its
National
Guard
Tuition
Assistance Program in 2014 by
creating a tuition fund within
the state treasury, capped at
$10 million.
Despite
these
efforts
to
improve
education
funding
for members of the Michigan
National Guard, the program
introduced in 2014 struggled
with red tape complexities.
According to Brig. Gen. Michael
Stone,
assistant
adjutant
general for installations of the
Michigan Army National Guard,
a
multitude
of
obstructing
steps were necessary in order
to approve tuition assistance
for members of the Michigan
National Guard.
The signed bill, which is now
Public Act 531 of 2016, amends
the current program to expand
the financial discretion of the
Department of Military and
Veterans Affairs. The Michigan
National
Guard
Tuition
Assistance Fund can distribute
money to either an individual
member
of
the
National
Guard or his or her academic
institution.
Under the new legislation,
Maj. Gen. Gregory Vadnais,
adjutant general and director of
Military and Veterans Affairs
for
the
Michigan
National
Guard,
has
the
power
to
allocate money directly to an
individual’s institution. The act
limits lengthy administrative
obstructions that previously
hindered
members
of
the
Michigan National Guard from
receiving timely educational
funding.
“The
changes
essentially
allow us to pay the school
directly,
which
increases
efficiency,” Stone said. “The
new
language
increases
efficiency
and
reduces
manpower by eliminating the
middle person in the process.
A Michigan Guard member can
complete an online application
and have tuition paid directly
to his or her school.”
The
Michigan
National
Guard State Tuition Program
may
now
award
soldiers
and airmen of the Michigan
National Guard up to $600 per
credit hour with a $6,000 cap
at nearly all Michigan public or
private universities, vocational
schools, tech schools or trade
schools.
“Those who serve to defend
and protect our state deserve
the ability to also reach their
academic
goals,”
Snyder
said. “This bill gives greater
flexibility
to
the
National
Guard Tuition Assistance Fund
in order to provide tuition
assistance to those who bravely
serve their state and nation.”
LSA
junior
Colin
Kelly,
president of the University’s
chapter of College Democrats,
said
because
of
the
straightforward nature of this
legislation,
the
organization
did not wish to comment.
LSA
student
Audrey
Carlstrom has been in the
Michigan Air National Guard
since Dec. 2013, and has been
a
full-time
student
at
the
University since Jan. 2014.
Carlstrom said she had never
applied for tuition aid until this
semester.
“Before now I never applied
because I never thought I
qualified even though I had read
the requirements,” Carlstrom
said. “I’m not fully aware of the
new changes to be honest, but
in the past I’ve felt disqualified
before even trying because of
the limited benefits of the state,
the university I attend, and the
federal I receive through the GI
Bill and the state.”
Engineering
sophomore
Emma Terbeek, vice president
of
the
University’s
chapter
of
College
Republicans,
is
originally from Michigan and
supports Gov. Snyder’s efforts
to support members of the
Michigan National Guard who
deserve affordable education
for their service.
“I
think
it’s
great
that
Governor Snyder is trying to
make it easier for those that
serve our country and my state
to have access to money to afford
a college education,” Terbeek
said.
“It
also
incentivizes
people joining National Guard
because of the streamlined way
they will be paying for college
tuition.”
Tuesday, January 10, 2017 — 3
News
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
AARON BAKER/Daily
Omar Saif Ghobash, UAE ambassador to Russia, discusses his book Letters to a Young Muslim at Rackham on Monday.
AUTHOR AMBA SSADOR
in building up these tools,”
Avidar said. “We would create
a script using the tool that we
had built then we would send
it out. So that was kind of the
‘aha’ moment. We were like,
‘hey, let’s build the exact same
tool that Amazon has built but
for a different medium.’ ”
Avidar said the company
made
over
$9
million
in
revenue last year and has
received over $29 million in
funding since its inception.
“So we are providing them a
toolkit,” Avidar said. “The best
metaphor that I can say is that
most people were using pen
and paper beforehand, and
we’re providing the new age
calculator to the developer.”
Avidar said being honored
by Forbes was a validation of
Lob as a company, but won’t
change
their
day-to-day
operations going forward.
“It’s not really a recognition
of myself, because I’m not a
sole builder of Lob,” Avidar
said.
“So
it’s
more
of
a
recognition for my team. What
it means is that my team has
done a great job building the
company over the last three
and a half years. I have a team
that’s dedicated to a really
important mission. I think it’s
just validation for our team
and validation for our idea. It
will build more trust for the
customers deciding whether
or not to use Lob.”
Avidar credited a lot of his
and his company’s success to
his ties with the University of
Michigan, where he met Zhang
in the Business School. Avidar
and Zhang reunited in Seattle,
where they continued not only
their business endeavors, but
their friendship.
“He was the first person I
reached out to,” Avidar said.
“Me and him grew very close
when I was there; we have the
same interests. We both have
the business acumen. We both
respect each other as people.
He has led us to get amazing
companies at Lob.”
Zhang
leads
Sales
and
Marketing, and has been able
to gain access to companies
such as Microsoft, Amazon
and Square.
Avidar said the four core
members of Lob met while
attending
the
University.
Avidar
stressed
the
importance of working closely
with people in college because
you might again in the future.
“The Michigan ties are
huge,” Avidar said. “Don’t
underestimate the people you
went to school with or the
person that sat next to you
in class. You never know, one
day you might be starting a
company with them. I am
building a company, but at
the same time it feels like
me working with a bunch of
friends.”
The
Business
School
also
made
a
statement
congratulating
the
two
businessmen.
