* The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Tuesday, March 9, 2010 - 7
* The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Tuesday, March 9, 2010 - 7
SACUA
From Page 1
at large and that of student-athletes
have risen since 2000, with an
improvement from 68 percent to 84
percent for student-athletes and 82
percent to 88 percent for other stu-
dents.
One of Martin's goals as ath-
letic director was to close the gap
between the graduation rates of
student-athletes and the greater
student body, he said. And, while
statistics for 2009 have yet to
be determined, Martin said he
believes the numbers will be right
on track.
"My goal was to always have
graduation rates of the student-
athletes the same as the students at
large," Martin said.
The former athletic director also
discussed several changes to the
academic area of the student-ath-
lete experience.
Martin said all freshman schol-
arship enrollees on the women's
and men's basketball teams, as well
as freshman members of the foot-
ball team, willibe required to attend
the Comprehensive Studies Pro-
gram's Summer Bridge Program
unless they are "academically off
the charts," he said.
Martin also discussed a new sys-
tem in place in which the provost's
office oversees student-athletes'
academic performances.
"It used to be that the academic
support of athletics had a dotted
line to the provost and a solid line to
the athletics," he said. "That's now
switched."
Martin said giving the provost's
office primary responsibility over
student-athletes' academics has
been successful. He added that it
has allowed for a burden to be lifted
from the Athletic Department.
POLLACK
From Page 1
possibilities."
Hanlon said he conducted an
internal search for his replace-
ment. After consulting University
Provost Teresa Sullivan, various
regents and other University offi-
cials he said Pollack was clearly
the best candidate.
"Martha rose to the top
amongst the people who were
suggested," Hanlon said. "So, at
that point I pushed Martha about
the idea. I had several conversa-
tions with her about the position.
(I) cultivated her interest. I know
she consulted with various people
herself about the possibility."
Pollack came to the University
in2000 as aprofessor inthe School
of Information and Computer Sci-
ence and Engineering. She served
as associate chair of the Computer
Science and Engineering divi-
MSA
From Page 1
we are doing everything the
right way," he said. "Finally we
are accountable of how student
money is being spent."
Bajaj added that the increased
funding to student groups is
indicative of a successful funding
cycle.
"When we take this to the
regents, and show them the whole
spreadsheet, this is what they
want to see," Bajaj said. "This is
essentially the purpose of MSA."
This budget is accumulated
through a $7.19 MSA fee that stu-
dents have to pay every semes-
ter, which totals approximately
$266,000 dollars per semester, or
$532,000 per year.
According to Bajaj, another rea-
son the funding cycle was so suc-
cessful was because MSA worked
to make the funding application
process more straightforward by
improvements like putting more
information online and adding an
option for advance funding to the
application.
BPC chair Sahib Singh said cre-
ating a more comprehensive fund-
ing application process, was the
PUBLIC HEALTH
From Page 1
health organizations reaching out
to people infected with TB.
"Most of the time you don't find
hospitals going out into the com-
munity," she said.
Once infected individuals are
found, Nyrienda said it is crucial
they receive Directly Observed
Therapy, which requires com-
munity treatment supporters
to bring medication directly to
patients. The community treat-
ment supporters are usually peo-
ple with TB who have already
been through treatment.
Nyirenda said the Zambian
government can only afford to
provide DOT for two out of the
nine months of treatment for
most patients, but the quality of
Martin said there has also been
increased communication with the
College of Literature, Science, and
the Arts and that he sees more stu-
dent-athletes enrolling in LSA as
freshmen.
According to Martin, LSA Dean
Terrence McDonald has been inter-
ested in bringing more student-ath-
letes into the school, which Martin
said would be both beneficial to
the future of LSA and the Athletic
Department.
In addition to discussing aca-
demics and the Athletic Depart-
ment's finances, Martin answered
questions from SACUA members
regarding the state of the Univer-
sity's facilities used for recreational
and exercise purposes.
"Recreational sport facilities
here are nowhere near compara-
ble to other universities," SACUA
member Wayne Stark said.
Martin said he hopes that this
issue will moveforward.more effec-
tively now that oversight for the
Department Recreational Sports
has been transferred from the Ath-
letic Department to the Division of
Student Affairs.
He cited the possibility of a stu-
dent fee as a source of revenue for
the buildings, a method that was
used to fund some of the current
buildings.
Martin said the buildings were
"historic at best" and "truly do
need to be updated," noting that he
hopes they are able to become simi-
lar in quality to those at Ohio State
University or other colleges where
the facilities have been recently
updated.
Brandon, who remained quiet
for most of the meeting, said he was
happy to take the reins of a depart-
ment where "nothing was on fire."
