The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Thursday, October 8, 2009 - 3A
The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Thursday, October 8, 2009 - 3A
NEWS BRIEFS
DETROIT
Granholm wants
Robert Bobb for a
second year
Michigan Gov. Jennifer Gra-
nholm says she wants the emergen-
cy financial manager of Detroit's
schools to stay on for a second year
to continue efforts to improve the
struggling district.
Granholm told reporters yester-
day after a Midwestern Governors
Association event that Robert Bobb
is "doing a very tough but very im-
portant job" for the district, which
faces a $259 million budget deficit.
Bobb said this week he wouldn't
commit to staying on beyond his
contract but has been in talks with
Granholm's office.
Granholm appointed Bobb to a
one-year term that began in March
to straighten out the finances of the
Detroit Public Schools. He has over-
seen a massive restructuring that
has closed 29 schools and overhauled
scores of others.
HELENA, Moat.
Montana legislator
faces 3 felonies
in boat crash
Prosecutors yesterday filed felony
charges against a Montana state
senator accused of recklessly endan-
gering a U.S. congressman and three
others when he allegedly crashed
a boat at high speed onto a rocky
embankment after a night of drink-
ing.
Barkus denied drinking as much
as prosecutors allege and said he was
not impaired.
State Sen. Greg Barkus was drink-
ing scotch and wine before the Aug.
27 crash, and had a blood-alcohol
level of .16 - twice the legal limit -
when he was tested nearly two hours
later at a hospital, prosecutors said in
charging documents.
U.S. Rep. Denny Rehberg suffered
a broken ankle and other injuries in
the Flathead Lake crash, while Reh-
berg's state director, Dustin Frost,
spent 10 days in a coma and has a
severe brain injury. Barkus broke his
pelvis and ribs and two others were
also hurt.
SAN FRANCISCO
Pot legalization
gains momentum
in California
Marijuana advocates are gather-
ingsignaturestogetasmanyasthree
pot-legalization measures on the
ballot in 2010 in California, setting
up what could be a groundbreaking
clash with the federal government
over U.S. drug policy.
At least one poll shows voters
would support lifting the pot prohi-
bition, which would make the state
of more than 38 million the first in
the nation to legalize marijuana.
Such action would also send the
state into a headlong conflict with
the U.S. government while raising
questions about how federal law
enforcement could enforce its drug
laws in the face of a massive govern-
ment-sanctioned pot industry.
The state already has a thriving
marijuana trade, thanks to a first-
of-its-kind 1996 ballot measure that
allowed people to smoke pot for
medical purposes. But full legaliza-
tion could turn medical marijuana
dispensaries into all-purpose pot
stores, and the open sale of joints
could become commonplace on
mom-and-pop liquor store counters
in liberal locales like Oakland and
Santa Cruz.
TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras
Diplomats urge
Zelaya's return
Diplomats from across the hemi-
sphere yesterday told Honduras'
interim government to reinstate
ousted President Manuel Zelaya
during at-times confrontational
talks aimed atendingastandoffthat
has paralyzed this impoverished
Central American nation.
Delegations from about a dozen
countries met with representatives
of Zelaya and the coup-installed
government behind closed doors
in Honduras' capital, then later
held talks with interim President
Roberto Micheletti in a confronta-
tion broadcast on local television.
Micheletti, his voice at-times bris-
tling with rage, scolded the diplo-
mats for refusing to recognize what
* he insisted was the lawful removal of
ZelayaundertheHonduranconstitu-
tion and for isolating his country and
suspending aid to one of the poorest
countries in the hemisphere.
- Compiled from
L9Iy wire reports
SERIES
From Page 1A
who are domain experts, who can
help the foundation make decisions
about whether something really does
move this social change forward or
not," Martin said. "In professional
foundations, then, the University is
alwaysmakingtonsofproposals."
However, proposals must be cre-
ated with demonstrated benefits for
both the University and the foun-
dation from whom money is being
sought. Fortunately, because foun-
dations publicly disclose the amount
of money they've given for different
projects, Martin said she is easily
able to track down information.
"Foundation information is all
public information, so my job is
much easier than someone who
fundraises in individual giving or
in corporate giving," Martin said.
"I can know every grant they gave
away last year ... I can know how
their portfolio is doing."
Foundations also typically like to
fund programs that will be sustain-
able or will have lasting implications
on whateverissue is being addressed.
This can be one of the more chal-
lenging parts for development offi-
cerstodemonstrate, since oftentimes
researchproposals cannotguarantee
beneficial results or findings.
"In community-based public
health, you can't say you're going to
solve those problems in three years,
but what you can say is that you are
not only working with the commu-
nity organization to build the capac-
ity to solve the problem, but you're
also training the next generation
of leaders who will be community
organizers, community activists,
public health workers," Martin said.
To increase the University's
chances of receiving money from
foundations, Martin said she often
works with faculty members to
determine which foundations
would be most likely to fundaspecific
research projects.
During the 2009 fiscal year, the
Foundation Relations division of
the Office of Development raised
approximately $45.4 million from
foundations. On average, gifts were
just over $100,000 and each foun-
dation that gave to the University
averaged about $267,000 in total
donations during the year.
