats.
The chats
In one 2019 Discord exchange described in federal filings, Justus and Rice discussed a “list” of women for Bihn to target:
“Very interested to see your list and see if there’s any blatant misses on my end.”
“Just got around to it lol.”
“She’s cute – nice add.”
“Good stuff.”
Kinsella said her images were not true nude photographs but rather high school pictures that had been digitally altered, something she considers a very small consolation.
“I consider myself somewhat lucky that it wasn’t a real private image, and I take some peace in knowing that it was fake,” Kinsella said. “However, I feel completely manipulated in this situation, completely … just used. It’s shattering, really, to know that this is what my face has been put on and to be made to look like… that some people believe that is me.”
“Humiliation is an understatement,” Kinsella added. “It’s just a very devastating, violating feeling.”
Kinsella said she is especially angered by what she sees as attempts to cast some of the men as socially awkward or starved for female attention.
“I find it very interesting that in the court documents that are public, we can read that there’s been a sort of spin on these men not getting female attention,” Kinsella said. “Mike Justus, who I know, I can say that wasn’t true. It’s a complete lie.”
Guilty pleas
All three men pleaded guilty in 2024 to conspiracy to commit fraud and related computer activity.
Bihn has been sentenced to time served, along with probation and restitution.
Rice was also sentenced to probation and restitution. Justus is scheduled to be sentenced on March 26.
Kinsella said she is disappointed but not surprised by the sentences handed down so far.
“If we can’t rely on the court system to do what needs to be done, then unfortunately it’s on our communities to respond, and I hope that is what happens,” Kinsella said.
Another victim, in a statement read in court, described the lasting trauma:
“When I found out my private photos have been posted online, I began having daily panic attacks multiple times per day, could not leave my house, had to start weekly therapy; I’m still working through this trauma to this day.”
Kinsella said she, too, has been in therapy since learning about the manipulated images.
She said she is “terrified” that more manipulated images of her are out there.
“To the women that have had to go through this, either in this specific experience or something similar, I think it’s important to find your power and your voice,” Kinsella said. “Even if men are going to behave this way, you owe it to yourself to be your fullest and most alive self and not stifle or be scared of the world.”
Kinsella believes change will only come if women stand together and communities refuse to look the other way.
“My prayer is that one day this will change and no longer be a reality,” Kinsella said. “And that only happens when we all work together.”
Kinsella said she and several other women plan to attend Justus’ sentencing on March 26th to “look him in the eyes.”
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Michigan State throws down dunk after dunk in March Madness practice
Michigan State throws down dunk after dunk in March Madness practice at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York, on Wednesday, March 18, 2026.
BUFFALO, NY – Michigan State basketball’s battle cry of “strength in numbers” a year ago led to a Big Ten title and an Elite Eight run.
That depth has somewhat disappeared for Tom Izzo as he prepares to open his 28th straight NCAA tournament. But beyond the Spartans’ core-four captains and freshman starter, Jordan Scott, the key reserves know what they mean to this team as the games wind down and the intensity amplifies.
“It’s very important,” sophomore guard Kur Teng said Wednesday, March 18. “Kind of our motto here is strength in numbers. So coming off the bench, I want to be able to produce in any way I can.”
The urgency arrives Thursday, when 3-seed MSU (25-7) opens the first round of the East region against 14-seed North Dakota State (27-7). Tipoff at KeyBank Center is 4:05 p.m. (TNT).
While the attention and heavy workload will be on the shoulders of Jeremy Fears Jr., Coen Carr, Jaxon Kohler, Carson Cooper and Scott, the backups behind them with the potential for two win-or-go-home games in three days becomes essential to giving them breaks while also providing production.
“It’s not really about the minutes,” redshirt freshman Jesse McCulloch said Wednesday, March 18. “It’s really about having our role and going out there and playing as hard as we can for the amount of that we got and knowing that we can contribute to the game by playing as hard as possible.”
