The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com Monday, January 27, 2014 - 9A ART OF TAI-CHI ' Extra payments from 'U' to A2 could receive further consideration Ci 'U' dec LILYANGELL/Daily Master Wasentha Young, a paractitioner of the martial art of tai-chi since 1969, led a workshop at the 2014 Asian American Health Fair in the Medical Science Building 11 on Saturday. 'U' research cluster gets low rank i n produci ng start-ups, patented tech Research alliance noted for talent production, research spending By ALICIA ADAMCZYK Deputy Magazine Editor With recent entrepreneur- ship-focused events like the startup career fair and MHacks fresh in the minds of many stu- dents, it might seem that stu- dent-created tech and business ventures are everywhere at the University. But a recent report conducted by East Lansing-based Ander- son Economic Group found that the University Research Corri- dor, a research alliance between the University, Michigan State University and Wayne State University, may need to place more emphasis on entrepre- neurship for the URC to remain competitive with the seven other major university research clusters ranked in the study. According to the study, which was conducted over a five-year period that ended in 2012, though the URC granted more degrees than any of the other clusters, it placed last in tech transfer and next-to-last in launching startups. The Univer- sity was responsible for 11 of the 14 startups created in the URC during the study's five-year period, while MSU was respon- sible for the other three. However, the URC had a strong showing in other catego- ries against the other clusters, which included North Caro- lina's Research Triangle Park, California's two Innovation Hubs and Massachusetts' Route 128 Corridor. In fact, the URC placed first in talent produc- tion and fourth in research and development spending. What the University may lack in startup quantity, it makes up for in quality, according Tom Frank, the executive director of the University's Center for COST From Page 2A of the Board of Regents, said the search was more intense and more involved than any of the previous two presidential searches that she participated in. However, she said this was the first search in which the regents were involved in the entirety ofthe search, rather than simply voting from a selection of finalists pre- sented bythe search committee. Since the regents decided to participate in the whole search process this time around, Newman said the search committee was confined to faculty to prevent the group from becomingtoo large. Multiple forums were held in September and October and many students and faculty spoke before members of the search committee aboutwhattheyhoped to see inthe next president. LSA freshman Benjamin Cher spoke at the Sept. 27 forum about the need for a new president to Entrepreneurship. He added that when it comes to talent, the University can't be beat. Frank cited Rapt.fm, which encourages freestyle rap and one-on-one rap battles with people from all over the world, and A2B Bike Share as examples of the high-caliber startups cre- ated by University students. "One of the reasons I came here from California is because I've never seen this confluence of factors that make Michigan feel like it's just ripped wide- open in terms of output of scal- able, viable businesses," Frank said of the combination of resources available and student talent. The startups indicative of the success of the creators, in addi- tion to employing other students and picking up venture capital and other external funding. These factors, combined with the "cutting edge" programs being developed by administra- tors, indicate that University students will continue to be at the top of the business heap, according to Frank. "Long-term viability is ulti- mately what's going to add the greatest value to the Michi- gan ecosystem and create jobs here and sustainability," Frank said. "It's not always important to say I had 25 con- testants that entered the mar- athon; I'd like to have the top five finishers." Ken Nisbet, associate vice president for research at the University's Technology Trans- fer Office, said the URC report was less indicative of the Uni- versity's overall standing than it was of the need to continue to improve resources in the state of Michigan. While the University receives the most research funding of any institution in the state, part of the URC mission is to engen- der communication between the three coordinating units and to share the best practices and talent resources to improve the economy in the region. allocate resources to various departments more efficiently, though he said he was appreciative of the opportunitygiven to him. "There were some speakers at the forum who went up to the microphone and said 'I do not wish to thank you for the right to speak because I know I have the right to speak and I should expect this' - and I think that's the wrong attitude," Cher said in a Friday interview. "I am grateful for the fact that this exists and that some- one like me is able to express their opinion." Without a student on the search committee, CSG posed a six-ques- tion survey to students in mid- September to garner a sense of what students hoped to see in the president. "We might have incidentally set a new precedent throughout presi- dential searches," Proppe said. "We were able to collect feedback from hundreds of students, actual- ly about a thousand students about what the students wanted in the next president." "We have a number of suc- cess stories out of the University of Michigan