The Michigan Daily = michigandaily.com
Monday, February 21, 2011 - 5A
The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Monday, February 21, 2011 - 5A
TENURE
From Page lA
on the tenure track to balance
research, teaching and family
responsibilities.
Though all faculty members are
affected by the changing nature of
research, Hanlon wrote that clini-
cal faculty in the Medical School
are recommending a change to the
policy.
"In those departments (in the
MedicalSchool),these factors cre-
ate stress that has been recounted
to me by numerous faculty, as well
as the academic leadership of the
School," Hanlon wrote. "The time
pressures in the Medical School
are further evidenced by the
requeststhat come to me for facul-
ty to switch from the tenure track
to the clinical track."
At the regents' monthly meet-
ing last Thursday, five Medical
School faculty members spoke in
favor of the proposal. Each indi-
vidual cited various health crises
and research setbacks to illustrate
the need for an extended tenure
probationary period.
While the clinical faculty in
the Medical School support the
proposal, members of the Senate
Assembly - the faculty's govern-
ing body - have publicly voiced
their oppositionto the measure.
At its January meeting, Senate
Assembly passed two resolutions
stating its disapproval of the ten-
ure proposal.
One resolution reaffirmed sup-
port for a 2006 Senate Assembly
resolution that expressed concern
with any changes that would be
made to Regents' Bylaw 5.09. The
other resolution stated that only
tenured or tenure-track faculty
should be able to make decisions
regarding tenure, not the faculty
as a whole.
"Only tenure-track faculty
should be eligible to make final
decisions (regarding tenure),"
Ed Rothman, chair of the Senate
Advisory Committee on Univer-
sity Affairs, said at the meeting.
"And the reason for this is because,
in the Medical School in particu-
lar, we tenured and tenure-track
faculty are a minority."
The University Senate was
scheduled to meet today to dis-
cuss the proposed change to the
tenure process, but that meeting
has been postponed until March
21. Instead, SACUA will meet
this afternoon and will discuss
the tenure probationary period,
according to the assembly's week-
ly agenda.
SNYDER
From Page 1A
tion. Doug Neal, director of
the University's Center for
Entrepreneurship, said in his
announcement of the winner
that the business plan CSquared
Innovations proposed provided
a cost-efficient way to manufac-
ture lithium-ion battery parts.
Prior to Snyder's speech, Uni-
versity President Mary Sue Cole-
man said in an opening address
that the University is committed
to encouraging students to cre-
ate original ideas.
"The University of Michigan
actively supports entrepreneurs
who are committing themselves
to making an impact, whether
economically, socially or envi-
ronmentally," Coleman said.
"We can all be proud of the teams
that competed in this statewide
event because it is a powerful
statement about our collective
future."
Gerard Anderson, president
and CEO of DTE Energy, intro-
duced Snyder and said the Clean
Energy Prize competition pro-
motes a more positive future for
Michigan.
"We founded this competition
because, like Governor Snyder, we
believe that this state's best days
are yet to come," Anderson said.
Prior to assuming his first
public office position in January,
Snyder was a public accountant
and venture capitalist in Ann
Arbor. He said in his speech that
his experiences in technological
entrepreneurship taught him the
importance of understanding the
challenges of starting a new busi-
ness.
Itis criticalthat budding entre-
preneurs have passion for the
projects they take on, Snyder
said. Prospective entrepreneurs
should have patience, he said,
because a normal venture takes
an average of seven years to
go from an idea to a successful'
product.
"That's a significant commit-
ment," Snyder said. "But I can
tell you personally ... it's a com-
mitment that's worth it."
Snyder said when he became
involved with venture capital-
ism in 1998, many Michigan
business leaders weren't aware
of what the business entailed.
He said the difficulty of obtain-
ing licenses was a particularly
cumbersome obstacle for entre-
preneurs.
"We've come so far," Snyder
said. "and the best part is we're
going to continue to grow and get
better and better."
He added that he is proud the
University has developed strong
relationships with technology
companies and cited the Univer-
sity as one of the top five institu-
tions in the country involved with
technology transfer.
Snyder also said organiza-
tions like Ann Arbor SPARK- a
locally based business incubator-
encourage entrepreneurs to use
their ideas to create startup busi-
nesses.
Snyder said though morale
about the state's economy might
be low, Michigan is a leader in
innovation and has much poten-
tial.
"We're up there with the
top," he said. "We don't actually
recognize that yet, so I remind
you, hold your head with pride if
you're an entrepreneur or inno-
vator in our state today."
Addressing the finalists of
the competition, Snyder said it
is important to look forward to
forthcoming opportunities.
"This is about doing new
things; this is about building in
the future," he said. "If you don't
win today, don't lose that fire.
Don't lose that passion. Learn
some lessons. Learn what you
can do better."
