The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Tuesday, January 12, 2010 -- 3
The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Tuesday, January12, 2010 - 3
NEWS BRIEFS
DETROIT
Pelosi defends auto
bailout at Detroit
Auto Show
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
and top Obama administration
officials yesterday defended last
year's federal bailout of the auto
industry, citing optimism that
General Motors and Chrysler had
made strides only months after
exiting bankruptcy.
"What we see here today is a
renaissance,"Pelosisaid. "Arenais-
sance, a phoenix - a rebirth."
Pelosi, D-Calif., and more than
a dozen lawmakers traveled to the
auto industry's annual showcase.
They inspected General Motors'
Chevrolet Volt, a plug-in electric
vehicle, as well as engine technolo-
gies under developmentby Chrysler
LLC and its Italian partner, Fiat
Group SpA, and fuel-sipping small
cars from Ford Motor Co.
Transportation Secretary Ray
LaHood also toured the show. He
said the administration made the
right decision to save GM, Chrysler
and auto lender GMAC Financial
Services with about $80 billion in
aid, along with a separate $3 bil-
lion Cash for Clunkers program
that boosted auto sales during last
summer's doldrums.
NEW YORK
Scientist accused of
having al-Qaida ties
fires attorneys
A U.S.-trained scientist accused
of shooting at FBI agents and
helping al-Qaida continued her
pattern of courtroom theatrics
yesterday as her attempted mur-
der case neared trial.
AafiaSiddiquihadvowed at pre-
vious pretrial hearings to ignore
her legal team and demanded a
meeting with President Barack
Obama about bringing peace to
Pakistan and Afghanistan.
"They are not my attorneys,"
Siddiqui blurted out to spectators
moments after being escorted
into a Manhattan courtroom yes-
terday. "I have fired them many
times."
She later said: "There's too
many injustices in this court." "
Siddiqui, 37, described by the
government as an al-Qaida sym-
pathizer, is accused of grabbing
a U.S. Army officer's rifle during
an interrogation in Afghanistan
in July 2008 and exchanging gun-
fire with U.S. soldiers and FBI
agents.
BEIJING
China announces
successful missile
interception
China announced that its
military intercepted a missile in
mid-flight yesterday in a test of
new technology that comes amid
heightened tensions over Tai-
wan and increased willingness
by the Asian giant to show off its
advanced military capabilities.
The official Xinhua News
Agency reported late Monday that
"ground-based midcourse mis-
sile interception technology" was
tested within Chinese territory.
"The test has achieved the
expected objective," the three-
sentence report said. "The test is
defensive in nature and is not tar-
geted at any country."
Yesterday's report follows
repeated complaints in recent
days by Beijing over the sale by
the U.S. of weaponry to Taiwan,
including PAC-3 air defense mis-
siles.
PARIS
Mitchell asks for
French, European
help in establishing
Middle East peace
U.S. envoy George Mitchell is
asking for French and European
Union support for a renewed push
for peace in the Middle East.
Mitchell, on a visit to Paris,
said Monday that "no one coun-
try, no one person can accomplish
this objective alone."
After meeting with French For-
eign Minister Bernard Kouchner,
he urged "a combined and con-
certed effort and partnership"
with U.S. allies, including France,
toward resuming peace negotia-
tions that broke down in Decem-
ber 2008.
- Compiled from
Daily wire reports
First to move to
NCRC named
COURTESY OF Bt5TLtY HISTORICAL LIBRFARY
Former University President Robben Fleming (FAR RIGHT) with former United States President Gerald Ford (SEtCND FROM
LEFT) look at plans for the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library on Nov. 4, 1977. Fleming died yesterday at the age of 93.
'U'officials: Fleming a calm
voice during tense period
Groups chosen
through campus
wide assessment
By SUZANNE JACOBS
For the Daily
University officials announced
yesterday that they've identified
the first group of researchers and
administrators who will move into
the North Campus Research Com-
plex.
According to an article published
yesterday in the University Record,
some of the first employees expected
to move into the 30-building proper-
ty will be from the Michigan Insti-
tute for Clinical & Health Research,
the Office of Medical Development
and Alumni Relations, the develop-
ment and clinical trials offices for
the Comprehensive Cancer Center
and the Clinical Research Billing.
Senior Public Relations Repre-
sentative Mary Masson said these
groups were chosen because they
are involved in supporting the Uni-
versity's researchcommunity.
The complex - which was pur-
chased from Pfizer in December
2008 - spans 1.97 million square
feet, with 1.3 million square feet
designated for research space and
420,000 square feet for administra-
tive offices.