Many foundations issue requests
for proposals in which they seek
applications to fund programs
meeting specific criteria, but Mar-
tin said most of the foundations
that she works with handle funding
requests on a rolling cycle - mean-
ing the University can simply sub-
mit a proposal for a project at any
time during the year.
Martin said that although many
foundations give to the University
on a somewhat regular basis, other
foundations give sporadically.
"At a significant level -.donors
who give a total of maybe more than
$1million ayear -it'sgenerally going
to be the same 20 foundations each
year," she said. "At the $50,000 to
$150,000 gift, there's lots of moving
in and out - so those change all the
time."
Martin said that the majority
of foundation funding comes from
outside of Michigan.
"There are some key foundations
inside the state that we go to regular-
ly," she said. "(But) most of the fund-
ing is coming from outside the state"
Though the majority of foundation
support comes from outside the state,
Porter said 'gifts from foundations
transcend stateborders because they
fund the research of problems felt
across the country and the world.
"With foundations, often these
are charitable organizations that
have been established to solve one
or more societal problems so there's
a certain altruism at work in what
they're trying to do," Porter said.
CORPORATE CONNECTIONS
Two years ago, the University's
Business Engagement Center was
established in an effort to strength-
en existing relationships between
corporations and the University
and search for new potential busi-
ness partners.
Before the BEC existed, the Uni-
versity's Office of Development
handled corporate relations. But
because of the growing number of
companies interested in Univer-
sity partnerships as public research
becomes a cheap alternative to pri-
vate research in tough economic
times, the University decided to cre-
ate the BEC - a separate entity that
focuses specifically on corporations.
Today, the BEC partners with the
Office of Development and Office of
the Vice President for Research to
expand the various ways in which
the University works with corpo-
rations to increase funding to the
University.
DarylWeinert, executive director
of the Business Engagement Cen-
ter, said one objective of the BEC is
to build lasting relationships with
small and large companies alike, so
that both the University and busi-
nesses can benefit from partner-
ships over time.
"The University isn't really set up
to be a transactional entity," Wein-
ert said. "It usually works better for
both sides if we develop a longer-
term relationship."
While a major goal of the center
is to foster philanthropic relation-
ships, Weinert said the BEC also
works with companies to promote
research grants, student recruit-
ment, licensing opportunities and
the sponsorship of student projects.
"We're really ahead of the curve
nationally on this," Weinert said.
"We've fundamentally restructured
the way we interact with companies."
Within the BEC, relationship
managers are assigned to specific
companies to act as liaisons between
the company and University. The
relationship managers are respon-
sible for communicating with the
company on a regular basis to dis
cuss potential partnership opportu-
nities.
Besides talking with individual
companies, relationship managers
are assigned to schools and colleges
at the University's three campus-.
es. The managers work with each
school to gather information on
what mightspark corporate invest-
ment and what kind of corporate
involvement the school would like
to experience.
Weinert said that while the BEC
is more involved with the School of
Engineering and Medical School,
it has helped every unit on campus
form some kind of connection with
a business.
Among other things, the BEC
helps units and faculty at the Uni-
versity write proposals for research
grants, scholarships and fellowships
to obtain funding from companies
the University has partnered with
in the past.
Though the support companies
provide to the University is of tre-
mendous value, Porter said com-
panies also often benefit from their
gifts to the University.
"Companies are generally sup-
portive of higher education institu-
tions, particularly top-tier research
institutions like Michigan because
they see enormous value in support-
ing the best possible students who
ultimately might become recruits
for their company," Porter said.
Weinert said the BEC does this
because it knows the types of proj-
ects companies have historically
funded and what they may be inter-
ested in funding in the future. He
added that the center gives realistic
advice to groups that are drafting
proposals.
Weinert cited one such scenario
with General Motors Co., which has
a strong research relationship with
the University, but is not currently
capable of dishing outhuge grants.
"General Motors isn't at a point
right now to make philanthropic
grants so (we'tell faculty) 'I don't
think your time willbe well spent,"'
Weinert said. "Or we know histori-
cally General Motors won't fund
programs in this area so we recom-
mend 'You shouldn't take the tine'
or'Hell,absolutely; thatfitsrighton.
We've seen that has been a priority
for them inthe past."'
While researchers often seek
grants from companies, Weinert
said the relationship is sometimes
reversed, with corporations search-
ing for specific researchers.
"We are often in the mix, helping
a company make connections to indi-
vidualresearchersinareas where they
have atechnical interest," he said.
While the BEC has only been
around for two years, the Univer-
sity has seen a big dollar boost from
the center. In the 2008 fiscal year,
corporate revenue - including
donations, research contracts and
transfer licensing revenue - totaled,
about $140 million.
Though numbers for the 2009
fiscal year were not yet ready when
Weinert was interviewed last month,
he said the center had managed inqui-
ries from more than 300 new entities
over the last year that had no prior
relationship with the University.
