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Ann Arbor, Michigan

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

michigandaily.com

RESEARCH
Forrest: 'U'
R&D could
be harmed
by gov. cuts

RUBY WALLAU/Daily
Rutgers Prof. Frank J. Thompson speaks about fractions federalism and the future of Medicaid at Weill Hall on Monday.
Rute sprof,, talks Medica-id
Attributes bad ing his new book "Fractious provided health care have entitlement to you," Thompson
Federalism and the Future of transitioned from a federal said.
reputation to Medicaid," in which he evalu- responsibility to a state-provid- Thompson commended
ates how the Clinton, Bush and ed service. Thompson attrib- Medicaid on its improvement
government distrust Obama administrations have uted this transfer to the use of of services, including the trans-
affected Medicaid, federalism waivers beginning in the 1990s, fer of care to home and com-
By ROBERT ARENELLA and health care reform. which created and tested new munity programs rather than
For theDaily . The federal grant program methods of providing care to institutions.
insures more than 65 million citizens with Medicaid. Despite these obstacles,
Medicaid took a front seat in low-income citizens across the "The Clinton administration Medicaid has expansded
the contentious 2012 election country, while the government was a clear watershed moment between 1992 and 2013. The
as both sides debated the pros spends $400 billion of federal in this regard," Thompson said. Affordable Care Act of 2010,
and cons of the system, includ- and state funds every year. Thompson blamed growing also known as Obamacare, has
ing its drain on federal spend- Thompson said most of the distrust in government and opened up health care to 30
ing money. money is dedicated to intensive its redistributive programs - million Americans. Accord-
Monday in Weill Hall, Frank health programs. originating in the 1960s - as ing to Thompson, 15 million
J. Thompson, professor of pub- "A lot of it - a majority of it the source of much of the pes- are slated to gain benefits from
lic affairs and administration - is going to long term care," simisan surrounding Medicaid. Medicaid.
at Rutgers University, defended Thompson said. "(The public opinion has Thompson said the contro-
the federal health aid system. In recent years, Medic- led to) a steady erosion in this versial nature of the Affordable
Thompson was promot- aid and other government- sense that Medicaid is a legal See MEDICAID, Page 5

University is the
largest recipient
of federal research
funds in the nation
By AARON GUGGENHEIM
Daily StaffReporter
Stephen Forrest, the Univer-
sity's vice president for research,
spoke before the Senate Assem-
bly about maintaining competi-
tive research funding in the face
of declining federal funds on
Monday.
Forrest cautioned that the
looming federal sequestration,
which will ocdur March 1 if
deficit-reducing measures are
not passed, could affect Univer-
sity efforts to maintain an annual
$1.27 billion research budget.
Although sequestration could
bring a 5-percent cut across the
board to federal research fund-
ing, Forrest said any impact on
the University budget would not
be apparent until early April.
The University has been
planning for the congressio-
nal sequestration measure
because it could affect the fed-
eral resources - such as grants

from the National Institute of
Health - that many University
faculty members use to conduct
research.
During an Oct. 8 interview
with The Michigan Daily, Uni-
versity President Mary Sue Cole-
man expressed similar concern
during the fiscal-cliff negotia-
tions, stressing how crucial the
funding is to basic research.
"The value, of the federal gov-
ernment is that the federal gov-
ernment funds the basic research
that is the beginning of all the
others," Coleman said.
Forrest said University
research was important in help-
ing drive the innovation that is
crucial to a growing economy,
implying that a decrease in
research funding could undercut
continued economic growth.
"No natter what happens with
sequestration, we have been in a
period of flat or declining fund-
ing for research," Forrest said. "It
is goingto be a rough few years."
Despite a nearly 15 percent
decline in federal funding for
research over the last decade,
the University has increased
its research expenditures from
roughly $800 million in 2007 to
the current level of $1.27 billion.
See FORREST, Page 5


SENATE ASSEMBLY
Faculty draft
statement on
lack of diversity

Decreasing
minority numbers
worry assembly
By AARON GUGGENHEIM
Daily StaffReporter
In response to concerns raised
by an article in The Atlantic that
called attention to declining
diversity at the University com-
pared to peer institutions, the
University's Senate Assembly -
the largest faculty governance
body on campus - discussed a
drafted statement that called for
increased attention to the issue.
The statement, drafted by the
Senate Advisory Committee on
University Values, said the lack
of diversity was "already having
a deleterious effect on the edu-
cational experience" at the Uni-
versity.
"(We) fear that if trends con-
tinue, the University will suffer
greatly in its ability to attract
persons of diverse backgrounds,"
the statement read. "We there-
fore urge the University admin-
istration ... to embark on a
comprehensive and public pro-
gram to increase (diversity)."
African American enrollment
at the University has dropped
precipitously in recent years,
falling from 8.5 percent in 2002
to 4.4 percent in 2011 according
to estimates from the National

