return to teaching in 2013. Prior
to his appointment as interim vice
president, Hu served as associate
dean for academic affairs in the
College of Engineering, and was
also associate dean for research
and graduate education.
Because
then-current
University President Mary Sue
Coleman was retiring in the
summer of 2014, Hu said she did
not want to choose someone to
serve in the position long-term.
Instead,
Hu
was
given
a
two-year
interim
appointment
from Coleman, who knew him
through their work experience
together
on
the
Advanced
Manufacturing
Partnership,
a
selection of leaders assembled
by President Barack Obama to
develop
recommendations
on
strengthening U.S. manufacturing.
During Hu’s tenure as interim
vice president, two significant
University
initiatives
were
launched, including the M-City test
environment at the University’s
Mobility Transformation Center
as well as a campus-wide initiative
in data science.
Hu
said
moving
forward,
one key initiative he wants to
facilitate at the University is
creating more opportunities for
undergraduate research. Because
of the Undergraduate Research
Opportunity Program, which is
run by LSA, he said in the past
the vice president’s office did not
provide as much direct support for
student research.
“Whether that is support or
making the faculty more visible
to the students, I want to enhance
that,” Hu said. “I don’t have a
concrete plan, but I had some ideas
(being formulated) last year — that
is to support student teams. I think
we will have something hopefully
in the fall that I can announce.”
Hu said he believes there could
be research opportunities available
for every student, though he noted
the question remains as to how
many students the University can
support. However, he emphasized
that he believed students from
all disciplines should be able to
participate in research.
“For the University, the goal
is to continue to strengthen our
reputation,” Hu said. “How do we
make the University of Michigan
a recognized research university?
We are, but the question is whether
we are at the top. We have to have
certain strategies in continuing to
promote our reputation.”
University
Regent
Andrew
Richner (R–Grosse Pointe Park)
said it is important for the vice
president to have a strong academic
background, be a well-respected
academic leader and have vision
and intellectual curiosity.
“(Hu)
is
widely
respected
among the campus community,”
Richner said. “He is an outstanding
academic leader … he brings
real discipline and intellectual
curiosity to his position.”
Along
with
new
research
opportunities, Hu said he also
hopes to continue projects he
began as an interim, including
supporting
research
across
all three University campuses
and
developing
large-scale
interdisciplinary
research
initiatives
by
facilitating
the
research that faculty members
want to do.
Along with research initiatives
on campus, Hu noted that much
of his job encompasses obtaining
funding for research.
Currently,
the
University
receives
one
of
the
highest
amounts of federal funding for
research in the country, with an
estimated $1.3 billion in research
expenditures.
“I travel to D.C. and go to
companies...to
diversify
the
sources of funding for research,”
Hu said. “The government funding
has been on a decline for some time
after the great recession. During
that time, we had the American
Reinvestment
and
Recovery
Project, ARRA, so a lot of money
was put into NIH, for example.
But steadily we’re on a decline,
so we have to find other sources
of money to support our research
effort.”
Beyond the government, the
University also receives funding
from a number of other sources,
including industry, individuals and
public and private foundations.
In an e-mail interview, White
wrote that she saw increasing
research activity and funding,
identifying
new
research
opportunities and promoting the
commercialization of University
discoveries, as key parts of the
vice president for research’s role.
Because the University is among
the largest research institutions in
the world, and competition is high
for research funding, White said
she looks forward to continued
success in the competition for that
funding under Hu.
Richner said he thought the has
already had success, in terms of of
federal grant funding and research
funding, during Hu’s tenure as
interim vice president.
“(Hu)
recognizes
that
it’s
really important to emphasize
to policy makers and to other
funding sources the importance
of showing the progress that we’ve
made in University research —
what progress has been made in
terms of research successes and
what is being accomplished for
the funding that we do receive,”
Richner said.
Beyond funding, Hu noted
that his position also requires
him to extend his work through
all three University campuses
because his office supports the
research process and manages
their
government
compliance
programs at all three. As well,
his office works with the Office
of Technology Transfer, an office
that manages the University’s
intellectual properties for all three
campuses.
Overall, Hu said he wants to use
several strategies to ensure the
University maintains its reputation
as an excellent research facility.
“(The
University
should)
promote our faculty, nominate
them for the most important
prizes in the field, promote our
research (and) try to demonstrate
how we’re impacting society,
impacting
policy
through
research,” he said.
