4P fillc4loan 46F 4by atim Ann Arbor, Michigan Thursday, October 8, 2009 michigandaily.com DONATION DIVIDENDS: PART 4 OF A 5-PART SERIES Turnin to 9 business for U needs Foundation, corporation support vital to researchers' efforts By STEPHANIE STEINBERG and KYLE SWANSON Daily Staff Reporters Working in laboratories and offices across the Uni- versity, professors and researchers typically have more ideas than they know what to do with - wheth- er it's exploring advanced batteries that could help make widespread use of electric cars a reality, curing life-threatening diseases in developing countries or studying how psychological factors influence an indi- vidual's decision to seek financial help. While discoveries cannot be made without dedicat- ed researchers who spend hours conducting experi- ments and studies, researchers cannot do their work without proper financial backing. But with shrinking state appropriations and stu- dents upset over tuition hikes, private support has become increasingly important for funding research at the University. Though federal stimulus funds may help fill -the funding gap right now, development officers at the University work to establish long-term relationships with foundations and corporations whose financial support helps maintain fruitful and stable research at the University. "They're perhaps a little less interested in the cor- nucopia of ideas that might exist at the University," Jefferson Porter, associate vice president for devel- pment, said. "They're really looking for that one thing that's going to help them solve the problem that they're trying to solve." FOUNDATIONAL SUPPORT Foundations are nonprofit organizations that use financial and sometimes other resources to advance one or more charitable purposes. Unlike fundraising from individuals, the University's Development Office takes a very different approach to securing funding from foundations. Maureen Martin, senior director of foundation relations, explained that foundations are often more motivated to give based on project funding proposals assembled by the foundation relations staff than on the relationship building that other operations may use. "Professional foundations tend to have a bunch ofstaff See SERIES, Page 3A Leading a library revolution rqxI How the evolution of Paul Courant has revamped the concept of a library By STEPHANIE STEINBERG Daily StaffReporter Eight floors up in the Harlan Hatch- er Graduate Library, above the stacks, rows of computers and groups of stu- dents buried in books, you'll finda door with a "Library Administration" sign hanging above its frame. If the maps of Constantinople, book- shelves and rocking chair don't make it clear, the sign on the desk that says "hush" reveals that this office belongs to a librarian. But the man behind this particular door has revolutionized the meaning ofthat job. During the last four years, Dean of Libraries Paul Courantchas played a key role in the library revolution - helping to convert disintegrating, musty texts scattered in locations throughout the world into a digitized form that will forever be accessible in one centralhub online. A veteran of University adminis- trations long past, Courant has held some of the University's loftiest posi- tions. From 2002 to 2005, he served as provost and executive vice president for academic affairs - meaning that he wore the dueling hats of the chief academic officer and the chief budget officer. When University Librarian Bill Gosling retired in 2005, Courant was asked to lead the search committee for a new librarian to fill the position. During the process though, Courant said he became increasingly curious with the role of libraries in collegiate life and society more broadly. His col- leagues on the committee took note, and Provost Teresa Sullivan asked Courant to step down as chair of the search committee so he could be con- sidered as a candidate. He accepted and several months later was tapped for the position. Courant said the transition from provost to dean of libraries was "sort of like jumping off a train." "I used to say as provost, when you hear a dish breaking, it's your dish," he said, referencing the responsibil- ity placed on whomever fills that job. "And if you're librarian, it's only if a book falls on somebody's toe, it's your book." He explained that the job is less demanding - with his workweek shortened from 80 to 60 hours and no longer having 19 deans and multiple TOP: Paul Cosrast, with his wife Mara asdtheir dog Bear, inthe living roomof their home near North Camps. (SAM WOLSON/Daily) IOTTOM: Is his role sdean of liraries, Cora t has set sutsoIransform the way knowledge is collected sod shared. (CHRIS DZOMBAK/Daily). administrators reporting to him on a daily basis. It's a change that Courant's wife, Marta Manildi, said changed her hus- band's life. In an interview at the fam ly's artsy, welcoming house near North Campus Tuesday evening, Manildi said she enjoys being able to spend more time with her husband than when he was provost. "I certainly see more of Paul now," she said, sitting cross-legged in one of See COURANT, Page 7A CAMPUS SOCIAL LIFE Group attempts to help addicts AN EVERYDAY REACTION UN R IT A Stem cell advance s could repair gland Recovering substance abusers face frequent challenges on campus By VERONICA MENALDI Daily StaffReporter For many students, moving to Ann Arbor to begin their careers at the University of Michigan is a time of excitement, curiosity and maybe a lit- tle bit of fear. But for School of Social Work graduate student Ivana Graho- vac, the emotions were different. As Grahovac prepared to start her time at the University, she was also recovering from a five-year addiction to heroin. Though she had been clean and sober for four-and-a-half years in her hometown of Bloomfield Hills, Mich., she wasn't sure she could ret- reate that security in Ann Arbor. Grahovac said coming to Ann Arbor was a "leap of faith" and that onceshe arrived, she felther sobriety constantly threatened. "I was constantly getting these e-mails about being invited to join people for keggers, drink night spe- cials and pub-crawls," she said. "There was just a real lack of under- standing going on that maybe there are people for whom this would be a very bad choice and possibly cause some serious negative and tragic consequences to occur." It was in this environment that Gra- hovac decided to create Students for Recovery, a group diming to support and provide provides information for students recovering from addiction. The group also helps students find sober programming as an alternative to See ADDICTION, Page 3A Breakthrough could help stymie bone weakening in patients By ESHWAR THIRUNAVUKKARASU Daily StaffReporter University researchers have taken a major step toward what some con- sider to be the next frontier in medical advancements: regenerative medicine - the repair and replacement of dis- eased or otherwise troubled tissues and organs. This time, using embryonic stem cells, scientists have come closer to being able to create functional para- thyroid cells as the basis for future parathyroid gland transplants. . Located in the neck, next to the thyroid, are four pea-sized parathy- roid glands, which are important to the regulation of calcium levels with- in bones. For some patients, these glands may be inadvertently dam- aged during the course of a thyroid surgery, resulting in long-term bone weakening or loss. Dr. Gerard Doherty, chief of endo- crine surgery and the lead researcher for the project, said that he and his team used stem cells to form differ- entiated cells. These cells are capable of producing an important chemical messenger - parathyroid hormone or PTH - that directs other cells called osteoclasts to break down and remod- el bones. Decreased. PTH levels in the body can lead to a condition where bones soften, resulting in muscle weak- ness and bone frailty, referred to as osteomalacia. "By using molecular markers to See STEM CELLS, Page 3A Students in Chem La b125/126 work ova redoo reaction ab investigat- ing the reactivity of metals and metal ions inside the Chemistry Building. WEATHER HI: 53 TOMORROW LU: 38 GOT A NEWS TIP? Call 734-763-2459 or e-mail news@michigandaily.com and let us know. 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