State colleges top earmark list

The Clarion-Ledger, 3/25/8

Mississippi State University is poised to pull in $43 million in federal pork-barrel funding, more than any other university in the country.

The University of Mississippi – which will get $37.6 million this year – sits in second place in a report compiled by The Chronicle of Higher Education. Released Monday, the report showed this fiscal year’s federal spending on collegiate earmarks reached a record high of $2.25 billion, representing nearly 900 projects, four times as many awards given in 1998.

Thirteen Mississippi higher education institutions – including three community colleges and two private schools – made the list. Four ranked in the Top 25.

The money funds everything from roads and buildings to research.