IO ~A' dews: 76-DAILY j d1~tising: 764-0554 One hundred six years ofeditor dfreedoa Thursday September 4, 1997 Omenn 3y Heather Kamins )a itaffReporter sident Lee Bollinger will announce today hat he has chosen Gilbert Omenn to become the Jniversity's first executive vice president for med- cal affairs, a position responsible for overseeing Jniversity Hospitals and the School of Medicine. Omenn will earn $500,000 a year for leading he University as one of its seven vice presidents. Bollinger earns $275,000 annually.1 "I just couldn't be more pleased with the fact+ hat Gil Omenn was the leader after an extensive eih and that he has agreed to join us in this to tak e reins ofC'' Hospitals U. of Washington dean first in new post new position," Bollinger said. Omenn's nomination is scheduled to be announced this afternoon and brought before the Board of Regents at its Sept. 18 meeting. Omenn, who was the University of Washington's public health dean, will begin work today, but will not officially be hired until the regents' meeting. Former interim University President Homer Neal announced the creation of the high-power position earlier this year. A search committee was formed in February to look for the best candidates to regulate a $1 billion annual budget. He will serve as the Medical Center's Chief Executive Officer and will report directly to Bollinger. When asked about the position Monday, Omenn would not confirm his appointment, but said he was flattered to be considered. "I think the University of Michigan is an out- standing institution that is respected throughout the nation Omenn said. " I am very pleased to be considered for this position." The 15-member advisory committee chose Omenn from a pool of more than 200 candidates, said Max Wicha, chair of the search committee. "Omenn had the unique blend of qualifications to be able to fill this position," said Wicha, who serves as an internal medicine professor and director of the hospitals' cancer center. "He has very impressive medical credentials and extensive financial experience. He has a clear vision for the future of health care centers. His very keen intel- lect makes him really well qualified." Omenn earned his M.D. at Harvard University and a Ph.D in genetics from the University of Washington. He joined the medical staff at the University of Washington in 1969 as a fellow in medical genetics, and signed on with the faculty in 1971. He has received awards from the National Institute of Health Research (career See OMENN, Page SA .:, . Diana's funeral LAYING DOWN THE LAW 'U' advances in rankings rerouted [or crowds The Washington Post LONDON - The unprecedented >utpouring of emotion over the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, that has ,ngulfed Britain this week grew ever ar er yesterday, prompting officials to '0 te Saturday's funeral procession to ccommodate what are now expected o be some of the largest crowds the ity has ever seen. Diana's death in an automobile acci- lent in Paris early Sunday morning has rapidly become a defining moment for a nation long known for its .U.S. News & World Report annual list puts maize and blue at 23 overall, seventh in academic reputation By Janet Adamy Daily Staff Reporter The University of Michigan inched up one notch this year to obtain the 23rd spot in the U.S. News and World Report annual ranking of national undergraduate institutions. While excitement traditionally accompanics the rankings, members of the University community said they do not see significance in the move from the 24th spot to the 23rd. Vice President for University Relations Walter Harrison said he doesn't think the one-rank improvement means "any- reserved and unemotional char- acter, as tens of thousands of peo- ple continue to stream toward the royal palaces here a to pay their respects and thing at all." "The differences are so fine at these excellent schools that they don't tell you very much," Harrison said. This year, the University shares the 23rd ranking with three other institutions - Carnegie Mellon University, Tufts University and the University of California at Berkeley. The maize and blue ranked second among pub- lic universities, behind the University of Virginia and tied with Berkeley -- the only other public institu- tions in the top 25. The University of Michigan attained a high academic ranking of 3.8 on a 4.0 scale- the same as third-ranked Duke University. Although that put Michigan at the No. 7 spot academically, Michigan Irincss The U.S. News rankings: 1. Harvard University 1. Princeton University 3. Duke University 3. Yale University 5. Stanford University 6. Massachusetts Institute of Technology 7. Dartmouth College 7. University of Pennsylvania 9. Brown University 9. California Institute of Technology 9. Columbia University 9. Emory University 9. Northwestern Universjty. 