Monday, May 10, 2010
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com

7

ALGAE
From page 2
and pressure over millions of years.
Like the crude oil product that is
pumped from the ground, the algae
extract has unwanted components
of oxygen, nitrogen and sulfur that
decrease the fuel's potential energy
output, Savage said.
"There's going to have to be addi-
tional work on converting what we
get from liquefying the algae into
something that would be more like a
hydrocarbon fuel," he said.
Savage added that the process for
oil extraction and refining is not nec-
essarily limited to microalgae but
rather can be applied to any form
of wet biological material, widening
the range of available sources for the
fuel.
"The general principle that the
application of heat, pressure and
water molecules can attack the mac-
romolecular structure of lots of dif-
TFA
From page 1
Under the terms of the recently
announced partnership with the Uni-
versity, TFA teachers will also enroll
at the University to obtain their state
teaching certificates.
"The University of Michigan was
selected as our 'university partner'
due to their innovative strategies to
prepare teachers for urban schools and
their commitment to helping our corps
members achieve as highly effective
classroom teachers," Offor wrote.
The University was the largest
contributor of applicants nationwide
to TFA in 2009, with 7 percent of the
year's graduates applying for member-
ship in the organization.
Deborah Ball, dean of the School
of Education, said she feels the school's
innovation comes from its attention
to the "specific training practices of
teaching," in which teachers are taught
practical classroom skills.
Ball said though the School of Edu-
cation has been involved with TFA in
the past, she is excited about the posi-
tive outcomes of this particular part-
nership.
"We're engaged in a common pur-
pose, which is to improve the quality of
teachers who are teaching our nation's
kids, so this was just a new opportuni-
ty to do it - a really exciting opportu-
nity," she said.
Ball said faculty in the School of
Education have previously discussed
a possible collaboration with TFA.
Similarly, TFA has also been interested
in working with the University and
has sent administrative members to
observe the School of Education's sum-
mer laboratory for elementary school
children.

ferent types of biomass should apply
in a general sense to things not lim-
ited to just algae," he said.
Because the project received fed-
eral grantfunding justlast September,
Savage said the oil extraction process
is still in its infancy. He added that
separation and catalytic treatments
are still pending in order to differen-
tiate the algae oil product for all uses
and remove contaminants, respec-
tively.
As current global use of fossil fuels
depletes natural oil reserves, Savage
said he remains hopeful that hydro-
thermal processing of biomass could
be a real future contender as a feasible
source of fuel.
"If the research is successful tech-
nically, then the next part will be to
see if it passes the economic hurdle
and the environmental hurdle," he
said. "There's nothing right now
that I can point to and say, 'here's an
obstacle that would prevent this (pro-
cess) from ever being a major player in
meeting our energy needs."'
"We are confident that our corps
members will be enriched by their
educational training at the University
of Michigan and will apply the knowl-
edge they gain to enhance their work
to advance educational outcomes for
underserved Detroit students," Offor
wrote.
Ball echoed Offor's positive senti-
ments, saying she is also pleased with
TFA's decision to return to Detroit, as
the school is deeply invested in the city.
"We're really committed to the
city of Detroit and Detroit's young peo-
ple, and the opportunity to be working
on improving the quality of beginning
teachers who would be working with
Detroit youth is very exciting to us,"
she said.
Because TFA members will be
interviewing for regular teaching
positions alongside district teachers,
some are opposed to the organization's
return to the city.
Keith Johnson, president of the
Detroit Federation of Teachers - a
union that represents teachers and
instructional support personnel in
Detroit - said he will not allow TFA
members to work in the city, as he feels
they will take away jobs from local
teachers.
"There's no way in the world that
Teach for America is coming into
(Detroit Public Schools) when I've got
1,983 teachers who've received layoff
notices," Johnson said.
Faced with TFA's move into the
city, Johnson said the organization
should try to work out an agreement
with the Detroit Federation of Teach-
ers. If it does not, Johnson said he will
go before court to file for injunctive
release, which would prevent TFA
from sending its teachers to the city.
TFA is also currently facing poten-

KING EMRR ACES STAGE

SALAM RIDA/Daily
Guitarist and song-writer Kaki King performing at the Ark on Wednesday. King's album "Junior" dropped last month. For a concert re-
cap, see more on The Filter.

tial issues with its budget as Congress
is currently deliberating next year's
federal budget, which could impact
the amount of funding allocated to the
organization.
Under the provisions of the revised
Elementary and Secondary Education
Act, one proposal has been brought
before Congress to eliminate funding
to any specific group, forcing TFA and
other similar organizations to compete
instead for $235 million in grant fund-
ing.
Recent LSA graduate Joel Berger
- who will be working as a TFA mem-
ber in Detroit - said he feels that he
and his fellow teachers can help the
city only if they respect the existing
community and its members.
"I think the key thing for any
Teach For America corps member is
to realize going into Detroit that they
shouldn't view themselves as a savior,
because that's not what the city needs,"
Berger said.
Alton James, a recent Rackham
graduate and TFA teacher headed to
Detroit, said he understands some of
the anger directed towards the organi-
zation. But, as someone who grewup in
Detroit, James said the city's education
system could use some fresh faces.
"It's something new, something
exciting, something to invigorate edu-
cation right now in Detroit," James
said.
Berger added that he feels that
TFA's partnership with the University
is essential in assisting Detroit's pubic
school system.
"I think the University of Michi-
gan is a critical player in figuring out
how we're going to rebuild and revital-
ize the city," he said.

First seen on
Utah dean named
new OSCR head

Wilgus appointment
ends five-month search
for new director
By DEVON THORSBY
Daily News Editor
The University's Office of Student
Conflict Resolution has a new direc-
tor as of Tuesday, after months of
interviews and narrowing down can-
didates, according to a press release
written by Simone Taylor, associate
vice president for student affairs and
director of the Career Center.
Jay Wilgus, assistant dean from
the University of Utah, has been
selected to be the next OSCR direc-
tor, beginning July 19, according to
the press release. Wilgus's new role
will consist of overseeing all work
done by OSCR, including receiving
and reviewing formal complaints by
students, mediation, determining the
severity of complaints and formal
resolution and appeal of complaints
0 Please report any error in
the Daily to corrections@
michigandaily.com.

made.
The search for a new OSCR direc-
tor began in December 2009 with
the departure of former director
Jennifer Schrage. Schrage became
director in Fall 2006 after working as
the director of the Office of Student
Judicial Services at Eastern Michi-
gan University.
Taylor made the final decision
after a search committee comprised
of students and faculty met with her
to discuss the candidates.
The committee narrowed the can-
didates down Wilgus and Jim Neu-
meister, the director of the Office
of Judicial Affairs at Northwestern
University, before making the final
decision.
During the interim period without
an official director, OSCR co-Man-
aging Directors Will Hathaway and
Dawn Marshall, along with Schrage,
took charge of guiding the office
through the transition.
The press release stated that
Wilgas intends to continue to use
the Spectrum model, developed by
Thompson and Shrage in 2008.
For the rest of this story, see
SMichiganDaily.om/blogs