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Ann Arbor, Michigan
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
michigandaily.com
STUDYING OVERSEAS
Swine flu's
impact being
felt abroad
AARON AUGSBURGER/Daily
University President Mary Sue Coleman smiles with members of the leading faculty governing body in the Regents Room of the Fleming Administration Building yesterday.
Colemano State budget needs action
Students report
delays in getting
started with classes
By STEPHANIE STEINBERG
Daily StaffReporter
LSA junior Geoffrey Baier had
planned to study Arabic while
abroad at American University in
Cairo this semester. But because
of the swine flu scare, the Egyp-
tian government asked the Uni-
versity to cancel classes for a
week - forcing Baier to pick up
the language on his own.
Baier is one of approximately
80 University students studying
abroad in more than 15 countries
through the Office of Interna-
tional Programs this fall. Though
not everyone has had classes
suspended since the HRNB virus
broke out, students studying
abroad have had to be more cau-
tious about their health and more
flexible with their schedules.
While there had been no con-
firmed cases of the H1N1 virus
on American University's cam-
pus, the school delayed the start
of classes so the university could
begin at the same time as other
universities who have postponed
classes because of the flu.
Besides the week-long suspen-
sion, the American University is
on break because of the Muslim
holiday Eid al-Fitr that started
Sept. 19. Classes are set to recon-
vene on Oct. 3, but Baier wrote in
an e-mail interview that it's pos-
sible classes will continue to be
postponed because of the flu.
"What is frustrating is the lack
of new information from the uni-
versity, there are rumors that our
break will be extended, but noth-
ing is confirmed," Baier wrote.
ButBaierdoesn'tmindtheextra
free time. The last few weeks he
has been traveling around Egypt
- snorkeling, riding camels and
climbing Mount Sinai.
In an e-mail, Baier wrote that
he will continue to explore while
officialsfigure out what to do with
his study abroad program.
"I am leaving again in a half
hour to go to Alexandria on the
Mediterranean coast and then
the Siwa Oasis in the Western
Desert," he wrote. "I might still
be able to fit in another trip after
that, we'll see."
Nicole LeBlanc, Office of Inter-
national Programs assistant direc-
tor, wrote in an e-mail interview
that-withtheexceptionof Egypt
- the office has not been informed
of any direct difficulties students
have experienced because of wor-
ries about the HBN1 virus while
studying abroad for the fall term.
"The Egyptiangovernmenthas
delayed the resumption of classes
at the American University of
Cairo following a holiday to bring
that campus calendar in line with
other university calendars who
did experience H1N-related sus-
pensions," LeBlanc wrote.
In addition to having their
classes suspended, some Univer-
sity of Michigan students have
been infected with the H1N1
virus while studying abroad.
The OIP does not know the exact
number of students who have con-
See ABROAD, Page 7A
At faculty meeting,
president also talks
rec. facilities and
upcoming speech
By KYLE SWANSON
Daily NewsEditor
Speaking before the faculty's
leading governing body yesterday,
University President Mary Sue
Coleman voiced her dissatisfaction
with the budget stalemate in Lan-
sing, her foremost concern of being
the potential end of the Michigan
Promise Scholarship.
At the meeting, Coleman
addressed a wide range of issues,
including the state budget, her
upcoming State of the University
speech, recreational facilities at the
University and the North Campus
Research Complex.
While at the meeting, Coleman
told SACUA members she has been
following the state budget closely
and has been in contact with rep-
resentatives from the University's
Office of Government Relations,
who are also monitoring the situa-
tion.
"I talked to one of our folks who
is in Lansing all the time ... and he
said it was a rough impasse between
people who want to cut, cut, cut and
have no new revenue increases to
people who are unwilling to make
the cuts and are demandingrevenue
increases leaving chasms between
these two groups" she said.
Coleman shared with faculty
members that she was disheart-
ened by the lack of progress by leg-
islators to finalize a state budget.
"I don't know what to tell you,"
Coleman said. "I am quite discour-
aged that we can't get more action
to come up with a solution."
Coleman also said she is con-
cerned about potential cuts to the
Michigan Promise Scholarship.