21. University of Virginia 23. University of California- Berkeley 23. University of Michigan Ann Arbor Source: U.S. News and Wold Report ourn her loss. ;Officials charged with staging aturday's funeral services at inster Abbey, where British sov- reigns have been crowned, have con- inued to readjust their plans in the face of estimates that as many as 2 million eople might descend on central London. In the face of mounting criticism that he original processional route was too short to handle the expected crowds, officials at Buckingham Palace announced yesterday a significant ex ansion that will more than double t length the cortege will cover as Diana's coffin, carried on a gun car- riage, is borne to Westminster for the services. At the same time, the palace announced that Prince Charles, Diana's former husband and the heir to the British throne, will return to London on Friday, with his and Diana's two sons, Prince William, 15, and Prince Harry, l for a private viewing of the coffin. * royal family, criticized by many of the mourners in the streets of London this week, also issued their first state- ment since Diana's death, saying they were "deeply touched" by the enor- mous crowds paying their last respects all week.. Palace officials originally planned a funeral procession that was to begin at St. James's Palace, where Diana's cof- fin has rested in private in the Chapel al, and wind its way along the Mall, t rough the government areas of Whitehall and past Parliament Square to the abbey. But with Saturday's crowd estimates growing daily, the officials announced this afternoon that Diana's body would be moved late Friday from St. James's Palace to Kensington Palace, which is in Kensington Gardens at the western end of Hyde Park. Diana resided at Josington Palace, and in the past few days it has become a public shrine of flowers, notes, tears and mourners. The new and expanded route means Diana's coffin now will be borne along the southern tier of Hyde Park, skirting the elegant neighbor- hood of Knightsbridge, and then JONATHAN SUMMER/Daily Students listen intently yesterday as University President Lee Bollinger teaches them about the First Amendment. He is teaching Political Science 312, "Freedom of Speech and the Press," this semester. Bollinger also taught undergraduates when he was provost at Dartmouth Bnrr BO bgr ettoS 0the CIRSrol'. By Heather Kamins Daily Staff Reporter University President Lee Bollinger began the new school year yesterday the same way as many students - by waking up early for an 8:30 a.m. class. Bollinger, a former Law School dean and professor, will take time out of his hectic presidential schedule this term to teach Political Science 312, titled "Freedom of Speech and the Press." "It is always a pleasure to be back in the classroom," Bollinger said. "The first day is always difficult because people are not used to the usual routine, but l think it was a good start." The 75-person class currently has a wait- list of about 60 students, including LSA junior Amy Parekh, who is hoping for an override. "I still have to wait to get in on the wait- list," Parekh said. "I'm number 32 on the waitlist, and I just have that little ounce of hope in me that I may get in." The course, which meets for an hour and a half every Monday and Wednesday, is taught in the classic law school manner. Bollinger promised his students that by the end of the term, they will know as much about the First Amendment as a law school student. Bollinger's first class included a mock scenario leading to a legal case. He random- ly called on students to act as legal counsel and offer hypothetical legal strategy for how the case might be conducted. "He used the Socratic method," said LSA senior Sanjeeb Das. "It was fun" Das said the mixture of course material and the prestige of the instructor compelled him to CRISP into the early morning course. "I am a senior and I was not going to wake up at 8:30 unless there was good reason," Das said. "This is a good reason." See BOLLINGER, Page SA was pulled down in the overall ranking by low scores in student selectivity, financial resources and alumni giving. New to the annual report is a separate list of the top 25 pub- lic universities. Al Sanoff, managing editor of U.S. News' America's Best Colleges issue, said he added the list because nearly 80 percent of college students attend public institutions. However, Harrison said the public rankings list is not use- ful because most students choose public schools because of cheaper in-state tuition and pay little attention to how they compare to each other. Despite their prestige, University officials said they cau- tion everyone to pay little attention to the annual rankings. See RANKINGS, Page 7A Technology allows doctors to diagnose from afar By Heather Wiggin Daily Staff Reporter Picture this: A chronically ill child in a Southeast Asian village receives a lifesaving diagnosis from renowned University specialists. The doctors and child never meet face to face, but advances in computer tAhnology allow the doctor to examine the patient. At the College of Engineering, the School of Information and the University Medical Center, researchers are develop- ing methods to break down distance bar- riers and make face-to-face communica- tion possible, using phone lines and high- tech multimedia computers. Such research efforts received a boost after Intel Corp., a computer manufacturing company, gave the University a $6-million grant to advance interactive and collaborative computing. Intel chose 12 universities to receive cutting edge computers, net- working tools, servers and worksta- tions. knowledge" School of Information Dean Daniel Atkins said students around the world can connect with University students through computers to perform experi- ments and collaborate on research. "The point of this technology is to allow teams of people to work together, despite of different time and place," Atkins said. While the School of Information bases much of its curriculum on the Internet and computing networks, University Hospitals also benefits from the communication age. The University Medical Center is "going to build a high-end network of machines," said Tim Pletcher, manager of information technology. "The overall goal is to allow researchers and clinical practitioners to share information and use this as infra- structure in clinical areas," Pletcher said. Pletcher said the collaboration of information, done through video con- i ., , I