In the future, Brandon said he
hopesto keep the revenue line going
for revenue generating sports, like
AN NA H ULyestE/D
Bill Martin and David Brandon discuss University athletics at a meeting yesterday,.
hockey, basketball and football,
since the "cost line will continue to
accelerate."
Brandon also discussed facility
improvement, citing Crisler Arena,
where he said about six teams jock-
ey for court time.
Some teams have to practice as
early as 7:00 a.m., not by choice
but because there is simply no
other time or space where they
can hold practice, Brandon said.
He cited last weekend as an exam-
ple of how crowded the facility
is. The Michigan men's basket-
ball team had to hold practice off
campus before their game against
Michigan State University last
weekend because the Big Ten
Wrestling Championships were
taking place in Crisler Arena.
Brandon and SACUA members
also discussed the issue of adding
teams to the Big Ten Conference,
with SACUA members citing con-
cerns like extended travel time for
students.
Brandon said adding to the con-
ference brings about "a tricky set
of issues" driven by elements like
recruiting, broadcasting, academic
standards and geographic location.
In dealing with recruiting, Bran-
don said it would be important to
have inroads in states where many
high-quality athletes live.
Martin added the Big Ten is now
coping with the issue of chang-
ing demographics. He said most of
the athletic population now lives
and the South and that coaches are
forced to recruit in Southern loca-
tions to find the best players.
"High schools have opened in
the South and high schools have
closed in the North," Martin said.
He said the number of football
players in the state of Michigan,
for example, is dwindling, which is
why it is becoming more common
to see players from Texas and other
southern states.
"
To cure blighted
Detroit, proposed
plan calls for city
to shr inkin size
Fruit trees and Dave Bing, who took office last
year, is expected to unveil some
farms would replace details in his state-of-the-city
address this month.
abandoned "Things that were unthinkable
are now becoming thinkable,"
neighb rhoods said James W. Hughes, dean of the
School of Planning and Public Pol-
DETROIT (AP) - Detroit, the icy at Rutgers University, who is
very symbol of American indus- among the urban experts watch-
trial might for most of the 20th ing the experiment with interest.
century, is drawing up a radical "There is now a realization that
renewal plan that calls for turning past glories are never going to be
large swaths of this now-blighted, recaptured. Some people probably
rusted-out city back into the fields don't accept that, but that is the
and farmland that existed before reality."
the automobile. The meaning of what is afoot is
Operating on a scale never now settling in across the city.
before attempted in this country, "People are afraid," said Debo-
the city would demolish houses in rah L. Younger, past executive
some of the most desolate sections director of a group called Detroit
of Detroit and move residents into Local Initiatives Support Corpo-
stronger neighborhoods. Roughly ration that is working to revitalize
a quarter of the 139-square-mile five areas of the city. "When you
city could go from urban to semi- read that neighborhoods may no
rural, longer exist, that sends fear."
Near downtown, fruit trees and Though the will to downsize has
vegetable farms would replace arrived, the way to do it is unclear
neighborhoods that are an eerie and fraught with problems.
landscape of empty buildings and Politically explosive decisions
vacant lots. Suburban commuters must be made about which neigh-
heading into the city center might borhoods should be bulldozed and
pass through what looks like the which improved. Hundreds of
countrysideto getthere. Surviving millions of federal dollars will be
neighborhoods in the birthplace of needed to buy land, raze buildings
the auto industry would become and relocate residents, since this
pockets in expanses of green. financially desperate city does not
Detroit officials first raised the have the means to do it on its own.
idea in the 1990s, when blight was Itisn'cknown how many people
spreading. Now, with the reces- in the mostly black, blue-collar
sion plunging the city deeper into city might be uprooted, but it
ruin, a decision on how to move could be thousands. Some won't
forward is approaching. Mayor go willingly.
sion within the Department of
Electrical Engineering and Com-
puter Science from 2004-2007. Sn
August 2007, Pollack was named
dean of the School of Information.
Though she acknowledged she
has a lot to learn before she becomes
a vice provost in July, Pollack said
her experience atthe University and
the contacts she has made within
the University community will help
her in her new role.
"I'll bring to (the Vice Provost's
office) the prospective of someone
who has been a Michigan faculty
member, who has been the asso-
ciate chair of a large division in
the College of Engineering, who
has been the dean of a school, and
who has also a Michigan parent
because I have a daughter who's a
senior in LSA," Pollack said.
Pollack added that she will be
able to draw upon her budgetary
experience to help her manage the
University's budget - a large part
of the vice provost's job.
"In my role as dean of SI, I run
the budget," she said. "Now, it's
a much smaller budget and one
that's not as complicated as the
University's, but I have managed
a substantial budget. And, as an
academic scholar, I have managed
research budgets."
Hanlon echoed Pollack's sen-
timent. He acknowledged that
there would be an adjustment
period, but he said Pollack would
definitely be able to handle the
transition.