In an interview following the
event, Coleman said she was
happy to see that the competi-
tion gave students the tools and
opportunity to further their
innovative ideas.
"I am always impressed with
the sophisticated, high-level
work that students can do, and
we need to keep tapping into that
energy because that's going to be
our future for the country and
for the state," Coleman said.
She added that Synder's pres-
ence at the event shows the
importance of clean energy
entrepreneurship.
"I think it really says how
much everyone is embracing
these ideas," Coleman said.
Rackham student Nick Moroz,
team leader of CSquared Innova-
tions, said in an interview after
the event that the awards cer-
emony was uplifting.
"It's really easy to see that
there are a lot of great innova-
tions in the state that are going to
help manufacturing really bring
back a great economic turn for
the state," Moroz said.
Other finalists included West-
ern Michigan University-based
Perennial BioEnergy LLC, and
Impact Card and Smart Energy
Loan Fund, two other startups
from the University.
He added that the competi-
tion shows Michigan students'
desire to develop ideas that have
a broad impact.
"... it really shows that they're
not driven just to their stud-
ies, but they're driven to make
an impact in the world around
them," Moroz said.
COLLEGE
From Page 1A
Michigan College Advising Corps,
a program that places University
graduates in underrepresented
Michigan schools to serve as col-
lege advisers, were chosen for the
Wolverine Express program.
William Collins, executive
director of the Center for Educa-
tional Outreach and a member of
the Diversity Council said he felt
the new initiative would comple-
ment the advising program well.
"We married the Wolverine
Express to our Advising Corps
Program," he said. "It meant a
great deal of work in a relatively
short period of time."
The creators came up with
the idea last summer and devel-
oped the initial stages through-
out the fall, working with high
school principals and counselors
to determine the best ways to
assist students. Collins said when
they were ready to begin, all eight
schools in the advising program
also wanted to be involved with
Wolverine Express.
Because many of the students
in the schools would be first-gen-
eration college students, they may
not know what is necessary to do
to get started in certain job fields,
Collins said.
"The background information
of what one needs to do to pursue
a particular career is often miss-
ing for many of these students,"
he said.
For example, students don't
necessarily make the connec-
tion that becoming an engineer
requires extensive knowledge
of applied mathematics, or that
medicine involves advanced sci-
ence and chemistry skills, Collins
said.
"One of the things that hap-
pens when faculty members go
into these schools is students have
the opportunity to interact with
them directly," Collins said. "It
allows them to identify with what
that person is doing."
The purpose of Wolverine
Express isn't to recruit for the
University, Collins said, but rather
to encourage students to pursue
higher education. This message
is important, he said, because the
United States has shifted focus
from primarily manufacturing
jobs to service jobs, particularly
in the state of Michigan.
"The jobs that are available to
young people today increasingly
are jobs that require post-second-
ary education," Collins said.
Noori, who is also a lecturer of
American Culture and English,
emphasized the significance of a
college degree when she spoke to
Saginaw High School Students.
She told the students that their
education is extremely valuable
and can't be taken away by oth-
ers despite difficult economic cir-
cumstances.
University alum Ryan McBride,
who is serving as a college adviser
at Saginaw High School through
the Michigan College Advis-
ing Corps, said he estimates that
more than half the high school's
student body participated in
Wolverine Express. He said the
programwas beneficial tothe stu-
dents because they had a chance
to meet professors and learn from
their research and knowledge.
"It gave them a really good
glimpse into what college is like,"
McBride said. "It exposed them to
people who work in higher educa-
tion."
He said the program inspired
the students and "gave them the
confidence that they could pursue
higher education."
She added that it is important
for schools like the University to
focus on reaching out to these stu-
dents.
"I think it's easy for schools like
ours to become potentially elitist
and selective in ways that aren't
necessarily the most healthy
...(Diversity) makes for a stronger
structure," Noori said.
While visiting Saginaw High
School, Crisca Bierwert, chair of
the University's Diversity Coun-
cil, set out to inspire the students
by giving a brief lesson on the
Treaty of 1817, explaining how
the state of Michigan bought the
land on which the University was
built, and at its inception, the
University only had 11 students
enrolled.
"I told them that this is a story
of small beginnings and big
accomplishments, and I hoped it
would inspire them to go to col-
lege," Bierwert said. "I told them
that I thought they could all make
history, and that they would all
make history."
RENOVATION
From Page 1A
ther areas for improvement and
longer-term projects apart from
those that will use the $1.6 million
for Recreational Sports facilities,
according to William Canning,
director of Recreational Sports at
the University.
All the renovations, including
those that will potentially be done
as a result of the upcoming study,
will take approximately five to 10
years, according to Canning. The
funding will potentially extend
gym hours and increase programs
and the number of staff members.
By replacing old equipment,
Canning said the University will
save money in the long term since
upkeep of broken-down machines
amasses substantial fees.
