There is a popular bumper sticker on the streets of Detroit that reads: "Will the last person out of Michigan please turn off the lights?"

Detroit, once the nation's industrial capital, is now the nation's poorest city, with a third of its residents living below the poverty level, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. But Detroit may only be the tip of the iceberg, former University President James Duderstadt says, unless Michigan acts quickly to reinvent its economy by ramping up its investment in higher education.

A report that Duderstadt recently completed, titled "A Roadmap to Michigan's Future," makes several suggestions to legislators on how to steer the state clear of economic disaster. Central among them is the recommendation that the state increase funding for higher education by 30 percent.

The report is the culmination of three years of research into Michigan's economic problems. It intends to act as a guide for state leaders and legislators in assessing and overcoming the challenges posed by the struggling economy.

Duderstadt has served on several public and private boards and commissions dedicated to the study and improvement of different aspects of Michigan's economy, including federal science policy, engineering research and higher education.

Facing declining revenues in recent years, the state has dramatically cut funding for higher education. State appropriations have dropped by 20 to 40 percent over the last five years, according to Duderstadt's report.

The report is focused on handling the challenges posed by the modern global economy. Duderstadt said Michigan's economy must transform itself from an antiquated system, dependent upon manufacturing and factory jobs, into a new globally competitive knowledge-based system.

"As a state, Michigan now has to compete not against Ohio or California, but against China, Bangalore and Shanghai." Duderstadt said. "The future of the state is very much tied to what happens at a global level."

Jobs in this knowledge-based economy would be composed of service-oriented professions in fields like engineering and information technology. Graduates from the state universities would fuel the system, because they would be equipped with the necessary skills and could be readily employed by businesses in the service industry.

To ensure that state universities can also compete on a global scale, Duderstadt calls for an increase in state funding sufficient to put Michigan into the top quartile of state-funded institutions. He added that the state is currently in the bottom third.

Duderstadt blames universities' funding problems on a culture of entitlement left over from Michigan's more economically prosperous years. The reason the state is having so much trouble funding education, he said, is that it has cut taxes and increased benefits for other institutions.

According to University spokeswoman Julie Peterson, state funding has posed a serious public policy challenge. She said that in difficult economic times, funding for education is one of the first things to go.

"It's something people feel they can be discretionary about," Peterson said.

University President Mary Sue Coleman, who has had several conversations with Duderstadt about his report, said if state officials were to implement Duderstadt's plan, they would see "an incredible return on their investment, because it would be a stimulus to the state economy."

"(The increase) would certainly be a step in the right direction, given what we've been

through the last four years," she added.

But critics of increased school funding wonder how the plan intends to keep that investment in the state.

Rich Studley, vice president of the Michigan Chamber of Commerce, said the state can produce these skilled workers more cheaply by selectively funding certain majors at state universities. He added that instead of specializing, many universities churn out students in every field possible, especially fields like English and political science, unrelated to the hard-science fields that would prepare students for high-tech jobs.

"I think that people are going to insist that university presidents do a better job with the taxes they receive today." Studley said, adding that many people who work outside the university system see the universities as insular and self-serving. "It's hard to see their positive impact on communities and the state as a whole."

State Rep. Chris Kolb (D