"Sheisgoingtobringsomeimpor-
tant perspectives to our office,"
Hanlon said, explaining Pollack's
experience as a dean and a College
of Engineering faculty member was
a key factor in his decision.
Hanlon said he was impressed
by Pollack's commitment to
undergraduate and graduate edu-
cation and the teaching awards
she has won.
Though the vice provost for
academic and budgetary affairs
has many responsibilities, Pol-
lack said her primary focus will be
assisting Hanlon in his new role as
provost.
"The job of the vice provost is
really to support the provost in
realizing his vision," she said. "So
that will be my top priority."
Between now and July, Pollack
said she will continue to perform
her duties in the School of Infor-
mation. But she added that she
will be preparing to assume her
new role so she will be able to hit
the ground running when it comes
time to assume the post.
"My primary responsibility
between now and July 1 continues
to be to those who are associated
with my role in the School of Infor-
mation," she said. "But, (Hanlon)
has reached out to me and is giv-
ing me ways to learn parts of the
job even before I start."
- Daily News Editor Kyle
Swanson contributed to this report.
result of a "solidified effort" on
the part of MSA officials to make
the application easier to fill out.
According' to Singh student
organizations requested about
$250,000 this semester and about
$100,000 was allocated. In addi-
tion the overall budget for BPC
has increased this semester from
about $125,000 to about $175,000.
The remaining $75,000 goes
toward things like MSA payroll
and scholarships.
"Students were able to navigate
the process," Singh said. "(In the
past) it has been clouded by direc-
tions that just aren't clear."
Teresa Semaan, President of
Project Flavor - a student orga-
nization that makes 5-course
meals from scratch for the Ron-
ald McDonald house - said that
this was the first year that the
non-profit organization received
100-percent funding from the
CSC, the MSA committee that
allocates money to philanthropic
organizations, of MSA.
Semaan said the group's suc-
cess was partially due to a clearer
funding application process, add-
ing that the process has become
easier every year since she came
to the University.
"Over the last four years, it
has become much more clear,"
Semaan said. "The instructions
on the application form are much
better. They offer a lot of help.
There are definitely resources
available if you don't know where
to start."
Abhinav Saxena, finance
director for the Detroit Part-
nership, said MSA has been
extremely helpful in allocating
money to the organization. After
the appeals process finished, the
group received about 75 percent
of its requested funding, Saxena
said.
Saxena said that though the
information sessions hosted by
MSA at the beginning of the year
were helpful, the appeals process
could be improved so that organi-
zations know why MSA decides
not to fund certain groups.
"You don't get any feedback on
why you don't get the money," he
said. "Other than that, most of
everything is pretty straightfor-
ward."
Crosby Modrowski, a student
volunteer at the Sexual Assault
Prevention and Awareness Cen-
ter, said he was disconcerted after
the funding process. Though the
amount of money SAPAC received
was sufficient for the organiza-
tion's first time applying for fund-
ing through MSA, Modrowski
said the application process could
be improved.
"It was hard getting used to
how to fill out the application and
how to strategize," Modrows-
ki said. "It's kind of confusing
because when you're applying you
have to figure out what they like."
He added that because cer-
tain organizations don't find out
why they didn't get funding, they
don't know how to change their
strategy for applying in future
cycles.
"It could be improved," Mod-
rowski said. "It needs to be more
clear-cut."
Though MSA officials believe
the funding application pro-
cess is the clearest it's been in
years, Bajaj said student organi-
zations can expect it to become
easier next year when the budget
spreadsheets get put online.
"They can look online and see
what they are doing compared to
other student organizations, he
said. "It's much more transparent
... every student should be able to
see that."
Singh said the online budget
spreadsheets could be up and
running as soon as this month.
PEACE CORPS
From Page 1
we are obviously looking to meet
the needs of the countries that
need additional volunteers in the
new posts that we are making."
Kevin Quigley, president
of the National Peace Corps
Association, said the increased
funding would also make more
resources available to the pro-
gram and would help the pro-
gram improve its leadership and
structure.
"Financial resources will
enable Peace Corps to make
investments in its systems and
its infrastructure to do a better
job on recruiting, training, plac-
ing and supporting volunteers
and enhancing their impact,"
Quigley said.
Quigley estimates that the
increased funding could allow
for more people to join the
Corps.
"Those additional resources
should enable Peace Corps to
grow over this two-year period
by roughly a third, from 7,500
to 10,000 volunteers," Quigley
said. "And since there's been a
pretty dramatic increase in the
applications to the Peace Corps
in response to the president's
call for service and in response
to deteriorating economic con-
ditions, by providing more
resources for the Peace Corp,
many more Americans will have
an opportunity to serve."
