<p>GUTRADE, Michigan is about 70 years older than Stanford. In 1890, when Stanford was founded, Michigan was already one of the country's top 5 universities. </p>
<p>And I doubt Michigan imitates anybody. In fact, it is often said that Michigan is the mother of all universities. Michigan has been shaping university education longer than anybody save the University of Pennsylvania.</p>
<p>Finally, Michigan gets a mere $300 million from Tax payers annually and Michigan's annual budget is $4.2 Billion. In other words, only 8% of Michigan's revenues come from Tax payers. I doubt Michigan would hurt if it decided to part ways with the Tax payers...byt the tax payers would hurt a great deal. Those tax payers are getting a top 10 university education at one third the price.</p>