Based on the large interest, Wein-
ert said he thinks the BEC is suc-
cessfullydrawingin corporations to
invest in the University.
"It proves our hypothesis that
having a unit at the University that
can handle very broadly the rela-
tionships with industry and under-
stand what the University has to
offer is valuable to folks," he said.
STEM CELLS
From Page 1A
change the way treatment is done,
we have come up with a way to take
undifferentiated embryonic stem
cells and make them develop into
parathyroid-like cells," Doherty said.
Doherty said the results of the
study hold promise for the foresee-
ablefuture-notjustforparathyroid
replacement but for regenerative
medicine as a whole.
Using biological parts over pros-
thetic ones in medical practice, he
said, has the advantage of minimiz-
ing patient rejection of transplants.
"If we can get to the long-term
goal of making replacement parts
for people, then regenerative medi-
cine will be the next frontier in
medical practice," Doherty said.
The development comes within
a year of two major legal mile-
stones for researchers working
with stem cells.
In November 2008, Michigan
voters passed a constitutional
amendment allowing researchers to
develop their own stem cell lines.
Then, last March, President
Barack Obama reversed an execu-
tive order signed by President
George W. Bush in 2001 that lim-
ited federal funding for stem cell
research.
Doherty's team relied on one of the
60embryonicstemcelllinesapproved
by the Bush administration.
The next step in the project, he
said, wouldbe to circumvent the use
of embryonic stem cells altogether
and use each patient's own cells.'
Doherty, a Norman W. Thomp-
son Professor of endocrine surgery
at the University's Medical School,
said that differentiated cells within
the thymus - an organ critical to
the immune system - are an attrac-
tive option to cultivate parathyroid
cells for transplants.
"We like to start with cells which
are as close to the end point as we
can, so we can do as few steps in
the Petri dish as possible," he said.
"Some cells within the thymus
express markers similar to parathy-
roid cells."
Clinical application of this labo-
ratory success may not be too far
away, Doherty said.
Transplantation of parathyroid
cells from their normal position
in the neck to other places in the
body has been successful in the
past. The function of the parathy-
roid glands, he said, is preserved
within each of its cells, reducing
the number of challenges of com-
plete organ replacement.
"I would anticipate that, over
think is important."
The ultimate goal of the group
is to reduce the stigma associated
with addiction, Grahovac said.
"When people get clean and
sober it doesn't mean that they
want to stop having fun or that they
want to stop socializing," she said.
"They wantto do all thesethings in
a way that edifies their mind, body
and spirit."
the next couple of years, we could mals,"said Doherty."For people, it's
potentially make this work in ani- five to 10 years away."
Sn
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ADDICTION .
From Page 1A
the usual Friday night party filled
with red Solo cups and alcohol.
Mary Jo Desprez, alcohol and
other drugs policy administrator
at the University Health Service on
campus, said the group is part of a
larger trend of campuses provid-
ing support groups for students
recovering from addiction.
There are similar programs
across the country at colleges
like the University of Minne-
sota, Texas Tech University and
the State University of New York
at Stony Brook.
Lara Hunter, coordinator
of Clinical Alcohol and Other
Drugs Services at Stony Brook,
said in an e-mail interview that
she started Stony Brook's recov-
ery group last year.
"It is vital to the well-being of
the student in recovery to have
other students that he or she-can
relateto and gain support from,"
she wrote. "People in recovery
need to alter or control their
environments as much as pos-
sible as to not be in the face of
alcohol or drugs and on a college
campus. That is a challenge."
To get the University of
Michigan group off the ground,
Grahovac reached out to School
of Social Work Prof. Brian Per-
ron, as well as University Health
Service officials.
"I met with them," she said.
"And together they both gave
me the thumbs up and said
dream big."
From there, Grahovac sent
out ane-mail to all the students,
faculty and staff in the School
of Social Work inquiring about
prospective interest in creat-
ing such a group. She said she
received overwhelming support
not only from people in recov-
ery, but also from people who
wanted to support.
Perron said he decided to
work with the group because it
fills a void on campus.
"There are many activities
for people who are interested in
going to parties," he said. "But
for someone with a substance
abuse problem, this isn't a help-
ful environment for them and
the group recognizes this."
He added that since this group is
student-driven, it has the potential
to be very attractive to students and
continue to grow over the years.
Desperez said she's excited to see
a group like this at the University.
"We are filling a need for stu-
dents in recovery to make sure they
feel support from the University,"
she said. "Especially if they make
the transition to campus, which we
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Wednesday, October 14th
The Michigan Union, 4pm-7pm
Meet with over 100 graduate schools
from across the country
Explore options, collect application
information and ask about financial aid
Visit The Career Center's website for a
list of schools scheduled to attend
Your Story - Your Community " Your Presentation
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Carolyn Woo, Ph.D.
Dean, Mendoza College of Business
University of Notre Dame
4:30 pJ.R1 230
Ross School of Business
701 Tappan St., Ann Arbor
Co-Sponsored By:
Center for Ethics in Public Life
Stephen M. Ross School of Business
Notre Dame Club of Ann Arbor
( 734)7b4-7460
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