With increased interest in the
Peace Corps, Quigley said that it
may make the application pro-
cess more competitive but that
the increased budget would also
help make the application pro-
cess more efficient and easier for
applicants.
"Yes, there's going to be more
people applying, but it should be
easier and faster to apply," he said.
John Greisberger, director
of the University of Michigan
International Center - which
works in conjunction with the
Peace Corps' Chicago Regional
office to serve as a resource
for students and community
members interested in joining
the Peace Corps - agreed with
Quigley that the increase in
funding should make the appli-
cation process easier.
"With more money; hopefully
there will be more opportunities
for students to be assigned or
apply to be assigned to the Peace
Corps sites in a more expedient
way," Greisberger said.
As a former Peace Corps vol-
unteer in Afghanistan, Greis-
berger said that while he is
satisfied with the amouit of
money that President Obama
allocated to the program in
the proposed budget, he would
always like to see more funds
given to the Peace Corps. Greis-
berger added that he is already
working toward receiving more
money for the program.
Alex Pompe, the campus coor-
dinator for the Peace Corps at
the International Center, said
that the funding increase is pret-
ty significant, especially with
the current economic crisis.
"I'm really satisfied with
it," Pompe said. "It's quite sig-
nificant, especially given that
amongst other federal agencies,
few have seen an increase of that
percentage-wise."
Though he doesn't believe it's
feasible to reach Obama's goal
of doubling the size of the Peace
Corps program by the 50th anni-
versary of the announcement
of the program later this year,
he said the additional funding
would help the program expand,
but in different ways.
"When were talking about
doubling the size of the Peace
Corps, there's also ways to
improve the quality within that
doubling so that we're talking
about an improvement of quality
and quantity at the same time,"
Pompe said. "And one of the
ways it's been recognized is to
establish firmer links to educa-
tional institutions."
Pompe added that creating a
closer relationship with educa-
tional institutions could start
with the University - which is
currently ranked forth among
universities in all-time produc-
tion of Peace Corps volunteers -
with increased focus on graduate
school programs and fellowships
for Peace Corps volunteers.
"I think realistically one of
the ways that will affect Michi-
gan is possibly the development
of more grad school opportuni-
ties, particularly Masters Inter-
national, and possibly some
more Peace Corps fellows pro-
grams starting up here," he said.
Pompe added that a major
factor preventing students from
getting involved in the Peace
Corps is debt and student loans
from college. He said the budget
increase could help to solve this
problem by establishing a loan
forgiveness program.
Christine Torres, public
affairs specialist for the Peace
Corps' Chicago Regional office,
wrote in an e-mail interview
that the increased funding
would also allow for the pro-
gram to recruit students with
the special skills needed at cer-
tain Peace Corps sites.
"The types of program areas
that open up will help steer
specific recruitment efforts,"
Torres wrote. "For example,
right now, we have a very strong
need for applicants degreed and
skilled in Education and English
teaching, as well as public health
and environmental studies.
While we are always generating
broad awareness for programs in
general, we also implement some
very targeted outreach too."
life during those two months is
significantly better than it would
be without DOT.
She added that one of the ulti-
mate goals of her advocacy is to
have one place in Zambia that
patients infected with TB and
HIV can go to seek treatment for
both diseases.
Green, the operations manager
of the Detroit TB Program - a
public health organization that
manages TB cases in Detroit and
surrounding areas - also spoke
at yesterday's event, but offered
another side to the issue.
Green spoke generally about
the importance of public health,
saying public health organiza-
tions fight for "the greater good
of all." He added that this interest
in the greater good is what distin-
guishes public health organiza-
tions from private health care.
Services provided by public
health organizations, Green said,
include patient follow-up, pre-
vention, and education. He said
they deal with the social aspects
of health care, like ensuring
patients have stable housing and
food.
Green spoke about a patient
his organization worked with in
2004, who had TB but refused to
complete her treatment. About
a year after not completing her
treatment, the patient came
down with drug resistant TB and
caused an outbreak around her,
but still refused to complete her
treatment.
"This woman verbally abused
my staff and basically assaulted
one," Green told the audience.
After more than two years
of tracking down every per-
son potentially infected by the
patient, Green and his staff suc-
cessfully tested and treated every
one of them.
The patient will finally com-
plete her treatment next week and
Green said she now does advocacy
work for the Detroit TB Program
because she realizes they went
above and beyond for her.
"That's what public health for
us is about," Green said.
In addition to working with
patients infected with TB, Green
said his organization also deals
with patients that are co-infected
with TB and HIV.
"In the past four to five years,"
he said, "we've realized that TB
and HIV are partners."
Because of the dangers of co-
infection, Green said the Detroit
TB Program has made HIV test-
ing a necessary part of their eval-
uation for TB.