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News: 76-DAILY
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One hundred seven years ofedtori freedom
Tuesday
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\edical Center cuts may fall short by $50M
*
By Jennifer Yachnin
Daily Staff Reporter
The third set of reductions from the
University Medical Center budget reduction
plan that was to cut $200 million during a three-
r period may be $50 million short of original
ltimates, University officials said.
The strategy to remove $200 million from the
Medical Center budget included a three-prong +
set of reductions; the first reduced the budget by
$60 million in 1996 through clinical redesign
and layoffs, and the following sets of reductions1
were scheduled to remove $70 million each.
Originally, plans called for the second set of cuts
to reduce expenditures through cuts to employee
Appication
to 'U' inerea
0 percent
By Katie Piona
Daily Staff Reporter
As the fall enrollment cycle comes to an end, U
officials say that application totals are up by nearly
cent from last year.
Nearly 21,000 individuals have applied to the Uni
be members of the incoming first-year class.
"I think it may well be that people are feeling
ed to go to the University," Provost Nancy
Od.
But the University is not the only institution of hig
cation to note an increase in application figures.
The University of California at Los Angeles rep(
largest pool of applicants in its history. The total wa
- the highest of any university in the country.
Cantor also said the number of applicants v
accepted the University's offer of admittance at this
the cycle has increased.
"Our applications are up'" Cantor said. "It's clear
banner year in that regard."
he University has made 11,935 admissionse
applicants, leaving 941 applications in progress
people in that second pool are applicants who ha
postponed or are still being evaluated by differeni
within the University.
For instance, if an applicant still has to perform an
for consideration to the School of Music, his or her
tion would be included in this list.
Out of the increased number of applicants, 7,2
already been notified that they have been rejected.
#bset of this group has been offered spot on thee
tlist. ,
University officials speculate that a number of
including the Michigan football team's Rose Bowl
and national championship, may have contributec
increase in applications.
But Cantor said the University's approach to th
sity debate, especially in lieu of the two lawsui
against the University challenging its use of rac
admission process, may have attracted applicants.
"People in the community have been attracted
stance on diversity," Cantor said.
The University's emphasis in the past several :
See ADMISSIONS,F
benefits and negotiations with labor unions,
Executive Vice President for Medical Affairs
Gilbert Omenn said, but were instead made
through long-term improvements to cost structure.
In order to scrape away the excess $70 mil-
lion, the University had planned to make major
structural changes. Many possibilities were dis-
cussed including potential privatization options
or mergers.
"The $70-million reduction in the third year
was based on a merger with another major hos-
pital," said Thomas Biggs, interim senior associ-
ate director and chief financial officer for the
University Medical Center. "We're on target for
where we wanted to be for the first two years."
Omenn said the merger was never a tangible
project, but a plan to reduce the Medical Center
budget.
"The third year was always a mirage "Gmenn
said. "It was an unknown hospital with unknown
savings."
The projected reductions of just $20 million
for the third set is a result of increased activity
- admissions and clinical visits to the
University Hospitals - which increased rev-
enue to $13 million dollars in 1997. Biggs said
estimates for 1998 revenue have set the total
around $15 million, although actual numbers
will not be available for several weeks.
"The $20 million (in reductions) is a good tar-
get for us this year," Biggs said. The Medical
Center's fiscal year begins July 1, but estimated
reductions must first be approved by the
University Board of Regents.
"Right now, it has not been finalized," Biggs
said. "Until it is approved by the regents, any-
thing could happen."
Biggs said the amount could grow somewhat,
but unless a drop in Medical Center activity
occurs, an increase in reductions is not likely.
Budget reductions will continue into the
future as the Medical Center attempts to become
more efficient, Biggs said.
"We will continue to try to reduce our costs in
any way we can," Biggs said. "We're going to be
looking at how we are managing patients' care
... (and) the services we render."
Changes being considered include the length
of time patients stay in the hospital and ordering
practices of medical supplies, Biggs said.
"We're finding more ways to help patients stay
healthier and recover at lower costs, Omenn said.
"Every employer and insurer are trying to cut their
costs to be locally and globally competitive."
Deborah Stoll, chair of the University's
Professional Nursing Council, said the 200 nurs-
es who were laid off in 1996 in anticipation of
the first round of budget cuts have all since been
asked to return to their jobs.
See BUDGET, Page 10
A
farewell
to
ABOVE:
Students join
the National
Day of
Action rally
on the Diag
in February
in support of
the
University's
affirmative
action
policies.
LEFT:
University
President
Lee Bollinger
shakes
hands with a
spectator
after his
September
inauguration.
Bollinger is
the 12th
president of
the
University.