"The older equipment was
costing us so much time, labor
and money for the replacement
parts of some of the old treadmills
that we've already seen some sig-
nificant savings in our expense
budget because we have new
equipment that are now under
warranty," Canning said.
Equipment replacements and
locker room overhauls are already
underway, and the department is
currently in the process of install-
ing cable television in some cardio
rooms at each gym, he said. The
renovation funding will also be
used to install AstroTurf on Elbel
Field. The funding has already
been used to replace the roof and
upkeep of the University's ropes
challenge course located on Dix-
boro Road, according to Canning.
To garner student input on
the renovations, the Department
of Recreational Sports held stu-
dent focus groups last year and
throughout the summer, Canning
said.
LSA junior Jessica Kraft, who
DPS
From Page 1A
length of Magee's leave or any
of the allegations concerning
Magee.
"He's on sick leave, and it's a
personal matter," Fitzgerald said.
"There's really nothing else I can
say."
Fitzgerald said Magee would
participated in multiple focus
groups, said that as a member
of the club softball team she is
forced to play at Ann Arbor city
parks rather than on University
property because there is no reg-
ulation field. Since her team trav-
els to other universities, she said
she was able to compare their
facilities to those of the Univer-
sity and gauge how they can be
improved.
Kraft said she felt the Univer-
sity took student feedback into
consideration when developing
the final renovation plans. She
said while the project may not be
exactly what she would hope for,
the University strived to incorpo-
rate the student perspective.
"Because of the size of the stu-
dent body, it's hard to capture
our voice," Kraft said. "It's hard
to know what the students want
because we're here for a couple
years, and we're gone, and a proj-
ect like this is going to take a lot
of time."
The study that Harper com-
missioned will call for continued
expansion of space at the gyms to
more efficiently accommodate the
growing student body, according
to Canning.
The University's student body
was the largest ever during the
fall2010 semester with 41,924 stu-
dents enrolled at the Ann Arbor
campus. There were 3.1 percent
more undergraduates than the
previous year - due partly to a
bigger freshman class than origi-
nally estimated - and 6.7 percent
more graduate and professional
students.
According to Canning, the
study calls for almost a doubling
of square footage and an increase
from three to 12 general recre-
ation rooms like those used for
U-Move classes.
Canning said one reason Rec-
reational Sports building reno-
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Students exerise in the Intramural Building on Monday, Feb.A14.
vations may not have been a top
priority for funding allocation in
past years is that gyms are often
used as draws for recruiting stu-
dents and increasing retention
rates at universities - problems
the University doesn't struggle
with. However, Canning said ini-
tiatives like renovating the gyms
and residence halls are more of a
"quality of life" issue at the Uni-
versity rather than incentives to
bring in more tuition money.
"My job is to make sure ... that
it's a good experience when you
come in the facilities," Canning
said. "It will be a bright, better
experience for students to come in
and get healthy."
Building closures will depend
on the magnitude of renova-
tions, Canning said, but there will
always be a gym open on campus.
LSA sophomore Ida Ahmadi-
zadeh said she regularly goes to
the gym but still views the Uni-
versity's facilities as "abysmal,"
especially in comparison to those
at other schools.
"Other schools are so much
nicer, they actually have televi-
sions and machines from this cen-
tury ... and they're cleaner," she
said.
LSA freshman Dylan Margalit
said the gyms are often crowded
and that while he enjoys using the
IM building, he dislikes the over-
all layout of the CCRB.
"There are all these different
rooms and each one's a little box,
and you don't have much space,"
he said. "It gets a little claustro-
phobic."
LSA freshman Kendal Noonan
said though she doesn't use the
gyms often, she thinks they're
sufficient. She said she doesn't
foresee the renovations leading to
an influx in use amongstudents.
"I don't really think it will
make that much of a difference
to students," Noonan said. "Obvi-
ously if it's nicer it's going to be
more pleasant when you're there,
but I don't necessarily think that
means that you'll go more. If it's
not in your routine to go to the
gym, you're not going to go to the
gymjust because it's nicer."
remain on paid leave until the
executive director position is
filled. He added that he isn't sure
what will happen to Magee's
title or paid leave after Magee is
replaced.
"I don't know how it will play
out," Fitzgerald said.
The job posting is slated to
expire on April 18. Qualifications
listed for the position include
eight years of safety experience
and a degree in criminal justice,
among other criteria.
Fitzgerald said he doesn't know
how Magee's replacement will be
decided.
Originally from Ann Arbor
and a University alum, Magee
was named executive director
of DPS in November 2008. After
an extensive screening process,
he was selected from 250 candi-
dates from numerous universi-
ties.
At the time of his appointment,
Magee said he was happy to be
back in his hometown.
"I plan on being here a long
time; this is not a stepping stone
for me," Magee said in January
2009.
- Daily News Editor
Joseph Lichterman
contributed to this report.
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