Teng and freshman forward Cam Ward have been the two most used subs this season for Izzo, particularly as his rotation has shrunk over the past month. But backup point guard Denham Wojcik still gets key, albeit brief, minutes replacing Fears. And both McCulloch and sixth-year senior guard Trey Fort have been called into duty at pivotal moments, be it with foul trouble or inefficiency from the starters.
Izzo said the NCAA Tournament, with longer and more frequent TV timeouts, allows coaches to further shrink their playing groups and give starters more minutes.
“But there’s always foul trouble, and there’s always things like that,” he said Wednesday. “I think your subs are always important. I think it’s hurt us a little bit not having Divine (Ugochukwu), for sure. Last year, our whole battle cry was strength in numbers, and we had numbers and we kept rotating people in there. It’s not been quite the same this year, even though we are utilizing our subs.”
Ugochukwu, who is out after foot surgery from an early-February injury, went through the public practice Wednesday but is not expected to be able to return during the NCAAs. That has left MSU’s guard situation thin at times behind Fears and Scott.
However, the 6-foot-5, 200-pound Teng has come on over his last nine games, averaging 10.2 points and making 43.1% from 3-point range. Teng also has picked up his scrappiness beyond scoring, adding 2.3 rebounds in that span that includes nine offensive boards.
“I think Kur Teng is really playing better,” Izzo said. “And if he’s making shots, that helps us.”
Ward also has gradually shown improvement after a wrist injury suffered in a Thanksgiving Day win over North Carolina hampered the midportion of his first season. The 6-9, 230-pound forward is averaging 4.9 points and 4.2 rebounds in the past nine games while shooting 58.1% from the field. He also has six blocks and four steals while playing at key times.
“We’re gonna be playing games with one day in between and playing great teams, high-level minutes,” Ward said Wednesday. “So it’s up to us coming off the bench to have an immediate impact, not really wait until the end of the game like UCLA to have an impact, and have an impact early. We play longer to give these guys a longer time to rest.”
For Ward and McCulloch, giving the Spartans’ big men a break and trying to keep them fresh and not playing 30-plus minutes is their primary mission.
“For me and Jaxon, it’s a lot different between us playing 35 minutes a game and 28 to 30 minutes a game,” Cooper said Wednesday. “I don’t want to have to play 35 minutes a game if I can help it, especially in this tournament where you’re playing a lot of games in a short amount of days.”
Both Kohler and Cooper also know what it is like to be in the position that Ward, Teng and the others are in – coming off the bench in the NCAAs, with Izzo’s intensity soaring and the magnitude of the minutes mounting. They’re also seniors in their final tournament. They want to leave their legacy with both on the court and by helping their understudies toward future postseasons when they’ll be the ones likely logging long minutes.
“I think it’s really important for me and Coop, especially with Jesse and Cam, to make sure that we kind of explain how this works,” Kohler said Wednesday. “How to manage the emotions that are going on and the way coach can react sometimes. Because when we went through this our first year, it was really nerve-wracking. I mean, it was terrifying at times – we didn’t want to make any mistakes.
“I think what we have to do is make sure that we guide them through that, especially on the court. And the more that we do that – on how to play freely but at the same time with a sense of urgency that if we lose, it can be one-and-done – that’s the thing I feel we can help them with the most. That’s something that we had to learn ourselves growing up in the system.”
Michigan State basketball vs North Dakota State prediction
The Spartans haven’t taken a step back from high-level competition in weeks, so they will welcome having the clear-cut physical advantages to bang with the Bison. The key at KeyBank Center will be MSU defending NDSU’s sharp-shooting lineup to prevent a classic 3/14 upset. The pick: MSU 84, North Dakota State 72.
Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him @chrissolari.
Subscribe to the “Spartan Speak” podcast for new episodes on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or anywhere you listen to podcasts. And catch all of our podcasts and daily voice briefing at freep.com/podcasts.
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