startups that are known nationally," Nisbet said. "We are definitely not under- performing relative to those other states." According to a 2013 survey, URC alumni "had started or acquired businesses at double the national average rate among college graduates since 1996 and were 1.5 times as successful as the average U.S. business owner at keeping those startups and acquisitions alive in the previ- ous five years." Still, there's room for improvement. Engineering junior Christopher O'Neil, pres- ident of MPowered - a student organization that fosters entre- preneurship within the campus community - said the Univer- sity could work on increasing its interdisciplinary approach to startup creation in order to maximize student potential. O'Neil said it would be ben- eficial if the University offered more project-based undergrad- uate classes that mix Business, Engineering and Art & Design students who are all focused on creating something together. "One of the problems with Michigan is that it's super decentralized," O'Neil said. "I think it'd be a lot easier for peo- ple to start companies if they didn't have to go search for the designer, search for the engi- neer, search for the business student." He added that the University is on an "upward slope of entre- preneurship," and will continue to improve its resources and programs for students interest- ed in starting their own compa- nies. O'Neil said the best is yet to come from University students. "Even in the time I've been here, I can say 100-percent that the culture and mindset has changed at this University. The mindset is there. Now we just need to churn out some better startups." In an interview Sunday, Schlis- sel outlined the chronology of the search process, which for him began in October and lasted through much of the fall. Schlissel first met the search committee in New York City, where he sat at the head of a long wooden table and answered ques- tions from the regents and com- mittee members. "After a few minutes, it stopped being an interview and felt like a conversation between colleagues," Schlissel said. The second meeting also occurred in New York City, where Schlissel met with small sub- groups of search committee mem- bers. After the second interview, Schlissel made his first visit to Ann Arbor in late November where he toured campus before having din- ner that evening at Regent Denise Ilitch's home. "It was very conversational. They were probing the way I thought about various issues," Schlissel said. Wit mayor dent s the ni likely facetc Arbor As propel the to cials sity si prope schoo Wh PILO' of ta gaine with t Unive appro city n a prog off. Wit PILO' sity w city to enue. Jim sity's relatic the m yet to any of Arbor "Sti Unive tuition from give t gan th can to city o can fi va saii Kos dents ty officials say large proportion of the student population - giving part of land purchases their tuition to the city while they are already paying their rease municipal own property taxes through rent payments seems unfair. tax revenue Two other concerns sur- rounding the implementation By EMMA KERR of such a program are that its Daily StaffReporter revenue potential can be lim- ited and unreliable, and that h a new Ann Arbor it could force the University r and University presi- to raise tuition, cut services set to take office within or reduce employment to com- ext year, discussion will pensate for the potentially mil- be sparked by a major lions of dollars this program of the University and Ann would drain from the Univer- : land. sity. the University buys up Councilmember Christo- rties and takes them off pher Taylor (D-Ward 3) said he ax rolls, some city offi- supports a PILOT program in argue that the Univer- Ann Arbor and thinks it would hould offset some of the be in the best interest of stu- rty taxes lost due to the dents and Ann Arbor citizens l's public status. alike. ile the adoption of a "I believe that the city T - or payment in lieu should do all it can to preserve xes program - never its tax base," Taylor said. "As d substantial traction, to a PILOT, I would love to see :he appointment of a new the University provide a pay- rsity president and the ment in lieu of taxes to the city aching election of a new of Ann Arbor, other universi- nayor, discussion of such ties throughout the country do ram might not be too far so, and it strikes me as appro- priate and reasonable." h the adoption of a Councilmember Stephen T program, the Univer- Kunselman (D-Ward 3) said ould siphon funds to the the University's expansion will make up for lost tax rev- be the key issue in city-Univer- sity relations over the next few Kosteva, the Univer- years. He said he is looking for- director of community ward to new efforts of collabo- ons, cautioned against ration between the city and the aeasure - one that has University as well as a serious be formally proposed by discussion of the PILOT pro- the members of the Ann gram or other potential solu- City Council. tions for the ever-expanding udents do not give the University. rsity of Michigan their "The problem with that n dollars and taxpayers whole effort is that the state across the state do not institution is for the public he University of Michi- good - but what are we really ieir tax dollars just so we dealing with?" Kunselman rn that money over to the said. "We're dealing with U of f Ann Arbor so that they M athletics. How is U of M ath- x their pot holes," Koste- letics a public good? It's part d. of the University of Michigan teva also said for stu- but it is also a huge enterprise. living off campus - a That's