Monday, May 23, 2011 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com 'U' Autism Center to close after director resigns In wake of closure, new program to develop in 2012 By CLAIRE HALL Daily Staff Reporter Catherine Lord, director of the University of Michigan Autism and Communication Disorders Center, will be leaving the University this fall to open a new autism center in New York City. Her departure will conse- quently lead to the closure of the center, primarily built around her research. Despite the loss of UMACC, the University will still be working toward developing autism research programs in the future, and current research ini- tiatives funded by the federal gov- ernment will continue after she leaves. According to information provided to The Michigan Daily, by the University, the University Health System will look to develop a new "comprehensive and multi- disciplinary program to evaluate children with autism" in 2012 in response to the loss. The new program will come in addition to those that current- ly exist for patients with autism using the University Health Sys- tem, which include a number of clinics within the Department of Pediatrics and the Department of Psychiatry. Additionally, Lord said the two federally funded studies currently being conducted by UMACC will continue following her departure so as not to disrupt patients' treat- ment. Other UMACC patients, Lord said, will be introduced to other services available in the Ann Arbor area. Lord said she thinks it's unfor- tunate that the University is shut- ting down UMACC because it will end the care it currently provides for children with autism and their families, adding that she feels the center serves an important need for the community. "I think we do serve a particular need because on campus there really isn't another center that provides family-ori- ented care for kids and families and adults," she said. The new autism center that Lord will establish in New York, the Institute for Brain Develop- ment, is scheduled to open its doors in late 2012. The Institute will operate in collaboration with New York Presbyterian Hospital, the home of Wiell Cornell Medical Col- lege and Columbia University Col- lege of Physicians and Surgeons, Lord said. Lord said the Institute will also benefit from having the ability to hire junior faculty. This isa signifi- cant change from UMACC, where Lord herself was the only faculty member on staff. She said she was pleased that the New York center will be supported by a group rather than just one individual. Lord added that she resisted the move to New York at first, but eventually the opportunity to set up a new autism center persuaded her. She said the fact that her chil- dren have established careers in New York City made the timing seem right. Lord also said the new Insti- tute will have more funding and research opportunities compared to what is available at the Univer- sity, though they will have similar initiatives. "Hopefully we'll be more inte- grated into the medical system, and then also we will have philan- thropic support so we'll be able to subsidize some things that we just can't do here in Michigan," Lord said. Donor funding will allow the New York center to provide more support and assistance for families with members who have autism and other developmental disor- ders, Lord said. She explained that such programs can be difficult to sustain in Michigan because they aren't usually covered by health insurance. In addition to her work at the center, Lord will continue teaching in New York at Teachers College, Columbia University's Graduate School of Education. "Although that's not going to be my main job, I really want to keep in touch with teaching," Lord said. Lord will only be teaching graduate students, though she said she would like to work with under- graduates again in the future. "We hope we can affiliate with undergraduate programs just because the undergraduates here at (the University) have been so important to us," Lord said. "We just have an army of undergradu- ates who help us do almost every- thing that we do." Despite her departure, Lord said it has been a joy to teach at the University and to be a part of both the psychology department and UMACC. "I think this is an amazing university," Lord said. "It's been a wonderful experience." 450fie gan'ais 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1327 www.michigandaily.com BETHANY BIRON ZACHARYYANCER CONTACT INFORMATION Newsroom Offi.c.hour 734-763-2459 NewsTips news@michigandaily.com Cetons corre ct.....aionsmchgvadiy.com. 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By CECE ZHOU David Sandalow, assistant sec- Daily StaffReporter retary for policy and internation- al affairs at the U.S. Department sbers of the world's two of Energy, opened the conference energy-consuming coun- by explaining the significance net at the University this of past agreements between the nd to discuss and highlight U.S. and China, including the ss in global sustainability 1979 Agreement on Cooperation een technology. in Science and Technology and essors, professionals and, the seven clean energy initia- ts from the United States tives announced by U.S. Presi- ina participated in the 2011 dent Barack Obama and China's Sustainability Conference, President Hu Jintao in November versity-sponsored sympo- 2009. held at Rackham Audito- Dr. Xiangli Chen, president of hat focused on developing General Electric China Technol- rships between the two ogy Center, explained how sus- s and fostered discussion tainability has caused companies like his own to work not just for their own gain but to increase collaboration with others around the globe in order to make a posi- tive impact on the world and to encourage growth. Many speakers emphasized that the key to sustainability is a correct combination of technol- ogy and government policies. In a plenary discussion, Ma Jun, founding director of the insti- tute of Public and Environmen- tal Affairs and author of "China's Water Crisis," talked about the necessity of keeping people informed about the state and pur- pose of sustainability projects. "At this point, the businesses will not talk about their green products and green strategies," Jun said. "We need companies to come with a full disclosure of their data, the performance of their products, as well as the dis- charge data of not just the manu- facturing but the whole cycle ... all the way down to disposal. This whole life cycle process." Jun said he thinks the biggest obstacle is that corporations need to be motivated to do their part to use funding for sustainable initia- tives, and that it's important for the general public to encourage them to do. "We created all these goals and standards but enforcement remains to be weak ... Our envi- ronmental challenges cannot wait for that ... I believe that we need public participation to sup- plement (the) lack of motivation," he said. J. Carl Ganter, director and co-founder of Circle of Blue - a group of journalists, scientists See CONFERENCE, Page 7 arah Squire WebDevelopment Manager squire@,,ichiga rdail y..con BUSINESSSTAFF Ashley Karadesheh Sales Manager AlexisNewton ProductionManager Meghan Rooney Layout Manager Connor Byrd SpecialProjects Quy Vo Circulation Manager The Michigan Daily (ISSN 0745-967) is published Monday through Friday during the fall and winter terms by students at the University of Michigan. One copy is available free of charge to all readers. Additional copies may be picked up at the Daily's office for $2. Subscriptions for fall term, starting in September, via U.S. nail are $110. Winter term lananrythrough April) is$15,yearlong (Septemberthrough April) is $195. 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