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Friday, September 10, 2004
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One-hundred-thirteen years ofeditorialfreedom
www.michigandaily.com Ann Arbor, Michigan m Vol. CXIII, No. 158 x2004 The Michigan Daily
B-School receives $100 million
* School renaned for donor
of largest gift in Uniersity'
history
By Michael Gurovitsch
Daily Staff Reporter
The University Business School
announced a donation yesterday of $100
million from alum and real estate mogul
Stephen Ross. The donation is nearly three
times the largest sum ever contributed to
the University in its 187-year history, and is
about 50 percent more than the largest gift
to any business school in the United States.
Early yesterday morning, the University
Board of Regents met in a special session
to approve the renaming of the business
school as the Stephen M. Ross School of
Business.
"I will never lose sight of what a truly
* exceptional education the University of
Michigan offers," said Ross, who is found-
er, chairman and chief executive officer of a
real-estate firm worth over $8 billion. "I am
living proof of that."
The majority of the money - around
$75 million - will go toward building new
facilities, while $25 million will be ear-
marked for an endowment fund at the Busi-
ness School.
Business School Dean Robert Dolan said
he expects to submit a facilities proposal to
the regents later this year, which will likely
call for a major overhaul of the school. "We
have exhausted our footprint here. Some
buildings will most likely not be here in five
years," Dolan said.
Dolan added that he hopes to create a
facility with more study group space and
gathering areas for students and faculty,
which is consistent with the Business
School's philosophy of action-based learn-
ing and teamwork.
University President Mary Sue Coleman
announced the donation in front of a stand-
See B-SCHOOL, Page 5
Top Five Donors
And their total donations
- Stephen Ross
$106,089,994
- William Davidson
$57,343,387
- Alfred Taubman
$37,331,961
- Lincoln Knorr estate
$33,248,719
- Ann Lurie
$44,800,086
A generous uncle's advice
By Michael Ourovitsch
Daily Staff Reporter
A few years after Stephen Ross received a
loan from his uncle, Max Fisher, to finance law
school in the mid-1960s, he tried to pay him
back. Fisher refused. He told Ross to use it for a
good cause, instilling in his nephew the impor-
tance of giving.
That spirit has propelled Ross, a University
alum and real estate developer, to donate $100
million yesterday to the University's Business
School, the largest gift in school history.
Ross, who earned his Bachelor's Business
Administration degree from the Business School
in 1962, is founder and chairman of The Related
Companies, a real estate development firm based
in New York, with a portfolio exceeding $8 bil-
lion. Founded in 1972, the firm employs more
than 1,500 people and is perhaps best known for
its stake in the 2.8 million
square foot Time Warner
Center in Manhattan.
Ross is also co-chair of
the University's $2.5 bil-
lion fundraising campaign,
a member of the execu-
tive committee attempting
to bring the 2012 Olympic
games to New York and a
trustee of both the Juvenile
Diabetes Research Founda-
tion and the Guggenheim Museum.
Fisher, who Ross calls an "inspiration,"
attended Ohio State University business school
and later made a $20 million donation to his
alma mater in 1993 -now called the Fisher Col-
lege of Business.
Fisher, now 96, realized the irony of his neph-
See ROSS, Page 5
Iraq vigil
honors
1,000 dead
soldiers
By Melissa Benton
Daily Staff Reporter
Silence reigned at the Diag as more than 100
students and Ann Arbor residents held up can-
dles and reflected on the ongoing war in Iraq.
Powerful emotions ran through the group as
they banded together to pray for peace and to
commemorate the more than 1,000 soldiers who
have died in Iraq.
Ashwini Hardikar, co-chair of the Michigan
Student Assembly's Peace and Justice Commis-
sion, which organized the event, said it's impor-
tant to take time to remember that real people
are sacrificing their lives in Iraq.
"We don't have a lot of time to actually
reflect on the occupation - to think about the
action that, our country and leaders have taken
and to bring out the humanity of the event,"
Hardikar said.
Many people who attended the vigil
expressed strong anti-war feelings, but said
they still support the efforts of the U.S. sol-
diers stationed in Iraq.
"I was not in favor (of the war), but I do sup-
port the troops and the work they've done over
there. I think it's easy to believe this is an easy
war. The troops need to be recognized and a
tribute paid to them," LSA junior Libby Ben-
ton said.
Benton said she has many friends who are
currently fighting in Iraq, making the vigil a
more emotional experience.
"I do feel bad that so many of my friends
- while I'm going to school - are over there
fighting," Benton said.
Business School student Kevin Eckerle
attended the vigil to recognize the soldiers who
died "needlessly."
"It's important to show that while the soldiers
See VIGIL, Page 7
ALEX DZIADOSZ/Daily
LSA freshman Chayla Robles pays respect to the more than 1,000 soldiers who have died in the Iraq war. The vigil, which was sponsored by the Michigan Student Assembly's Peace
and Justice Commission, took place yesterday on the Diag and included more than 100 students and Ann Arbor residents.
'U' study: Chicken pox vaccination
saves Americans millions of dollars
By Genevieve Lampinen
Daily Staff Reporter
Americans are saving millions of dollars
while at the same time staying safe from a
common viral infection, thanks to the 1995
introduction of the chicken pox vaccine, a
recent University study found.
The University's C.S. Mott Children's Hospi-
tal has reported the first data ever that shows an
apparent correlation between the national decrease
0 in chicken pox-related hospitalization cases and
the rise in immunization rates for the disease.
"We wanted to find out if the chicken pox
vaccination had decreased hospitalizations
and, because of that, cost or expenditures,"
said Mitesh Patel, co-author of the study and a
former LSA student.
The results were surprising, showing both
lower chicken pox hospitalization cases and
lower associated costs than expected, Mat-
thew Davis, a Public Policy professor and lead
author of the study, said.
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Shots for Savings
A University study research-
es the effects of widespread
chicken pox vaccination
Prediction: 90 percent vaccination
rate would save $70 million.
Findings: 75 percent vaccination
rate yielded a $100 million sav-
ings. The study also recorded a 74
percent drop in chicken pox-related
hospitalization.
first six years after the vaccine's introduction
in the United States.
Hospitalization cases dropped most dramati-
cally for children, but adults also benefit from
widespread vaccination. Researchers have
observed a "herd-immunity" effect in which
r~ereaecin arilt rates of hn-nial~tin r
and 20 times more likely to die from associated
illnesses, which include infections from chick-
en pox sores and encephalitis - the swelling
of the brain and membranes surrounding the
spinal cord.
Michigan is among more than 40 states that
have implemented a vaccination or previous
infection requirement for entry into daycare
programs and school. There are no chicken
pox vaccination requirements for University
admittance.
A childhood vaccination consists of one dose
administered between the ages of 19 months
and 12 years. People above the age of 12 receive
two doses, four to eight weeks apart.
The study examined data from the Federal
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
which gathered data for three years before a
national chicken pox vaccination program was
implemented and six years after the program
was in effect.
The study used the Nationwide Inpatient
Sample, which includes a random sampling of
dearh e i nforml1ation from U.S. community
- ~ _________