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Ann Arbor, Michigan
Thursday, March 6,2008
michigandaily.com
UNIVERSITY ADMINISTRATION
Tenure
denial
raises
questions
More than 30 faculty, students
sent letter to LSA dean alleging
pattern of discrimination
By ELIZABETH LAI
Daily Staff Reporter
A decision by the College of Literature, Science and
the Arts to deny tenure to a minority faculty member
has led some University faculty and students to allege
that the University's tenure review process is unfair
toward certain groups of instructors.
Women's Studies and American Culture fac-
ulty instructor Andrea Smith's denial of tenure has
prompted some to wage an online campaign saying
the University's tenure evaluation process discrimi-
nates against women of color and interdisciplinary
professors.
Smith, who is a Native American studies expert, is
of Cherokee heritage.
Before the denial, though, a review panel split its
decision on whether to grant tenure to Smith, who
officially works for two academic departments. As a
result, the LSA executive committee examined the
case for a second round of evaluations. The commit-
tee denied Smith's tenure bid on Feb. 22.
Shortly after the announcement, students and pro-
fessors began an e-mail petition called "University of
Michigan Students and Faculty in Support of Andrea
Smith's Tenure Case" and asked supporters to write
a letter to Provost Teresa Sullivan, who will next
review Smith's case for tenure.
The petition claims that a disproportionate num-
ber of women instructors of color at the University
have been denied tenure.
University spokeswoman Kelly Cunningham said
she couldn't comment on Smith's case, because the
See TENURE, Page 3A
LSA sophomores Tyler Keenan, Kinesiology sophomore Mike Fry and LSA sophomore Russ Caskey, members of Pi Kappa Alpha, are camping out to raise money for a mentoring program.
Trio camps out for charity
Fraternity raising
money for youth
mentorship program
By JILLIAN BERMAN
Daily StaffReporter
On a blustery winter night, while
most students were tucked comfort-
ably in their living rooms, three mem-
bers of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity
were trying to study amidst the back-
drop noise coming from Washtenaw
Avenue.
Armed with a baseball bat for pro-
tection and wearing several layers of
clothing to fight frostbite, LSA sopho-
mores Russ Caskey and Tyler Keenan
and Kinesiology sophomore Mike Fry
have been living in a tent on the fra-
ternity's lawn since Monday night and
will continue to do so until this com-
ing Monday.
The campers are raising money for
Pike's March 15 Comedy Night, an
annual charity event held by the fra-
ternity.
The campers are asking other mem-
bers of Pike to pledge one dollar per
person per day for the duration of
the campout. About 30 members of
the fraternity have donated a total of
about $650, Fry said.
All of the money collected will go
toward Michigan Reach Out!, an Ann
Arbor-based organization that spon-
sors youth mentoring programs.
The rules of the endeavor are strict.
Caskey, Keenan and Fry can attend
class, but they're only allowed to enter
the house to change their clothing,
tend to their hygiene and get food -
which must be consumed outside.
But the group hasn't completely
gone without, though.
For instance, the trio can't go out to
eat, but it has found at least one way to
dodge that issue - having food deliv-
ered. Fry said they ordered pizza on
one occasion.
The brothers also aren't allowed to
use electronics in the flimsy grey and
red.
"We're not going to cheat. We
wouldn't live it down," he said. "We've
gotten yelled at for going in to get our
food."
While all studying, sleeping and
other activities must be done inside
the close living quarters, the guys
seem to be getting along just fine.
"They haven't gotten on each oth-
er's nerves - yet," said LSA freshman
Doug Cunningham, Pike's public rela-
tions chair.
Keenan said the brothers who aren't
camping out have been supportive.
They've sometimes shown it in strange
ways, though - two brothers came out
to the tent in the middle of the night
and tried to scare the campers.
The campers have endured other
midnight visitors, too.
See CAMPERS, Page 3A
ANN ARBOR HOUSING
At forum, tense debate over
planned 26-story high-rise
Locals divided on
Ojibwe teacher McCue
inspired students, faculty
plans for apartment
complex on South
University Avenue
By SARA LYNNE THELEN
Daily Staff Reporter
A public forum on a 22-story
high-rise proposed for the corner
of South University and South For-
est Avenues turned into a heated
debate over the future of the area.
Last night's meeting, attended
See FORUM, Page 8A
ROD RIGO GAYA/Dail
Ann Arbor residentsgathered last night to discuss the potential development of
an apartment complex on South University and South Forest avenues.
THE PRESIDENT'S TRAVELS
Coleman to speak in Dubai next week
McCue started
Ojibwe language
program, taught
for 33 years
By ANDY KROLL
Daily News Editor
Struggling to adapt to life at the
University and coping with the
deaths of her grandmother and
aunt her freshman year, Brooke
Simon seriously doubted whether
she would remain in Ann Arbor
and continue studying at the Uni-
versity.
For Simon, a Native American,
adjusting to life away from her
community was proving a difficult
task.
But before making a decision,
Simon talked with Irving "Hap"
McCue, a lecturer of Ojibwe lan-
guage and culture at the University
and an elder intheNative American
community. After McCue coun-
seled Simon and told her one of his
many stories, Simon decided to stay
at the University, with McCue play-
ing a vital role in her decision.
Simon is one of many students
and faculty members whose lives
were transformed by McCue, who
died Monday. He was 75.
Simon, an LSA junior this year,
nowserves as co-chair forthe Native
American Students Association. She
said she plans to follow in McCue's
'U' president to
speak at women
leaders' conference
By CHARLES GREGG-GEIST
Daily StaffReporter
Having just completed her trip
to Ghana and South Africa, Uni-
versity President Mary Sue Cole-
man will fly north to the United
Arab Emirates today to attend a
women's leadership conference.
Coleman is scheduled to speak
in Dubai Monday to a group of
female college students during
a conference called "Women as
Global Leaders." Other prominent
leaders speaking at the conference
include actress and activist Jane
Fonda and Carol Bellamy, the for-
mer head of UNICEF, a United
Nations agency that advocates for
children's rights.
Coleman's talk at the confer-
ence, which will include partici-
pants from 85 different nations,
will highlight the differences
between nonprofit organizations
and higher education institutions.
No University students will be
attending the conference, accord-
ing to Nancy Connell, director of
the University News Service.
While in Dubai, Coleman will
also host a gathering of about 100
University alums living in the
U.A.E.
The University's increased
attention in the region comes as a
number of American universities
have opened branch campuses in
the Middle East or have formed
partnerships with institutions in
the region. In May 2007, Michi-
See TRIP, Page 3A
Irving "Hap" McCue helped start the Ojibwe language program at the University.
footsteps by becoming an Ojibwe
teacher herself She attributed much
of the credit for her interest in to
McCue's teaching and guidance.
McCue, who spent 33 years at
the University, was born in Ontar-
io, Canada, on the Curve Lake First
Nations Reserve, where he was a
Ojibwe tribal member throughout
his life. Many praised him for his
fluent and beautiful command of
the Ojibwelanguage.
McCue also spent part ofhis child-
hood livinginthe CanadianResiden-
tial School System, which, like the
infamous American boarding school
system of the late 19th century, was
created to strip Native Americans of
their heritage and traditions.
But McCue survived the Resi-
dential School System, and first
came to the University in the early
1970s, at which time he partnered
with Richard Rhodes, a recent
University graduate in linguistics,
to create the University's first pro-
gram in the Ojibwe language.
See MCCUE, Page 3A
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