(As prepared for delivery)

Since we’ll be discussing our budget today, it’s appropriate to begin by examining how we are giving back as a university: What we are doing to build our community and have a positive impact on our society.

With that, I’m pleased to report we’re having a profound impact across our region, our state and our nation. We discussed that impact at the recent Mackinac Policy Conference, and simply to provide a couple of examples:

U-M’s annual research volume exceeds $1.7 billion.

We are one of the largest employers in Michigan, and this past fiscal year, our research enterprise contributed $126 million to the state’s economy directly through the purchase of goods and services.

In fact, over the past five years, we’ve contributed more than half-a-billion dollars to Michigan-based companies supplying goods and services in support of our research projects.

We’ve also generated more than 500 new invention discoveries and launched 21 new startup companies through our Innovation Partnerships office.

This is just the beginning, since our researchers, scholars and external partners are relentlessly advancing knowledge, solving challenges, developing new innovations and opening new horizons.

Last month we announced that we are investing $55 million to launch a multidisciplinary Quantum Research Institute, which will expand our work in this developing field, as well as better prepare students for leadership roles in the future quantum workforce.

In addition, we will be using a nearly $10 million dollar federal grant to assist in efforts to deploy cellular-to-everything technology, which will enable a new generation of cars to exchange safety-enhancing data with the world around them.

We’re also working with our partners across the state to establish an Electric Vehicle Center, a Semiconductor Talent Action Team and a Global Semiconductor Center of Excellence.

So as we go into our budget discussions, let us reaffirm our commitment to lead in education and scholarship, excellence and impact. I’d also like to give a special thanks to our leadership team for the presentations they’re about to offer. Their work reflects months of care, deliberation and consultation, and it, along with the decisions we’re about to make, will guide our footsteps in the fiscal year ahead.