Highs and lows
mark 1997-98
By Jennifer Yachnin
Daily Staff Reporter
From murder on campus to two NCAA hockey
championships, members of the outgoing senior
class have experienced a plentiful share of emotion-
al and memorable campus events.
But what will most seniors leave Ann Arbor
remembering?
A trip to the Rose Bowl.
"I met my current boyfriend on the plane going
out to the Rose Bowl," said LSA senior Fiona
Rose, former Michigan Student Assembly presi-
dent. "The Rose Bowl was significant for all of
the seniors because we have been waiting for four
years ... it's exciting for all of us to be national
champions."
LSA senior Jennifer Leavitt said it is difficult to
pinpoint one specific event that bound the senior
class together, but a recent trip to Pasadena is prob-
ably the most menorable.
"The Rose Bowl was just a great way to go out,"
Leavitt said.
Several students said the game gave students a
chance to come together outside of Ann Arbor.
"It was a national event and a lot of seniors took
the opportunity to go out to California together,"
said LSA senior Jill Manske.
Student commencement speaker Jason Mandel
said his speech will address the transition students
must face after graduation.
"It's about the realization that the best four years
of your life are over and the rest of your life doesn't
have to be a downturn from that high point," said
Mandel, a Business senior.
Beyond largely publicized events, Mandel said
close friends will be the most prominent memory
for graduates.
What seniors will remember most is "the last
time you really spend a full night with your closest
See REVIEW, Page 18
MALLORY S.E. FLOYD/Daily MARGARET MYERS/Daily
'U' prepares for next phase of lawsuits
By Katie Plona
Daily Staff Reporter
Nearly one year ago, efforts to challenge the
University's use of race in its admissions practices
began as several state legislators spearheaded a call for
Michigan residents who had applied to the University
and thought they had been unfairly denied admission.
Since the legislators first sparked the issue, two
lawsuits have been filed to test the University's admis-
sions policies, igniting numerous campus debates and
discussion about affirmative action and heightening
campus activism. Now, people on all sides of the argu-
ment are poised for the next phase of the lawsuits.
"This has certainly been a very challenging year for
all of us, but I think that we have so much at stake and
we have to stay very clear about our priorities and our
goals and we have to, I think, remember to respect each
other's opinions and points of view," said Associate
Vice President for University Relations Lisa Baker.
The Center for Individual Rights filed the first law-
suit against the University on Oct. 14, arguing that two
white students were unfairly evaluated in the College of
Literature, Science and the Arts' admissions process
because race was used as a factor. They claim less qual-
ified minority students were admitted into the
University over them.
Similarly, in the second lawsuit CIR filed against the
University on Dec. 3 - this time targeting the Law
School - plaintiff Barbara Grutter's claims mirrored
those of the plaintiffs in the first lawsuit.
During the past six months, the parties involved in
the lawsuits have been busy exchanging motions,
responding to the motions and reacting to attempted
interventions from outside groups.
Baker said the University has incurred $818,000 in
legal fees and expenses from outside legal counsel. In
addition to utilizing internal legal expertise, the
University has hired the law firms of Wilmer, Cutler
and Pickering, which is based in Washington D.C.,
and Butzel, Long in Detroit.
"We were sued. This was brought against us," Baker
said. "Now that we've been forced with these suits, we
will defend them vigorously."
Both parties in the lawsuits are continuing to iron
out their cases - a normal part of the discovery and
pre-trial phases of lawsuits.
"It's completely routine," said CIR senior legal
counsel Terry Pell said. "Nothing has happened yet to
be pleased or displeased."
Pell also said the plaintiffs have not wavered from
their positions.
"Nothing that we've seen so far deterred us from
what we know at the beginning, that race is the pre-
See LAWSUITS, page 10
RTic idtiitm 0411'
The events of the past year have shaped not only the pages of
e Daily, but the lives of the people who work for this newspaper,
jr friends, neighbors and peers. We have learned to cry, celebrate,
jestion, listen, mourn and celebrate again as a University commune
We salute the seniors who are leaving their Ann Arbor homes; we
pe they remember what they have teamed here - in the class-
Study: Focus on undergrads
By Mike Spahn
Daily Staff Reporter
The University of Michigan is known as one of
the finest research institutions in the country. But
a report released yesterday says research institu-
tions have been short-changing their undergradu-
ate students and not giving them their money's
worth.
"Tuition income from undergraduates is one of
the major sources of university income, helping to
support research programs and graduate educa-
tion, but the students paying the tuition get, in all
too many cases, less than their money's worth," the
report said.
Shirley Strum Kenny, chair of the Ernest Boyer
Commission on Educating Undergraduates in the
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