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Bourke's efforts put WMU in national spotlight

Oct. 29, 2004

KALAMAZOO--Melissa Bourke, assistant vice president for legislative affairs at Western Michigan University, is the focus of a current Chronicle of Higher Education article about successful lobbying for federal research funds.

The piece, "Lesser-Known Public Colleges Increase Federal Lobbying," appears online and in the Oct. 22 print edition of the publication. Writer Kelly Field followed Bourke as she introduced faculty members at the National Science Foundation, took them to a legislative "meet and greet" and lobbied for a piece of charitable giving legislation favorable to WMU.

The article details the benefits WMU has seen from its lobbying efforts, including federal earmarks like the recent $2 million award for nantotechnology. It also outlines the relationship between WMU's legislative staff and the university's contract lobbying firm, Preston Gates Ellis LLC.

"For state institutions like Western Michigan University, the investment has been a sound one," Field concluded. She predicted that when Congress reconvenes, Bourke will be "back on Capitol Hill to lobby legislators, introduce professors and fight for federal money."

Media contact: Cheryl Roland, 269 387-8400, cheryl.roland@wmich.edu

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