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May 15, 1996 - Image 3

Resource type:
Text
Publication:
Michigan Daily Summer Weekly, 1996-05-15

Disclaimer: Computer generated plain text may have errors. Read more about this.

N e Vs Wednesday, May 15, 1996 - The Michigan Daily -3
*AATA to add technology, Mcard services to buses by 1997

Summer pilot program
to test viability of new
system
By Matthew Smart
Daily StaffkRportr
You can use your Mcard to pay for
*ood, check out library books and enter
University buildings. Soon you will be
able to catch a ride on Ann Arbor buses
with it.
The University and the Ann Arbor
Transit Authority have reached an
agreement that will allow students,
faculty and staff to use the University's
smart card to pay fares on city buses
by early 1997.
"We've been talking with (the
AATA) for months," said Robert
tussell, University assistant director
of financial operations.
According to AATA spokesperson
Liz Margolis, up to ten buses will be
equipped with special card readers by
the middle of June as part of a pilot
program this summer.
"It will test the viability of the

readers on the buses," she said.
Passengers will be able to insert their
Mcards in the readers and have bus fare
deducted from the CashChip. The
Meard CashChip can hold up to S50.
The summer pilot program will
allow Mcard holders to use their cards
on two bus routes near the medical
campus. All AATA routes are expected
to accept the Mcard around spring of
1997, Margolis said. A similar smart
card will also be available for other
riders.
Shuttle buses used during the Ann
Arbor art fair will also be outfitted
with Mcard readers, Russell said.
These buses will link outlying parking
areas to the center of the city. Special-
edition Mcards will be available to vis-
itors who are not affiliated with the
University.
Margolis said the Mcard agreement
is part of the larger Intelligent
Transportation System, a project fund-
ed mostly through federal and state
grants.
The project aims to replace com-
munication equipment, revise fare col-

lection systems, provide instantly
updated information to riders and dri-
vers, and implement new safety mea-
sures on AATA buses.
Using the Mcard and other smart
cards to collect bus fares is the first
step. AATA also will add onboard
computers to monitor sensors attached
to vehicle parts, keep track of passen-
ger statistics and communicate with a
dispatcher's computer.
Eventually a bus will be able to
locate itself within two meters using
global positioning satellite technology.
It will then be able to check its location
against a map of the current route to
tell if it is ahead of or behind schedule.
Margolis said the new fare collec-
tion system will be more convenient
and cameras added to buses will
increase security.
Margolis said AATA studied differ-
ent types of smart cards and decided
the University's Mcard had the neces-
sary aspects needed for its project.
"We decided we wanted a card that
matched the specifications of the
Meard," Margolis said. "And we want-

""n""D"MI"N"CAP/"ly
An Ann Arbor city bus displays advertising for the Mcard yesterday. Some buses
will be equipped with Mcard readers this summer as part of a pilot program.
ed one card in Ann Arbor." Mall and use AATA buses. Currently,
Russell said the new agreement students, faculty and staff only need to
will not affect people who work at show their Mcard to get service to and
WvrnPTnwnrc -nr-nr Rri-wnnd rnmrm

U' prof. receives Mellon Foundation grant
By Laurie Mayk sibility," said William Bowen, Mellon The grant will "make it possible for
Daily Editor in Chief Foundation president. "Other people will all universities to have some specializa-
Technology is being targeted as a be recruited to lead projects under this tion" by jump-starting programs that
vehicle to increase cost-effectiveness in umbrella, but he will be responsible will later sustain themselves, he said.
higher education, in a project headed for the shape of the umbrella:" Whitaker said the opportunities are
by former University Provost and busi- Bowen said Whitaker will be especially attractive in foreign language
ness economics Prof. Gilbert Whitaker. involved in departments,
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation selecting pro- i where satellite
recently named Whitaker as a senior jects in the He has'the and video classes
advisor to the foundation and estab- future that may increase the
*shed a three-year, $485,000 grant to demonstrate overall leadership number of stu-
fund his research in developing cost- both economic . .E dents who have
effective applications of electronic and pedagogic resp onsi i y access to the pro-
technologies in higher education. effectiveness. gram and there-
"(Researchers should) think up Although - William Bowen fore build up the
front of whether or not the technology technology is Mellon Foundation president enrollment and
they are proposing is not only educa- often consid- strength of the
tionally effective, but cost-effective," ered a means to departments.
Whitaker said. expand educational opportunities and Edward Snyder, a business profes-
Whitaker said his role is an organi- access, its potential to provide cost- sor at the University, said technology
ational one. He said the grant money effective programs is often overlooked, is encouraging higher education to
will compensate him for his time and Whitaker said. become less geographically centered,
the time of the students he plans to "We are at a moment where careful allowing broader access to educational
recruit to work with him, in seeking thought needs to be taken in ... what facilities.
out and encouraging others to apply works educationally and what the eco- "This theme of distributing work
for grants with the foundation. nomics of the project look like," with new technology is a theme that's
"He has the overall leadership respon- Bowen said. getting a lot of play now," Snyder said.
Business school aims to increase minority faculty

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By Katie Wang
Daily News Editor
The University's Business School
unveiled its plans last week to increase
the number of minority faculty mem-
bers in the school. With the assistance
of a $300,000 grant from the General
Electric Fund, the school and General
Electric are teaming up to launch a
"Faculty of the Future Program."
"One of our greatest challenges
over the next five years is to increase
*iversity in the Ph.D. program and
among faculty," said Business
School Dean B. Joseph White. "We
are well positioned to meet that chal-
lenge. With the support from the GE
Fund, we can become a valuable

source of talented minority faculty
members for business schools across
the country."
According to an internal report
conducted by the Business School,
minorities comprise 10 percent of the
school's faculty. The report defines
faculty as associate professors, tenured
professors, or professors who are on
the "tenure track."
Under the Faculty of the Future
Program, the school plans to work
with other academic institutions,
including Morehouse College and
Navajo Community College, to devel-
op an Undergraduate Research and
Teaching Program.
"Business faculty at each of these

institutions will mentor selected
undergraduates, including them in
research projects and classroom pre-
sentations," said Business Prof Edwin
Miller.
The Business School is also plan-
ning to create a Junior Faculty Coupon
Program that will give minority
Business School graduates an early
boost in their teaching careers. The
coupons will provide junior faculty
members with several years of guaran-
teed fuinding for summer research.
The S300,000 grant will be payable
over three years. Both the University
and the Business School have also
decided to contribute funds to the pro-
gram.

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