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- THE DAILY IS TAKING ON THE LANTERN IN A FACEBOOK WAR. Support us on Facebook. I 'LIKE' THE MICHIGAN DAILY 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. AMoA's FAVOZITE SANDWICtI v~LiVfom autJSrI