These groups were chosen
through a campus-wide assessment
of leased space. As reported in the
University Record, moving research
administrators from leased space to
campus-owned propertywaspartof
an effort to create a more consolidat-
ed support system for the research
community.
Ora Pescovitz, executive vice
president for medical affairs, told
the University Record that the new
members are partof a"broad goalof
creating a distinct new University
community at NCRC."
"As part of our extensive planning
process," Pescovitz said, "we expect
these first employees will over time
be joined by thousands of current
and new faculty, staff and students
who together will pursue ground-
breakingresearch initiatives involv-
ing disciplines across campus and
industry partnerships."
Though the first to move in were
chosen through the assessment, in
the future, faculty researchers who
want to move into the complex will
need to go through an open applica-
tion process, Masson said.
As of right now, there are no pre-
requisites for facultyhopingto apply,
Masson said. Applications will be
reviewed by a number of commit-
tees, which will look for benefits
of locating certain research teams
close to one another.
Masson said the committees are
consideringmanygeneraltopics that
could become themes of the NCRC,
like healthcare reform. She added
that there is a long-term strategic
planning effort in place focused on
identifyingsuch themes.
Minor renovations are necessary
before some of the NCRC buildings
- especially laboratories - will be
ready for research use, Masson said.
It is anticipated that over the next
10 years, the NCRC will create more
than 2,000 faculty and staff posi-
tions. The complex is expected to be
fully occupied by 2018.
On Dec. 17, the Board of Regents
approved a $1.8 million budget for
renovations including new carpet
and paint jobs, according to the Uni-
versity Record.
Campus community
reflects on the life
of the University's
ninth president
By JOSEPH LICHTERMAN
Daily StaffReporter
Members of the University
community fondly remembered
yesterday former University
President Robben Wright Flem-
ing, who died at the age of 93.
They reminisced about his abil-
ity to handle controversy and his
love for the University to which
he devoted a substantial part of
his life.
Fleming served as president
from 1968 to 1979 and then again
for one year as interim president
in 1981. His 11-year tenure is
remembered as one of the most
volatile periods in the University's
histiry as protests over American
involvement in the Vietnam War
and civil rights consumed cam-
pus.
After hearing of Fleming's
death, University President Mary
Sue Coleman released a statement
describing him as a terrific leader
who will be held in high esteem
by all who were involved with
the University during his time as
president, and all those who came
after.
"Robben Fleming will be
remembered in the same breath as
Henry Tappan and James Angell
as one of the truly great presi-
dents of the University of Michi-
gan," Coleman said. "In an era of
friction and fighting, he provided
a voice of reason and respect."
University Regent Andrea Fis-
cher Newman (R-Ann Arbor) was
a student at the University when
Fleming was president. She said
he was always soft-spoken and
friendly when she would inter-
act with him during her time as a
regent.
BEILEIN
From Page 1
ment. "What he has done on and
off the court with our men's bas-
ketball team has been tremen-
dous, and he has made it clear he
wants to coach at Michigan until
he retires. This contract exten-
sion is a win-win situation for
the men's basketball program at
Michigan and for coach Beilein."
By most accounts, Beilein
appears to have already estab-
lished a significant presence
within the University's athletic
department. Martin had Bei-
lein on his short list of candi-
dates when the head coaching
position was left open after the
2006-07 season with the firing
of Tommy Amaker. Beilein was
hired just 17 days later.
Come to the
Daily's next
mass meeting.
WEDNESDAY
NIGHT 8 PM AT
420 MAYNARD
"He was the right person at the
right time in the president's job,"
she said.
Former University President
James Duderstadt said Flem-
ing wan instrumental in keeping
the University on track during a
tumultuous period in its history.
"He was deeply engaged with
the campus community, with the
students and faculty on issues that
really mattered to them during a
time of great turbulence for Ameri-
can higher education," Duderstadt
said in an interviewyesterday. "We
all had a sense of confidence that
his wisdom and integrity would
keep the campus from blowing up
in a waythat many other campuses
could not avoid."
Duderstadt added that the
level of political protest during
the Fleming administration was
unprecedented.
"It's a level of activity on cam-
puses that you don't see today;
something, quite frankly, I think
we miss. In a very real sense dui-'
ing the late 1960's and early 1970's
the universities became the social
consciences of the nation and
Michigan was one of the most
prominent of those and I think its
impact on our society has a lot to
do with the wise, passionate, lead-
ership of Robben Fleming."
Duderstadt went on to say that
Fleming's history in labor negoti-
ations - he studied the field at the
University of Wisconsin - and
his ability to get opposing par-
ties to engage in discussions and
compromise, ultimately allowed
agreements tobe reached, even in
tense situations.
