The Rithicsnn i ly- lsnnrluoo,.iuly LQi00uvL- 'U' officials look forward to teaching despite work By Jeremy Berkowitz Daily News Editor Despite the larger offices and greater prestige of administrative posi- tions, many deans and executive vice presidents said they desire not to lose touch with students and classroom experience. University Vice President for Research Fawazz Ulaby is returning to the classroom this fall to teach a Ph.D.- level electrical engineering class in conjunction with his administrative duties because he said he "can't stand not teaching anymore." "I have seen many administrators, including deans and department chairs, who get so swamped with administrative duties, they don't teach for years and years. And in the process, they lose touch with what is actually happening in the life of academic units that they man- age' Ulaby said. "After a while, you start feeling like you're losing touch with students (and miss) the high that you get at the end of a good lecture" University General Counsel Marvin Krislov teaches two classes a year - an upper level political science class in the fall and a law school seminar on in- house counsel in the winter. "It's probably the period I look for- ward to most in the week," he said. Krislov said he has found time to fulfill his teaching duties and meet with students. Though he does not hold regular office hours because of a vary- ing schedule, he encourages students to make appointments to discuss ques- tions or concerns. But one new administrator moving into the Fleming Administration Build-. ing does not have plans to be grading exams or writing lecture notes this fall. Despite two professorships in the chemistry and biochemistry depart- ments, President-elect Mary Sue Cole- man, who will take over the helm of the University this week, said she doubts she will be able to teach a class. Being in administrative positions for the past 15 years, Coleman said she has had little time to keep up with the cancer research she did at the University of Kentucky for almost 20 years. "I don't think I'll be (teaching a class). My research moves extreme- ly rapidly," Coleman said. "The job of being president is pretty time- consuming." But Coleman said she would like to keep good rapport with students, whether through guest lectures in classrooms or in fireside chats, like those she held monthly at Iowa. "If I can't do it through a formal teaching situation, then I try to do it through other ways," Coleman said. Ulaby said he understands Coleman's dilemma. "Teaching a regular class in her case is next to impossible consider- ing the combination of, A) her field and, B) that she will be coming into a new job and institution," Ulaby said. i e micnigan uanly - monday, muy 29, 2002 - Hansen, Brater seek Dems nomiatin fr state Senate .d By Unda Cho. Forethe Daly Democratic voters in the Ann Arbor area have a tough decision to make in the Aug. 6 primary: Which of two like-minded area residents would better serve the new 18th District state Senate seat. Both candidates, Liz Brater of Ann Arbor and John Hansen of Dexter, have connections to the University and have served in the state House of Representatives. Brater, a former University lecturer and Ann Arbor mayor and city councilwoman, was a House member from 1994 to 2000, when she was term-limited. Hansen, a University graduate and former superintendent of the Dexter Consolidated Schools, has been a state legislator since 1998 and currently represents the 52nd House Dis- trict, which includes North Campus and northern Ann Arbor. The 18th Senate District comprises the northern and eastern portions of Washtenaw County. Incumbent Sen. Alma Wheeler Smith (D-Salem Twp.) is term-limited. "I was working hard on a number of very important issues in the state House, including environment, educa- tion, health care, mental health and consumer protection;' Brater said. "I feel a responsibility to return to Lansing to continue the work I was doing." She named education, health care and the environment as three of the most important issues, also adding the economy and workers' rights as high priorities. She said she believes "quality education for all Michigan's chil- dren" can be achieved through smaller class sizes, ade- quate funding and ongoing teacher training. With regard to higher education, Brater said she sup- ports affirmative action and believes easier access into universities must be achieved. "I think we need to do more to make higher education more affordable (by) trying to keep tuition down by main- taining and increasing the state level of support," she said. Brater also said she feels strongly about health care, especially mental health. "There is a great number of Michigan citizens that are uninsured. They need to have health care," she said. "Governor (John) Engler has dismantled our mental health system in Michigan. A lot of people are ending up in jails or homeless shelters, so we need to make sure we restore our health system." Brater said that money should be transferred from corrections back to the mental health system. Environmentally, Brater is concerned about water qual- ity in the Great Lakes as well as reducing air and water pollution. Hansen also said the environment is a top issue for him. With regard to land use in western Washtenaw County, Hansen said suburban sprawl is a growing prob- lem, and farmland is disappearing as a result. His plat- form calls for a compromise between land preservation and a need for housing that should be made through regional and cooperative planning efforts. Hansen said he is running for the Senate because "if you have some experience, you want to carry for- ward," he said, comparing his situation to that of a college student who has already completed three years of school. Hansen said it is difficult to say that a candidate stands for any one particular issue because there are so many at stake. But as a former school superintendent, education is a priority for him. His platform includes support of early learning programs such as Head Start, smaller class size and renovation of buildings. Hansen also promotes more money for higher educa- tion, especially after the 7.9 percent tuition increase at the University this year. Although he said "you can't spend the money you don't have," he added that it is possible to "spend it differently." For example, he said, if prison spending is reduced, other areas, such as higher educa- tion, could receive more funding. Hansen, like Brater, is also a big supporter of the Uni- versity's affirmative action policies and is "one of a few pro-choice males" in the legislature. He said that as a Democrat, he is part of a minority party in the Legislature, making it difficult for him to par- ticipate in policymaking. Instead, he said, his role is often preventing actions the Republican Party might otherwise have no problems in carrying out. "We're there to make sure that the arguments are all made," he said. Unopposed in the primary are Dexter Republican Gor- don Darr and Green Party member Elliott Smith. OMENN Continued from Page 1 want to understand what the genes do. To understand what the genes do, you have to understand the proteins," he said. "I am confident that this decade will be the protein decade, just like last decade was the decade for genes." Though he said he has no plans to return to administrative duties, he said there are some things he will miss about his position, such as the role it had on the rest of the University's med- ical community. "I really greatly enjoyed the leader- ship role for the health system as part of the university leadership, in the community and nationally. We gained a lot of attention around the country by our concept of the health system and our performance," Omenn said. "The University of Michigan, as you know, ranks very high among hospi- tals, medical schools and M-Care. It's very unusual to have all three compo- nents, and even more so to have them all healthy." Omenn's position is only one of many vacant spots in the University's administration. Among those positions are a dean for the College of Litera- ture, Science, and the Arts, a director for the LSI, and a University provost. 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