where I think it starts making it a different issue. I think that's when it certainly needs to be discussed." However, some council members doubt the possibility of a PILOT program ever being instituted. City Councilmember Sally Hart Petersen (D-Ward 2) said the program is not practical. "In order for the University and the city to work collabora- tively, we need to begin work- ing more outside of the box, while others argue that not wanting to act in a way that - to some city council mem- bers - is responsible demon- strates a lack of concern for the University," Petersen said. "However, both city and Uni- versity officials have said that they share similar interests in the city." Michigan State University has an agreement with the city of East Lansing that does not include any form of reimburse- ment of taxes, and at this time a PILOT program is not under consideration. However, Yale University recently increased its PILOT payments to the city of New Haven from $1.2 million to $7.5 million. A study by the Lincoln Insti- tute of Land Policy found that though such programs can provide much-needed revenue for cities and towns, the down- sides are also numerous. "PILOTs can provide crucial revenue for certain munici- palities, and are one way to make nonprofits pay for the public services they consume," the report stated. "However, PILOTs are often haphazard, secretive, and calculated in an ad hoc manner that results in widely varying payments among similar nonprofits. In addition, a municipality's attempt to collect PILOTs can prompt a battle with nonprof- its and lead to years of conten- tious, costly and unproductive litigation." MUSIC Matters revamps end-of-year concert to include more student orgs. Besides headline artists, SpringFest to expand reach By MICHAEL SUGERMAN Daily StaffReporter MUSIC Matters' year-end SpringFest event began as an annual celebration capped by a concert featuring a headlin- ing artist. At its inception, the money it raised would go to a charity, set to change each year. After two years, the student organization is expanding its vision. In November, the group unveiled its $50,000-endowed "Big Thinkers" scholarship, the first student-funded endeavor of its kind at the University. Now, MUSIC Matters is revamping SpringFest to resemble South by Southwest, a nine-day spring festival in Austin, Texas that is a hub for music, film and technology. SpringFest will occur on either April 10 or 17, LSA senior Phillip Schermer, president of MUSIC Matters, said. On Sunday, leaders from MUSIC Matters pitched Spring- Fest's new structure to student organizations potentially inter- ested in being involved in its set up. "At the end of the day, MUSIC Matters is coordinat- ing this event, but it's really supposed to be by the commu- nity and for the community," Schermer said. The new SpringFest may expand to envelop a large portion of Central Campus. The tentative structure fea- tures what Schermer calls the "globe," an open area and stage featuring food and speakers throughout the day. Sprouting from the globe will be spaces organized by five themes: arts, identity, innova- tion, social justice and sus- tainability. Organizations will display their year's work within the corresponding theme. Schermer said he wants the event to showcase students' accomplishments. To provide examples of what the typical organization will do to exhibit its work, SpringFest's anchor groups - optiMize, MPowered, Michigan Sports Business Conference, the National Pan-Hellenic Council and Ask Big Questions - pre- sented their plans. Representatives from opti- Mize, a student organization centered on entrepreneurial social service, expressed their hope to partner with student artists and create artistic social commentary relating to the group's work. Students from MPowered said they want to host profes- sionals to judge student start- ups and integrate them into the marketplace. Kinesiology senior Jared Hunter, president of Michigan's National Pan-Hellenic Council, said SpringFest could facilitate a stepping contest between fra- ternities and sororities judged by administrators. Each of the NPHC's organizations has an auxiliary youth chapter, allow- ing area high school students to attend SpringFest. This concept aligns with MUSIC Matter's partner- ship with the Office of Admis- sions, which sees SpringFest as an opportunity to show- case the University. Business junior Nick Moeller, chair of the SpringFest Committee for MUSIC Matters, said the Uni- versity's and MUSIC Matter's goals are aligned. "A big part of what we stand for as an organization is bring- ing Michigan students togeth- er," he said. "SpringFest is something that you don't see on other campuses, and the idea (was) that the University might be able to promote that as, 'Look at what you can do at the University of Michigan. If you're a part of any organiza- tion from any background, you can come be celebrated and we can showcase the work you can do."' LSA senior JoHanna Roth- seid, president of Ask Big Ques- tions, hopes her organization will kindle this kind of inter- mingling. The organization intends to place whiteboards between each section of stu- dent organizations at Spring- Fest - where facilitators can foster conversation and written responses related to the specific section's theme. "We spend so much time going to this University and getting so involved and invest- ed in our extracurriculars," Rothseid said, adding that the whiteboards would allow space for conversation that address- es the "awesome and incred- ible things" students are doing across numerous fields.