"Michigan was a hotbed -
along with several other institu-
tions - on these concerns," he
said. "President Fleming had this
rare ability to listen to people, to
share their concerns. He spoke
out very forcefully at the national
level about the concerns for the
war and about racial equity. And
I think while he handled con-
frontation, he did it in a way that
Beilein took the Michigan job
without having ever stepped foot
in Ann Arbor, telling ESPN.com at
the time that he was "taking a leap
of faith."
More than two years later, Bei-
lein's instincts have guided him to
the good graces of the University's
highest authorities. After Mar-
tin announced his plans to retire
in this past November, Univer-
sity President Mary Sue Coleman
named Beilein one of five officials
both sides developed a very deep
respect for him."
Duderstadt added that Fleming
helped ease his transition when he
assumed the presidency in 1988.
Fleming was serving as president
on an interim basis immediately
before Duderstadt took the post.
"That was a rare experience
to see just how skillful he was,"
Duderstadt said. "He used this
Midwestern charm. (He had)
very strong empathy with people
in order to provide outstanding
leadership, even during that brief
period when he came back."
Even after Fleming retired,
Dean of Libraries Paul Courant,
who served as the University's
provost and executive vice presi-
dent for academic affairs from
2002 until 2005, said Fleming
was still very involved with the
University.
A Michigan Man through and
through, Fleming was an avid
Wolverines fan, accordingto Cou-
rant.
"Long after he had retired and
was president emeritus, he would
occasionally come by when I was
provost and associate provost and
just talk about the University,"
Courant said. "He was a terrific
football fan and obviously took
great pleasure in the place and
what it did."
Duderstadt echoed Courant,
adding that though Fleming was
a fan of the Wolverines, he wasn't
shy about criticizing the team.
"Later in his life, my wife and I
had the opportunity, for a number
of years, to take him to Michigan
football games because he was
very passionate about the Wol-
verines," Duderstadt said. "You
have to remember that Bo Schem-
bechler was his football coach. So,
he really enjoyed the games and
was very supportive when they
did something right and very out-
spoken when they didn't."
- Daily News Editor Kyle
Swanson contributed to this report.
selected to sit on the advisory
committee to choose Martin's
successor.
Beilein was the only Michigan
coach asked to serve on the com-
mittee.
Though Michigan is the fourth
Division 1 program Beilein has led
to the tournament, the Wolverines
have stumbled to a disappointing
8-7 (2-2 Big Ten) record this year,
and are in danger of missing this
March's NCAA Tournament.
Arson suspect
pleads no contest
Justin Arens, 21,
is charged with
setting South U. blaze
By BETHANY BIRON
Daily StaffReporter
Justin Arens, one of the defen-
dants charged with setting fire to
an abandoned building on South
University Avenue in October plead
no contest yesterday at his pretrial
conference at Washtenaw County
Circuit Court.
Arens, 21, voluntarily plead no
contest after making a plea agree-
ment with the prosecutor, Karen
Field. At his sentencing, which will
take place on Feb. 22., he could face
up to 10 years in prison for the felony
charge of arson of real property, a
decrease from the original 20 years
for arson of personal property.
Arens was arrested in December
in connection with the fire that gut-
ted the former Pinball Pete's loca-
tion and caused minor damage to
the nearby University Towers apart-
ment complex and Momo Tea.
Arens was initially charged with
arson of personal property but when
he appeared in court for his prelimi-
nary exam last month Field asked
the charge be changed to arson of
real property exceeding $20,000.
Field argued that because the build-
ing was abandoned at the time of
the fire, the case was betfter overed
under arson of real property.
At the same court appearance last
month, Field said Arens often slept
in the building and knew others
often slept there as well, but he dis-
regarded the danger to others when
setting the fire, which began at 11
p.m. on Oct. 24.
Arenss' lawyer Raymond Mull-
ins, asked Judge J. Simpson to lower
Arens's bond from $100,000 at the
December court appearance, but
the request was denied after Field
objected, noting Arens's past crimi-
nal history.
Arens has been previously con-
victed of home invasion, retail fraud
and a juvenile conviction of assault
with intention to commit criminal
sexual conduct.
Though Arens's mother said at
the time that she was willing to post
a lower bond and keep him in her
home, Simpson denied the request
saying that Arens could be "detri-
mental to the safety of the commu-
nity."
Ian MacKenzie, Arens' co-defen-
dant, plead not guilty tothree counts
of arson when he appeared in court
on Jan. 4 for his pretrial conference,
which was rescheduled for Jan. 25.
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