“Congratulations
to
two
Michigan Ross alumni, Leore
Avidar
and
Harry
Zhang,
BBA ‘11, on being honored on
Forbes’ annual ‘30 Under 30’
list,” the statement read.
Avidar said there is a new
API being released in March
and another at the end of
the year, with the long-term
mission being to create a
suite of APIs for companies to
choose from.
“We want to show that we
are the best at building and
selling APIs,” Avidar said.
“It’s empowering to our team
that we hit a milestone and we
can celebrate it. But we have
many more milestones that we
need to achieve. It’ll push us
to our next milestone.”
Business School Dean Scott
DeRue wrote in an email
interview
he
believes
the
success of Avidar and Zhang
demonstrates the benefits of
a business education at the
University.
“We’re so proud of Leore and
Harry for their success with
Lob.com,” he wrote. “Being
named to Forbes’ ‘30 Under
30’ List is an achievement that
speaks to their outstanding
creativity, determination, and
leadership abilities. Leore and
Harry’s story is a wonderful
example of Michigan Ross’
tradition
of
excellence
in
entrepreneurship, and it is an
inspiration for students across
the University of Michigan
who also possess bold ideas
for the future of business.”
ROSS
From Page 1
theresolution
dealt
with
scenarios
where
teaching
responsibilities were increased
but salary was not.
“There’s
another
way
to
reduce
someone’s
salary
effectively, which is to say that
the base is still the same but your
teaching load is (increased),”
Wright said. “This wouldn’t
catch that.”
This sparked some debate
within
the
committee,
as
SACUA member David Smith,
a professor of pharmaceutical
sciences,
disagreed
with
Wright’s comment. He felt that
increasing a professor’s teaching
load is an acceptable course
of action for a department to
take, and does not count as a
demotion.
“I think it’s legal to give
people
more
responsibilities
with service or teaching, if, say,
their research falls down,” Smith
said. “What (the unwarranted
salary decreases) seem a clear
attempt to do, at least to me, is
to bypass (the bylaw) and make
it uncomfortable in a financial
sense for the person to want to
remain at the University.”
Committee member Silke-
Maria
Weineck,
professor
of
German
studies
and
comparative
literature,
disagreed with Smith’s notion
that teaching responsibilities
could be increased to substitute
for lagging research and felt that
it in some cases, it could be more
harmful than a salary decrease.
“Salary
is
actually
much
more
fluid
than
teaching
load,” Weineck said. “In some
disciplines where you publish
more frequently, you can gauge
research output more easily,
but in the humanities, it’s not so
easy to gauge whether someone
is doing research.”
Committee member Stefan
Szymanski,
a
Kinesiology
professor, said the definition
of a demotion may have to be
modified. He reasoned that
the definition of demotion is
a lowering of status and the
explanation made by the AAAC
does not explicitly cover this
or a salary decrease nor does a
teaching increase satisfy this
definition.
Wright
suggested
the
committee revise the resolution
to broaden the definition of
demotion
and
clarify
other
terms regarding the increase
of
teaching
responsibilities.
However, since the resolution
was written by the AAAC,
the new additions had to be
written in a separate resolution,
he said. A new resolution was
quickly written by Weineck and
presented to the committee.
The two resolutions on the
table were brought up for vote
by the committee. The original
proposal to endorse the AAAC’s
resolution was passed by SACUA
by a vote of 4 to 2.
The later resolution to clarify
the definition of demotion failed
with a tied vote, but can still be
brought up independently at the
Senate Assembly meeting.
SACUA
From Page 1
the name Michigan Medicine
encapsulates a more cohesive
sentiment that could do its
traditions more justice.
“While it’s less descriptive
than the very literal old name,
the name Michigan Medicine
feels
more
like
a
brand,”
Froehlich said. “That could
make our health system even
more recognizable.”
The Board also approved a
new partnership between the
University and Metro Health in
Grand Rapids last September.
Metro Health CEO Michael
Faas said in an earlier press
release that partnering with
the University will add options
for increased care to Metro
Health patients, particularly in
the Grand Rapids community.
“It is no secret that U-M
has some of the best providers
in the state and country,”
Faas wrote in a statement in
June. “By joining the ‘leaders
and best’ we can build on our
existing expertise and provide
our patients and community
with
enhanced
access
to
specialized
health
care
services, scientific discovery
and advanced technology.”
With its 500 physicians and
208-bed hospital, Metro Health
hopes to increase accessibility
and options for its patients
through this new relationship.
Michigan Medicine allows for
these increased options with
the University’s three hospitals,
40 outpatient locations and
home
care
operations
that
handle more than 2.1 million
outpatient visits a year.
According to the Michigan
Medicine’s press release, Board
Chair Mark Bernstein (D) said
the new partnership is evidence
of the University’s goal to expand
outside Ann Arbor. Runge agrees,
believing the new title will fit the
new health system and its future
ambitions better.
“We
expect
Michigan
Medicine will help generate
a better understanding of the
strengths
of
our
academic
medical center and will energize
all our faculty and staff,” Runge
wrote.
MEDICINE
From Page 1
It’s empowering
to our team that
we hit a milestone
and we can
celebrate it. But
we have many
more milestones
that we need to
achieve
It is no secret that
U-M has some of
the best providers
in the state and
country
The new language
increases
efficiency
and reduces
manpower by
eliminating the
middle person in
the process
In the past I’ve
felt disqualified
before even trying
because of the
limited benefits
of the state, the
university I attend
and the federal I
receive through
the GI Bill and the
state
TUITION
From Page 1
THE MICHIGAN DAILY IS HIRING
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