Even if there had to be some sort of
a cut back to the program, students
should receive at least part of their
scholarships, Coleman said, adding
that legislators made a promise to
students.
"Students have these letters
promising this scholarship," Cole-
man said.
University students with demon-
strated financial need will receive
their scholarship payment from the
University if the state discontinues
the program, though students with-
out financial need will not receive
the scholarship if the program is
canceled.
"I've been told that we have a
much higher proportion of stu-
dents who use the Michigan
Promise Scholarship than other
institutions," Coleman said. "We
just don't have the resources to take
over the entire program."
When asked for an update on the
See COLEMAN, Page 7A
UNIVERSITY RESEARCH
As society's needs shift,
'U' research responds
DEVELOPING PHOTOGRAPHS
Push for energy
independence has
reshaped projects
on campus
By ESHWAR
THIRUNAVUKKARASU
Daily StaffReporter
Federal stimulus funding has
awarded the University $61.1
million in research grants and,
while most of it will be invested
in the biomedical sciences, energy
research is expected to see some
of its largest gains as a potential
energy crisis looms.
That shift to the energy sector
with research funds echoes a his-
toric trend at the University one in
which primary research focuses
sway with the breeze of national
trends in research and technologi-
cal needs.
About $19.5 million in addition-
al stimulus funding from the U.S.
Department of Energy has already
been applied to the creation of the
Energy Frontier Research Center
-intended to develop new mate-
rials for solar cells. And in April,
President Barack Obama called for
the creation of 46 of these energy
research centers across the nation
with the goal of reducing Ameri-
can dependency on imported oil
and greenhouse gas emissions.
University President Emeri-
tus James Duderstadt, said fed-
eral support has often been key
to the University's large shifts in
research.
Duderstadt, who is also a pro-
fessor of science and engineering,
said that increased research in
defense during the 1950s coincid-
ed with the Cold War as did space
research and astronaut training in
the 1960s for the Apollo program.
"To do the kind of research we
do, resources cannot come from
within the University, and the
state has never been particularly
generous in supporting research,"
Duderstadt said. "Most of our
research funding comes from the
federal government."
In the last 20 to 30 years, bio-
medical research has seen the
lion's share of federal funding at
the University, Duderstadtsaid. He
added that it is, therefore, no coin-
cidence that the National Science
Foundation's $6 billion budget is
only about a fifth of the National
Institutes of Health's budget.
Dennis Assanis, director of
the Michigan Memorial Phoe-
nix Energy Institute, said the
MMPEI's origin in nuclear energy
research after World War II illus-
trates, in part, the University's
tendency to follow society's tech-
nological and scientific needs. The
historical precedent in responding
to contemporary research chal-
lenges has prepared the Univer-
sity for the recent push in energy
studies, he said.
"In the past, we've launched
strong initiatives in the bioscienc-
es and health sciences," Assanis
said. "This is nothing new for us
to be able to respond to major soci-
etal changes and demands."
Assanis said the University's
energy department is among the
fastestgrowingresearchareasthat
receive federal funding. Moreover,
he said the University's rich ener-
gy portfolio has recently benefited
from the increased discussion of
sustainability in America.
"Energy is a very hot topic right
now and it seems that we are able to
See RESEARCH, Page 7A
IT company to add 1,000 jobs to area
Systems in Motion month and company officials say
they're looking to hire.
chooses Ann Arbor In opening its new support cen-
ter in the Ann Arbor area, Systems
for workforce base in Motion - a company that pro-
vides IT systems support to outside
By DYLAN CINTI organizations - will create 1,085
For the Daily jobs over the next five years for area
~- residents and college graduates.
A Sacramento-based informa- Debashish Sinha, SIM's chief
tion technology services company marketing officer, explained the
will open the doors to its new Ann company's goal is to create a cost-
Arbor location within the next efficient "in-shore" IT model that
"can compete effectively with any
Global IT Services Model."
Sinha said SIM concentrated on
large public university towns as
potential sites for the new service
center because of the advantage
such locations present.
"We looked at the availability of
resourcestotal populationand how
many people were coming out of
school with what kinds of degrees,"
Sinha said.
See NEW HIRES, Page 6A
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