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Ann Arbor, Michigan
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
michigandaily.com
N ANCING YOUR ED CATION
Lansing to
slash higher
ed. funding
2.8 percent
If Granholm signs decrease will result in about a $9
million loss for theUniversity.
budget, 'U' projected Down from the current fiscal
year, next year's budget will allocate
to lose $9 million in about $1.567 billion toward higher
ERIN KIRKLAND/Daily
Artist Richard Wolk restores the mural on the corner of East Liberty and South State streets yesterday. Wolk was the original painter of the mural that features cultural
icons like George Orwell and Woody Allen and has become a landmark for the city.
T HE POLITICS OF H IG HER EDUCATION
orjf NRC rankings turn from
much-awaited much-c riticized
stal
Pub
will se
ing fro
higher
the Mi
Pen
nifer
a i education. The 2009-2010fiscal year
to appropriations budget appropriated about $1.612
billion for the state's public universi-
By MIKE MERAR ties and colleges, State Rep. Rebekah
Daily StaffReporter Warren wrote in an e-mail interview
with The Michigan Daily on Mon-
ric universities in Michigan day.This represented 3.63 percentof
ee a 2.8 percent cut in fund- the state's total budget for the 2009-
tm the state, according to the 2010 fiscal year, which was $44.4
education budget passed by' billion, according to Warren.
chigan legislature Tuesday. The cut in funding is part of an
ding Democratic Gov. Jen- effort to minimize the state's $484
Granholm's signature, this See BUDGET, Page 2A
New methodology
paints hazy picture
of how 'U' compares
By KYLE SWANSON
Daily News Editor
The National Research Council
publicly released it's most recent
setofrankings for Ph.D. programs
across the country in a press event
this afternoon.
While the rankings - which
are released approximately once
each decade - have tradition-
ally carried a great deal of weight
within higher education, some
leaders in the field are criticizing
this year's rankings, arguing that
they don't say much about the
change in the quality of Ph.D. pro-
grams across the country.
A major reason for the criticism
stems from a dramatic change in
the methodology used to calcu-
late the rankings - which delayed
the release of this most recent set
of NRC rankings by three years.
In addition, critics are concerned
that the new system presents the
rankings in ranges, instead of as a
single numeric rank for each pro-
gram at each institution as was
the case in the past.
With the new methodology
and the new format for presenting
programs' rankings, it is increas-
ingly difficult for even higher
education officials to say with
confidence whether their pro-
> Inside News
To see an infographic of how the
V'stacks up, see Page 5A.
grams have improved or declined
relative to the last NRC ranking,
which was released in 1995.
In 1982, 87 percent of the Uni-
versity of Michigan's Ph.D. pro-
grams were in the top quartile
nationally. That prestigious per-
centage fell in the 1995 rankings,
See RANKINGS, Page 3A
ACTUAL
PROJECTED
= 320
N _0 315
310
305
S2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
FISCA L YEAR
ICHIGAN STUDENT ASSEMBLY
MSA pres. responds publicly
to criticism for the first time
Ass't AG for Mich.
has criticized
" Armstrong on his blog
By ROBIN VEECK
Daily StaffReporter
Michigan Student Assembly
President Chris Armstrong pub-
licly responded to verbal and cyber
attacks levied against him for the
first time at last night's MSA meet-
ing.
"I will not back down. I will not
flinch. I will not falter. Iwill not suc-
cumb to any unwarranted attacks.
What Iwill do is Iwill carry on with
the utmost pride and vindication,"
Armstrong read aloud to the assem-
bly from a written statement. "I,
along with the rest of this assembly,
were elected to this body to repre-
sent the University. And nothing said
about us, or regarding our personal
merits, will waive our commitment
to serve the student body."
Though Armstrong opted not to
specifically address any personal
attacks, he has recently been the tar-
get of a blog called Chris Armstrong
Watch. The blog, created by Andrew
Shirvell, an assistant attorney gen-
eral for the state of Michigan, has
accused Armstrong of advocating
a "radical homosexual agenda."
Shirvell has posted on his blog regu-
larly since April to criticize Arm-
strong, his friends, family members
and other members of MSA.
In addition, Shirvell has shown
up at events on campus criticizing
Armstrong, including the first MSA
meeting of the semester.
Armstrong said in an interview
after the meeting that he wanted to
See ARMSTRONG, Page 3A
Microsoft representative Tony Franklin discusses the benefits of using Microsoft for the University's IT system yesterday.
Microsoft pitches to do IT for 'U'
LIVING NEAR CAMPUS
In off-campus housing, it appears
bed bug wave has hit Ann Arbor
University Housing:
No recent incidents
reported in res. halls
By STEPHANIE BERLIANT
Daily StaffReporter
In recent months, bed bugs have
been making their way across the
United States, starting on the East
Coast and now the bed bug wave has
reached Ann Arbor.
Bed bug breakouts have report-
edly occurred in at least two units
of Corner House Apartments, locat-
ed on the 200 block of South State
Street, the Muriel Lester Coop-
erative House, located on Oakland
Avenue and an apartment on Arch
Street. Representatives from Lester
Co-op and the Arch Street apart-
ment had not returned phone calls
seeking comments by press time.
Amy Khan, the vice president of
CMB Property Management, which
manages Corner House Apartments,
said that after one residence report-
ed a possible infestation on Sept. 20,
a pest control company began treat-
ment the next day. Other residences
were inspected and treatmentbegan
on a total of four residences. Resi-
dents of the building say there may
See BED BUGS, Page 3A
Microsoft, Google
competing to be
new 'U' provider
By ELYANA TWIGGS
Daily StaffReporter
Many current students forward
their University e-mails to different
web mail systems, favoring a more
cohesive model. Yesterday, Micro-
soft officials made their pitch as
to why the company should be the
go-to solution for the University's
IT needs.
Nine representatives from
Microsoft presented their ideas to
support the University's initiative
to rejuvenate its information tech-
nology infrastructure last night in
an East Hall auditorium to a crowd
of about 25 students and professors.
The presentation was hosted by
NextGen Michigan - a strategic
team within the University work-
ing toward the overhaul of the IT
system - and showcased Microsoft
Product Suite as a possibility for a
new, collaborative system for online
student resources. This Microsoft
program would replace the existing
University Internet resources that
are currently available to students
like CTools and ITCS Webmail.
In addition to Microsoft, the
University is considering proposals
from Google, which will be making
its pitch on Oct. 7.
Lynn Johnson, professor and
assistant dean of Informatics and
Innovation in the School of Den-
tistry, said that through employ-
ing a new IT system the University
hopes to become the leading insti-
tution of 21st-century information
technology. The initiative started
this semester and will be imple-
mented within three years, John-
son said.
"We want to go with the vendor
that has a strong relationship with
the University already," Johnson
told the crowd before the Microsoft
representatives took the floor.
See MICROSOFT, Page 3A
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