White wrote that she hopes that
Hu finds new opportunities for the
University to focus its research
strengths on problems and issues
of great importance to society.
“Finding innovative ways to
utilize the depth and breadth of
the University to solve societal
problems is something I hope we
continue to do,” she wrote.
Rackham student Marc Paff,
a
nuclear
engineering
Ph.D.
candidate, said during his time
at the University, the research
programs have been beneficial,
allowing him to further his own
projects and network. Paff is
currently working on devices
often installed for border crossing
that screen incoming vehicles and
trucks, as well as airport baggage,
for smuggled nuclear radiological
material so nuclear weapons and
bombs can be prevented from
entering the United States.
“To me, the research that I do I
think is really interesting from an
intellectual standpoint,” Paff said.
“I also see that it has real world
application … it makes me feel like
my research is relevant.”
Paff said he decided to attend
graduate
school
at
Michigan
due to its highly ranked nuclear
engineering program and its overall
reputation as a well renowned
research
university.
However,
he also noted that he would like
to see research at the University
become more interdisciplinary
and collaborative.
“Sometimes I feel like research
at
the
University
feels
very
particular,” Paff said. “You don’t
collaborate with a lot of people
outside of your immediate peers
within your research program or
department.”
Paff cited MCubed, a project
that aims to bring together grad
students
and
professors
from
departments across campus, as an
example of good collaboration, and
said he would like to see more like
it.
Toni Antonucci, associate vice
president
for
research,
social
sciences and humanities, said he
agreed
more
interdisciplinary
research would be good, but
also noted that he thought Hu
had been successful in working
toward to creating opportunities
for collaboration over the past few
years.
“He’s
committed
to
high-
quality research and to providing
the support that our faculty needs
to do the best research that they
can do,” Antonucci said. “He is
interested in disciplines and areas
of expertise other than his own …
When I compare what we do with
many other universities, those
I’ve visited or that I have former
students at, it’s really impressive.
We are committed to high quality
work, we try to support our faculty
in a lot of different ways.”
However, despite the positive
things that University research
has to offer, Antonucci said there
are still many challenges that the
University has to face.
Echoing Hu, she said it’s
sometimes been difficult to receive
funding from the government.
“We as a nation are not instilling
in our citizens and in our young
people an appreciation for what
science can and has contributed,”
Antonucci said. “What I think
is a challenge that we’re facing
right now is how to encourage
interdisciplinary work within our
current budget structure … We are
facing challenges that need to be
addressed in a different way (than
they have been addressed in the
past).”
Those challenges, she added,
include genetic research, climate
change and how to increase
educational levels, particularly
in light of the recently revealed
educational issues in Detroit. In
recent months, Detroit school
teachers have protested poor
school conditions, resulting in
closings of over two-thirds of the
city’s schools.
She noted that many of these
issues have been considered by
Hu, and that the importance of
supporting collaboration is well
ingrained at the University.
Ultimately,
Richner
said
beyond his experience and ideas
about research, he thought Hu’s
knack for dealing with people in
a friendly and positive way, were
also what made him an ideal vice
president for research.
“He’s just a pleasure to work
with,” Richner said. “He really has
just such a positive attitude and
it’s contagious. I think that’s an
important leadership skill. I think
everyone that works with him
enjoys working with him.”
3-News
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
News
Tuesday, February 2, 2016 — 3
period
is
an
extra
health
concern and brings it into the
realm of luxury products is
ridiculous,” Wilson said. “It is
really degrading, being forced
to buy certain products because
it’s all you can afford when it’s
such a personal choice on what
to use and what you want to put
into your body.”
Currently, only five states
do not tax feminine hygiene
products:
Minnesota,
Pennsylvania, Maryland, New
Jersey
and
Massachusetts.
Canada abolished their tax on
feminine hygiene products in
the entire country.
Roberts said she is hoping
that Michigan can be one of the
leading states in this movement.
“There
is
no
other
comparable good or product
that has to be purchased by
men, and this is something that
only affects women, and I just
don’t think they should be taxed
for being women,” Roberts said.
“I think that helps to level the
playing field.”
Wilson
said
she
sees
the removal of the tampon
tax as not only a financial
assistance but making women
feel comfortable with their
bodies.