Center for Education Statistics.
Hispanic enrollment has also
declined from 5.9 percentin 2002
to 4.3 percent in 2010. Part of the
decline can be attributed to the
passage of Proposal 2 in 2006,
which outlawed the use of race
consideration in the admissions
process for public higher educa-
tion institutions in the state of
Michigan. The ban was declared
unconstitutional but faces fur-
ther scrutiny.
Despite its application to
public higher-education institu-
tions statewide, other Michigan
institutions have maintained or
increased their enrollment of
minorities over the past decade.
The University has attempted
to blunt the effects of the ban
through outreach to minority
groups, strengthening a central
diversity office on campus and
the independent initiatives of
several colleges.
Associate Prof. John Carson
briefly spoke on the subject and
addressed questions from fellow
Senate Assembly members.
"The University hasn't been
performing as well as we would
like," Carson said. "(It would be
best, to) see the implementation
of a program ... (that his) a whole
set of ways that Michigan can
move forward."
In response to Senate Assem-
bly members who spoke about
their appreciation of the Univer-
See DIVERSITY, Page5

NATASHA JANARDAN/Daily
A panel including Public Health Prof. Ed Goldman and Debbie Dingell, wife of Congressman John Dingell, inform
students on the importance of reproductive justice in Weill Hall on Monday.
Groups host discussion on
Mich. abortinrestrictions

ADMINISTRATION
Regents
to approve
West Quad
redesign
$114.5-million
renovations include
elimination of
dining hall
By PAIGE PEARCY
Deputy Magazine Editor
At the University Board of
Regents meeting Thursday, the
board will seek approval for pro-
posed renovations to West Quad
that will amount to $114.5 mil-
lion.
The proposed improvements
include updating the plumbing
and heating systems, replacing
the roofs and removing the din-
inghall in favor of"much-needed
spaces for student interaction,
creation of community and liv-
ing and learning activities,"
Timothy P. Slottow, the Univer-
sity's executive vice president
and chief financial officer, and E.
Royster Harper, the University's
vice president for student affairs,
wrote in a communication to the
regents.
The funding for the project
will come from the University
Housing budget, which is a por-
tion of the remodeling and reno-
vation auxiliary fund and valued
at about $121:4 million last year.
Built in 1937, West Quad hous-
es about 1,100 students. After the
construction, residents will dine
See REDESIGN, Page S

Experts sound off
on recent state
legislation
By DANIELLE
RAYKHINSHTEYN
Daily StaffReporter
On Monday night, the Uni-
versity's chapter of the Ameri-
can Civil Liberties Union and
Students for Choice hosted a
panel on reproductive rights
called "Can't Say It? Don't Leg-
islate It - Issues in Reproduc-
tive Justice."
The groups' efforts first
took root after the state legis-
lature's lame-duck session in
December passed a law that

placed many more regulations
on abortion clinics.
The name of the event paid
homage to an incident in June
in which Democratic state
Representatives Lisa Brown
and Barb Byrum were banned
from speaking on the House
floor after both saying "vagi-
na" in their protests against
the legislation.
The panel included Debbie
Dingell, Democratic National
Committee member and wife
of Congressman John Dingell;
Ed Goldman, adjunct assis-
tant professor in the Depart-
ment of Health Management
and Policy; and Liz Ratzloff, a
representative from Planned
Parenthood Associates of
Michigan.

The discussion focused
on abortion legislation and
affordable health-care access.
Dingell said her interest in
reproductive rights stems from
her endometriosis, a disease in
which the uterine lining backs
up into the fallopian tubes,
which often causes infertil-
ity. She said, at the time of her
diagnosis, no doctors could
give her any answers about
her infertility due to a lack of
research funding.
"Am I going to have prob-
lems later in life?" Dingell
said. 'No one can answer the
question because, they don't
spend the money on research
for women's health. And that
should bother everybody."
See ABORTION, Page 5


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