4c It iC i an,43at im
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
rnichigandaily.com
REGISTRATION DRIVE
BORROWING FOR COL LEGE
As lenders
shy away, 'U'
students still
finding loans
Community college
students among
those hit hardest
by loan squeeze
BY MATT AARONSON
Daily StaffReporter
Private lenders have been pull-
ing out of the student loan indus-
try in droves as investors hesitate
to buy loan-backed securities in a,
national economy greatly weak-
ened by the sub-prime mortgage
crisis.
But the adverse effects of the
student loan squeeze have yet to
directly impact Michigan stu-
dents, said Margaret Rodriguez,
senior associate director of the
office of Financial Aid.
"Based on our contacts with
students and their families, we
are not aware that U of M students
are having difficulty obtaining
private loans this year," she said.
"Due to the high graduation rates
and lowstudent loan default rates
of U of M students, they are con-
sidered a good risk."
University students default
on their federal loans about one-
third as frequentlythanthe aver-
age at other public universities,
thoughtheUniversityofWiscon-
sin at Madison, Michigan State
See LOANS, Page 7A
Ann Arbor residents Greg and Davi Napoleon, seen here walking down Greenwood Avenue, canvassed student neighborhoods south of campus yesterday for the Barack
Obama campaign. They registered four people to vote. For an audio slideshow of their canvassing efforts, go to www.michigandaily.com/video/canvass
UNIVERSITY RESEA RCH CO R RIFDORE
Unive erse release annual report
U-M, MSU, Wayne State
brought $433.5 million more
to state economy last year
By EMILY BARTON
Daily News Editor
The University Research Corridor released
its second annual report today, highlighting
the latest progress on collaborative efforts
between the University of Michigan, Michigan
State University and Wayne State University to
revitalize Michigan's ailing economy.
Formed in 2006, to help the three Michigan
research universities combine resources and
compete with other top research institutions,
the URC hasgenerated about $13.3 billionofthe
state's economy in the past year. That money
includes the form of earnings for alumni and'
students from the three URC schools and earn-
ings for the corridor's faculty and staff. That
$13.3 billion was an increase of $453.5 million
from last year.
When compared to other research collabora-
tions, the URC fell in the rankings for Research
and Development expenditures, dropping from
fourth to fifth. But, it rose in the ranks for both
patent grants and technology licenses, going
from fifth to fourth and sixth to fifth, respec-
Student enrollment at the three universities
also increased by 2,485 students collectively.
University of Michigan President Mary Sue
Coleman said in a conference call Tuesday
that one of the URC's goals is to emphasize the
importance of entrepreneurship to the future
economic success of the state.
"Entrepreneurship education needs to be
number one," she said.
The report, completed by the East Lan-
sing-based Anderson Economic Group, is the
second in a series of annual reports meant to
measure the impact of the URC on the state's
economy.
The report also analyzed Michigan's natural
See RESEARCH, Page 7A
FALLING SHORT
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SoURcE: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Officials seek student
input on parking, buses
ON THE FIELDIN THE CLASSROOM
New committee to investigate
academics for student-athletes
Student advisory
board will hold first
* meetings this fall
By ALEX KAZICKAS
Daily StaffReporter
Students frustrated with Ann
Arbor's one-way streets, the
University's limited on-campus
parking and numerous city and
campus bus schedules will now
be able to voice their complaints.
The University's Parking
and Transportation Services is
recruiting students for its newly
formed Transportation and Park-
ing Student Advisory Council.
The student committee will work
with Dave Miller, the organiza-
tion's executive director, to help
improve student transportation
issues, including the lack of stu-
dent parking on North and Cen-
tral Campus and overcrowding
on some University bus routes.
"Parking is tight on Central
Campus," said Miller. "It's dif-
ficult to provide parking for stu-
dents, but maybe students have
good ideas we haven't thought
of."
The idea for the committee
originated from the Voices of the
Staff, an initiative launched in
2005 to get more faculty and staff
input on issues like salaries.
Faculty say recent
newspaper report
didn't prompt review
By CAITLIN SCHNEIDER
Daily StaffReporter
Six months after a report in The
Ann Arbor News raised several
questions about the Michigan Ath-
letic Department's student-athlete
academic advising practices, a
committee of five University fac-
ulty members has been created to
evaluate whether student-athletes
are given unfair treatment during
the course selection and counsel-
ing process.
The Senate Advisory Committee
on University Affairs named statis-
tics Prof. Ed Rothman chairman of
the committee. Dr. Deborah Ber-
man of the University Hospital,
political science Prof. Edie Gold-
enberg, School of Music Prof. Fritz
Kaenzig and College of Literature,
Science and Arts director of aca-
demic services Robert Wallin make
up the rest of the group.
The members of the commit-
tee were chosen in part because
of their experience in various aca-
demic disciplines. The committee
will deliver its findings in a formal
report to SACUA this winter.
The March Ann Arbor News
report suggested that student ath-
letes were being steered toward
particular classes and professors to
help them maintain academic eligi-
bility.
The veracity of the report was
widely questioned. The NCAA
didn't conduct an official investiga-
tion into the matter.
See ATHLETES, Page 7A
UN IVE R SI T Y LITIGATION
Settlement reached in plane crash suit
ANGELACESERE/Daily
Students crammed onto a crowded Bursley-Baits bus outside of C.C. Little Sci- .
ence Building yesterday afternoon. Overcrowding on some bus routes is one issue
the Transportation and Parking Student Advisory Council will address.
"It's worked very well to
address staff issues, and thought
it would be great to have some-
thing like this for students,"
Miller said.
Miller hopes to gather sug-
gestions and input from students
through e-mails, forums and
town hall meetings.
Miller will co-chair the com-
mittee, along with one or two
students, while a member of
Transit Services and a member
of Parking Customer Service
will act as advisers. The com-
mittee will include eight to 12
students from different schools
and colleges.
Miller said he expects to select
members by October and hold the
committee's first meeting shortly
after.
He said about 20 students have
See TRANSPORTATION, Page 7A
'U' cut contract with
charter airline after
fatal 2007 accident
By JACOB SMILOVITZ
Daily StaffReporter
The University has settled a law-
suit filed by Marlin Air, the local
charter airline company involved
in the Survival Flight crash last
year that left six dead, according to
documents released prior to Thurs-
day's Board of Regents' -monthly
meeting.
A flight carrying four mem-
bers of the University's Survival
Flight organ transplant team and
two Marlin Air pilots crashed in
Lake Michigan on June 4, 2007. It
was carrying a pair of lungs to a
50-year-old patient at the Univer-
sity Hospital
The University terminated its
contract with the Belleville-based
company a month after the crash,
though the contract didn't expire
until Sept. 2009.
The lawsuit, filed Dec. 5, sought
more than $1 million for wrongful
termination and an unspecified
amount for "irreparable damages"
to Marlin Air's business caused by
the University's decision to sever
ties with the company.
The Regents' meeting docu-
ments, released Monday, said: "Set-
tlement was reached between the
parties and the case is concluded."
No further details of the settle-
ment were included.
Katie Vloet, a spokeswoman
for the University Health System,
acknowledged that a deal had been
reached, but wouldn't disclosethe
See LAWSUIT, Page 7A
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