“If we start to take away
the
stigma
around
periods
and really start to have open
discussions about why these
things are necessary, it can
really help gender equality
and get women’s health out
of
political
discussion
and
into
professional
medical
discussion,” Wilson said.
TAX
From Page 1
2-News
KRISTINA PERKINS/Dailly
Ann Arbor resident Hope Carroll expresses her opposition to the deer cull at the Ann Arbor City Council meeting in the
City Council Chambers on Monday.
JACK HU
From Page 1
trended solidly to the right
wing of the party, with Mike
Huckabee and Rick Santorum
winning
in
the
past
two
elections. Neither succeeded in
their push for the GOP’s overall
nomination,
with
Huckabee
ending
his
campaign
eight
months before the 2008 election
and Santorum suspending his
campaign seven months before
the 2012 election.
Before Cruz took the stage,
Sen. Cruz’s wife Heidi Cruz,
father
Rafael
Cruz,
U.S.
Rep.
Steve
King
(R–Iowa),
“Duck
Dynasty”
star
Phil
Robertson
and
conservative
TV personality Glenn Beck all
praised his dedication to the
Constitution and Christianity.
Heidi Cruz urged attendees
to
consider
his
consistent
conservative
ideology
when
voting.
“I want you to leave today
knowing why I fell in love with
Ted Cruz, and I want you to
leave today having fallen in love
with Ted too,” Cruz said.
During
his
remarks,
Robertson said he attended
the rally because he fervently
believes
religious
freedoms
are at stake in the election.
The famed duck hunter faced
scrutiny in December 2013
after GQ published an article
where he spoke against the
LGBTQ community based on
his religious principles, which
left him briefly banned from the
show. Though many found his
comments offensive, Robertson
emerged as a hero for others
who supported his beliefs.
“Do you understand why I
vote Godly?” Robertson asked
the crowd. “The reason I came
is because the political situation
in our culture is collapsing
around us. In this situation
you say: Who has the power to
change it? You do. You have the
power … I have found out about
Ted Cruz; he loves God, and he
loves James Madison.”
Robertson said many of the
issues affecting the United States
stem from the lack of spiritual
members within the government.
“God raises these empires
up; it is God who brings
them down,” Robertson said.
“What we have in America is a
spiritual problem. You get the
spiritual problem of America
fixed, and the guys who make
the political decisions, they’ll
at least be Godly, and God will
be on their side.”
He also used his persona to
poke fun at Trump, soliciting
audience members to help him
blow duck calls for him.
“Trump didn’t show up for
the debate with our man Cruz
last night,” Robertson said.
“So let’s try one more time to
get Trump. Let’s call Donald
Duck to come meet with Cruz.”
Glenn Beck, who has never
endorsed a political candidate
before Sen. Cruz, also offered
remarks praising him.
“There’s a lot of really good
people who are running, there’s
one of which I don’t think is
very good,” Beck said, referring
to Trump. “I don’t mean that as
a joke; I really think that. He
concerns me gravely. I look at
what he says, and if you look at
the transcripts he says the same
thing: ‘I will make America
great again.’ No man can provide
that. It is we the people.”
Beck said he believes the past
two decades of presidencies
have not positively represented
the strong legacy of honored
presidents
such
as
George
Washington,
but
believes
Sen. Cruz’s dedication to the
Constitution makes him the
strongest candidate.
“It’s been a rough 20 years
in this country,” Beck said. “It
has been a time when we have
seen some nice highs in the
economy, but we haven’t seen
highs in our integrity in this
country, and in our integrity
around the world.”
Following the trend set by
the earlier speakers, in his
remarks Sunday Sen. Cruz
highlighted a list all of the
changes he would make on his
first day in office.
“The first thing I intend to do
(as president) is rescind every
single illegal and unconstitutional
action
taken
by
President
Obama,” Sen. Cruz said.
Additionally, Sen. Cruz said
he will launch an investigation
into Planned Parenthood, end
the persecution of religious
liberty, dismantle the Iran
nuclear deal and begin the
process of moving the American
embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.
Sen. Cruz, Heidi Cruz told
the crowd, stands apart from
the rest of his opponents in
terms of both his ideas and his
morals and values.
“This is the real deal,”
she said. “Ted is a consistent
conservative, not a campaign
conservative. I knew that from
the moment I met him.”
CRUZ
From Page 1