POOL OF TALENT WILL HE Another Indian film import One NHL GM ta wows audiences here at home. whether Summ( U SEE ARTS, PAGE 5 U SEE SP( i iidian Daily ONE-IIUNDRED-NINETEEN YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM Ann Arbor, Michigan Tuesday, April 7, 2009 michigandailv.com REMEMBERING ONE OF OUR BEST Sidney Fine, a'"U'professor for 53 years, dies Campus mainstay passed away at the age of 88 last week By DIYA WADHWA For the Daily Sidney Fine, a former his- tory professor at the University remembered most for his sense of humor and wit, died last Tuesday at the age of 88. Fine passed away at the Heart- land Healthcare Center in Ann Arbor. He is survived by his wife of66 years, Jean, as well as histwo daughters, Gail Fine and Deborah Schmidt, and two grandchildren. A lion of academia, Fine taught more than 29,000 students, according to a count he discussed regularly, including three genera- tions of the same families during his 53-year career. "At 88, there are relatively few people around who remember him but he was a giant, not just academically and intellectually ... but as one of the greatest teach- ers in the history of the Univer- sity," University of Michigan Hillel Executive Director Michael Brooks wrote in an e-mail to the Daily last night. Brooks was a close friend of Fine's and attended his funeral. Even with the number of stu- dents that Fine taught through- out his career, he stressed the importance of keeping up with all of his students. In an Apr. 4, 2001 article in The Michigan Daily, Fine expressed his commitment to every student. "They know that I enjoy what I'm doing," he told the Daily at the time. "I like my students to see me as ahuman being,not just a person. talking to them in a classroom." The faces of students' par- ents were commonly sprinkled throughout the lecture halls of Sidney Fine classes, Brooks wrote in the e-mail. "Sidney once told me about a father who came up to him after one of his lectures - students fre- quently brought their parents to his classes - to personally thank him for so significantly enriching the quality of the family's dinner conversations," Brooks wrote. Laurence Deitch, a University regent who attended two classes with Fine as an undergraduate in the 1960s, said Fine had a gift for enlightening his students. "He was an unbelievably fasci- nating and compelling lecturer," Deitch said. "He just really made American government, culture and political institutions come alive. He was really devoted to his students and the University. Not only was he a greatteacher, but a scholar." His career at the University began unexceptionally in 1948 when he hired to teach as an "Instructor in History." But when he retired in 2001, Fine had written 39 articles and published 12 books during his career. According to the 2001 Daily article, he held the record for the longest active teaching career of any professor in the his- tory of the University. Fine was always dedicated to the idea of maintaining a long career. The Michigan legislature abolished a law that required teachers in Michigan to retire at the age of 70 in response to a proposal by one of Fine's former students, who was also a member of the state legislature. Fine, who was 70at the time, added his own signature to the bill and contin- ued to teach at the University for another 10 years after the law was FACULTY REVIEW M\ed. School deans oppose ten ure- refor-m Officials say change members. According to an article in the would hinder University Record in November 2008, the policy changes affect professors' ability 691 researchers at the University, 301 of whom are in the Medical to get grants School. Gyetko said the ability to By NICOLE ABER compare professors on differ- Daily StaffReporter ent research tracks - some- thing that isn't a part of the Medical School officials upcoming changes - is impor- expressed their disapproval tant because the Medical yesterday of recently approved School has such a large faculty changes to the process of evalu- of 2,200 members. ating the progress of faculty on "We have three tracks," Gyet- the University's research track. ko said. "So in order to retain The officials contend it hinders the quality across the tracks, it's researchers' ability to get funding a matter of policy in the Medical and grants. School in which ranks are compa- At yesterday's Senate Advisory rable across the tracks." Committee on University Affairs Gyetko and Lukacs said meeting, Margaret Gyetko, Medi- they also want to give assistant cal School assistant dean for fac- research professors more oppor- ulty affairs, and Nicholas Lukacs, tunities to be evaluated for pro- Medical School assistant dean for motions. research faculty and pathology In addition, Gyetko and professor, argued against changes Lukacs said they want to change to the Medical School's research the assistant research professor faculty tracks that were approved title because it currently limits last semester. a person's ability to get research Thesechanges,settotake effect grants. this fall, were meant to provide Gyetko explained that the for more uniform review of fac- current title causes companies ulty members across disciplines. providing research funding to They included alterations to the question the institution's com- titles of certain research faculty, mitment to the faculty member. new lengths of time allotted for . After Gyetko and Lukacs dis- review of research professors and approved of the new changes, changes to the timeframe of the Michael Thouless, SACUA vice tenure process for those faculty See FACULTY, Page 7 eI FILE PHOTO/Daily Sidney Fine taught more than 29,000 students in his 53 years at the University. abolished. Fine was born in Cleveland, Ohio on Oct. 11, 1920. He gradu- ated from Western Reserve Uni- versity as class valedictorian in 1942 and went on to obtain his master's degree from the Univer- sity of Michigan. He was drafted to fight in World War II during his time at the University, but applied for deferment in order to finish his degree. Throughout his career at the University, Fine received many awards for teaching. He was the third recipient ofthe Golden Apple Award, which Students Honoring Outstanding University Teaching awarded him in 1993. "He is one of the most interest- ing people I've ever heard speak," LSA sophomore Maria Simon told the Daily in 2001. "You have to remind yourself to take notes (in, his class), because you often want See FINE, Page 7 THE DAILY'S COURSE GUIDE Classes offerednext fall that caught the eyes of Daily staffers MIDDLE EAST POLICY Cole talks new book at event AMCULT 204 - Themes in American Culture Spies and Sci-Fi, Coups and Concerts: Cold War Culture How can this class go wrong? Pop culture meets American communism fears in a class Joseph McCa- 3 rthy could only dream about. The dalss looks at how cartoons,films andnovels were affected by the United CREDITS States's standoff with the Soviet Union. The only draw- backs? Two in-class midterms, a group project and a take home final. ANTHRCUL 446 - Sex and the City: Urban Geography and Sexual Locations Witty titles aside, this classi jus interesting. It examines the impact of space on sexuality. lt discusses topics including the relationship between urban size ., and sexual specialization. Who hasn't wondered about CREDITS that? Parts of the class also focus on red light districts, prostitution and homosexuality. * ECON 395 - Topics in Microeconomics and Microeconomic Policy Economics in Waste One man's trash is another's education, apparently. This one-month long course considers America's waste problems.In lookingat the "waste-scape,"students CREDITS will examine how the handling and disposal of our waste has become costly and highly regulated. Waste topics rn the gamut fromlitter to incinerators to spent nuclear- teacor fuel. DEVELOPING ANN ARBOR : LING 305- Advertising Rhetoric Ever wanted to know how tobe as convincing as the freecreditreport.com guys? Well here'syour chance. In Linguistics 305, students analyze the way that verbal and visual advertising messages are consumed in a cultural context.Now you can finally have that "Mad CREDITS Men"-themed party you've always wanted. At least Junior standing required. a EEB 436 - Woody Plants: Biology and Identification The oursedescriptionsays it all: "you will learn to identify164 trees, shruband vine species." Who can passsthat up? This "intensive" field- and lecture-based class includes field trips in the Ann Arbor area. In CREDITS addition to a variety of other lessons, students will learn how totidentify plants in their"leafless winter condition." PSYCH 359- Psychology of Aging. Wanttopknnwwhyyournewlyempty-nested parents won'ttop calling you? The Psychology of Aging 2 focuses on the change inbiology,behaviortand thought in adulthood. But be careful, as the course guide warns, CREDITS after the class, "(Students) should have anew appre- ciation of the changes theyoare likely toexperience as they get older." sOURCE: LSA COURSE GUIDE; COMPILED BY DAILISTAFF History prof. says Obama has made situation better By JOHN A. WEISS JR. Daily StaffReporter University of Michigan profes- sors are making their opinions heard and putting their expertise to work for the Obama Adminis- tration in a variety of ways. A few University professors have been named to positions close to the president. Some share their advice for the president's agenda through the lecture circuit and books. History Prof. Juan Cole is doing the latter. Cole spoke last night to a crowd of about 30 people on many of the topics included in his new book, "Engaging the Muslim World." He talked about a variety of subjects ranging from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to the Israel-Pales- tine peace process and the Obama administration's potential to nego- tiate with Iran. Cole said he offers strategies in the book for moving forward from the past eight years of foreign policy. He started his speech by reading from one of the chapters of the book, which illustrates this theme. "Whatever we have been doing the past eight years, it hasn't worked," Cole said. He added that the Bush admin- istration, and specifically former Vice President Dick Cheney, have perpetuated lies that negatively impacted the world's perception of the United States and caused needless bloodshed. But Cole said he's optimistic the situation will improve under Pres- ident Barack Obama's leadership. "I like President Obama quite a lot," Cole said. "He's doing what he can to change the dynamic." One of the changes Cole cited was Obama's willingness to nego- tiate with Iran. "Obama wants to open Iran just as Nixon opened China," he said. See COLE, Page 7 CELEBRATING A BLOWOUT Council members don't see eye to eye on building height limits Man amendments , initiative. The discussion marked the first proposed to core reading of the A2D2 zoning ordi- nance amendments, designed to area of A2D2 plan increase the population density in the city's core downtown zones. By LARA ZADE The issue of height limitations Daily Staff Reporter for the core downtown zones - one of the more controversial amend- During a three-hour discussion ments to the original A2D2 zoning at last night's City Council Meeting, ordinance changes - was dissected members reviewed in great detail by council members during the more changes to the Ann Arbor meeting. Discovering Downtown (A2D2) As it currently. stands, most of the Main Street, State Street and South University Avenue areas are considered part of the core down- town zones, or D1. In the first draft of A2D2, D1 zones had no height limitation except for the South University Avenue area, which was limited to 170 feet. Council members consider the South University Avenue area to be more sensitive to high-rise con- struction because it is closer to resi- dential areas. See CITY COUNCIL, Page 7 CLI F REDER/Daily Michigan State University students celebrate at the Cedar Village Apartment Complex in East Lansing, Mich. after their loss to the University of North Carolina in the NCAA basketball national championship game last night. WEATHER HI: 51 TOMORROW LO: 31 GOTA NEWS TIP? NEW ON MICHIGANDAILY.COM INDEX NEWS ................................ 2 ART S.... .......................5 Call 734-763-2459 or e-mail A multimedia piece on the 38th annual Hash Bash Vol. CXIX, No. 124 SU D O K U ........................... 3 CLASS I FI EDS........................6 news@michigandaily.cum and let us know. MICHIGANDAILY.COM/VIDEO ©2009TheMichigan Daily OPINION,...............................4 SPORTS..............................8 _'' _.m_.h.g........c.m