Interim Provost Paul Courant,
who was a moderator of the event
and introduced the overarching
topic to be addressed.
“The bargain between the
research university and society
is under much greater stress
than we imagined it could or
would be,” Courant said before
introducing Shapiro.
Shapiro, who was president of
the University from 1980 to 1987,
agreed with Courant’s initial
sentiments.
“It is critical to acknowledge
as a nation we currently face an
environment characterized by
such a high level of cultural, social,
economic and political anxiety,”
Shapiro
said.
“Michigan’s
commitments to its teaching
and research programs rest on
a
foundational
commitment
that facts do matter and that
centuries of scholarship have
created a legacy that continues to
contribute to the ongoing vitality
of our society.”
Duderstadt,
who
held
the
position from 1988 to 1996,
followed Shapiro’s thoughts on
the role of scholarship in a modern
liberal state by adopting a phrase
that considers the University
a
“privately
supported
but
publicly committed institution.”
Duderstadt
acknowledged
contemporary
challenges
the
University may face.
“More
specifically,
our
challenges have been first, to
develop a financial paradigm that
could address the disappearance
of state support and second,
to
sustain
our
fundamental
mission,” Duderstadt said.
Bollinger, president of the
University from 1996 to 2001,
considered
the
University’s
responsibility
to
be
engaged
in the current political sphere,
which Schlissel echoed in his
comments later.
Bollinger
recognized
the
ability
of
the
University
to
bring the next generation into
an intellectual life, and the
important role of universities to
establish an understanding of
issues of social importance.
“You can’t have a love of
humankind unless you start with
a deep sense of love and affection
for
the
people
immediately
around you,” Bollinger said. “We
have to be in alignment more or
less with human needs and issues
and I’ve come to believe that
we are not in proper alignment
today.”
Coleman,
who
was
the
University’s first female president
and served from 2002 to 2014,
focused her individual speech on
the efforts she took to digitize the
University’s books.
“By digitizing today’s books
through our own efforts and
partnerships with others, we are
protecting the written word for all
time,” Coleman said. “By making
them available online, we would
expose them to the possibility of
commercial success.”
Schlissel
though
quickly
pivoted the conversation to a
conflicting set of political issues.
“In the public space, our
political
leaders
are
talking
about
clamping
down
on
immigration as a mechanism
to make our nation safer, and
it’s certainly a legitimate worry
of the government to make the
United States as safe as possible
for its citizens,” Schlissel said.
“Many people are concerned in
this era of economic insecurity
that immigrants may somehow
make it harder for them to get a
job.”
Yet Schlissel referred to the
presence of students who benefit
from the Deferred Action for
Child Arrivals program in the
University
community
and
those
affected
by
President
Donald Trump’s recent ban on
immigration from predominantly
Muslim countries.
“Here’s
the
challenge
for
us: Not only are we a nation of
immigrants, we are a university
of immigrants,” Schlissel said.
“The
folks
that
come
here
to do research are actually
contributing to the innovation
pipeline that comes out of our
great University … The students
that we educate here that go back
to their own country, they take a
little bit of America with them.
They demystify our country.”
Schlissel finalized his remarks
by noting his necessity as a
University leader to speak out
ethically and morally.
Krenz, a professor for the
bicentennial course Philosophy
162, The University of Michigan:
A
Moral
Institution,
had
a
number of students present at
the event, including Engineering
senior Jesse Newton.
“(The class focuses on) mostly
just the role of the University
and how they play in society and
different ethical problems that
the University can run into,”
Newton said. “We went over
in class before we came to this
Shapiro’s role in making us a more
exclusive university, Duderstadt’s
role in focusing on engineering
and that science (and) Coleman’s
role in development of the North
Campus Research Center.”
English
Ph.D.
candidate
Elizabeth Harlow had posed
a question to the panel of how
a university president can be
effective in exercising power in
the political realm, especially in
response to Bollinger’s discussion
of the evolution of a global
communication system. Later,
Harlow said she believed the
presidents were appropriate in
their responses.
“I
thought
that
the
conversation
about
academic
freedom
and
the
existential
threat of the political climate to
what a university is was really
fascinating,” Harlow said. “I’m
a member of the graduate class
that’s been convened around the
question of the bargain between
the University and society and
it’s something that we’ve been
struggling with all term and it
was really interesting to think
about how the University can and
needs to negotiate the political.”
Robin Washington, ’84 alum
and member of the President’s
Advisory
Council,
said
she
wished more current students
had attended the event.
“It’s
phenomenal
to
bring
together all the ex-presidents
and
get
their
perspectives,”
Washington said. “It’s clear to see
their passion for the school, but
also their acute awareness of the
importance of the University as
well as the culture and tradition,
which I think they all have great
respect for.”
Washington noted Schlissel’s
ability to navigate significant
issues in a local and national
context.
“It’s rare to get that type
of continuity and just to hear
the likeness of thought, the
complementary, but also the
variation in their viewpoints
of what matters,” Washington
said. “I love (Schlissel’s) courage
and his awareness to talk about
critical but politically sensitive
issues.”
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
News
Friday, April 7, 2017 — 3
KEVIN ZHENG/Daily
University President Mark Schlissel discusses the “Evolving Bargain between Research Universities and Society” at the President’s Bicentennial
Colloquium in Rackham on Thursday.
SCHLISSEL
From Page 1
“We
want
to
provide
a
sampling
of
what
our
students
experience
every
day in the classroom,” she
said. “We’re pleased to work
with
local
merchants
to
connect the campus with the
community.”
Barry Fishman, a professor
in the Schools of Information
and Education, gave one such
talk — “School is a Game …
But is it a GOOD game?” ––
at 826michigan, a writing
workshop that provides free
tutoring for K-12 students
in Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti and
Detroit.
In
his
talk,
Fishman
criticized the way the K-12
system is designed, saying
it
discourages
risk-taking
and intellectual creativity.
Asking the audience what
they most wanted out of
education or their children’s
education,
many
audience
members agreed that student
engagement and investment
in the learning process were
most important.
“Where high school used
to be preparation for college,
it is now preparation for your
college application,” Fishman
said. “The fear is that if I
make one mistake, I won’t be
able to apply to the college I
want.”
Suggesting
education
should be designed like a
game, Fishman stated any
successful video game also
provides a good learning
environment.
“A really good game gets
you involved to the level
where you feel like you’re a
partner with the character,
or you are the character,” he
said. “I would argue that’s
actually the ultimate aim
of literature, or science or
anything. When students are
in science class, you want
them to be thinking like a
scientist, and that’s a very
important challenge.”
BICENTENNIAL
From Page 1
a double is $10,872 per
occupant and a triple is
$9,612, dependent on size
and
whether
the
rooms
include private bathrooms.
The
average
costs
for
next year are expected to
increase to $13,363 for a
single, $11,198 for a double
and $9,900 for a triple.
The cost hike is necessary
to
maintaining
a
high
standard of living in the
residence halls, with the
3-percent increase identical
to the rate increases in the
past two years, according to
Shetty.
“The
rate
increase
reflects
the
increasing
cost
of
operations
and
improvements
to
the
residence halls,” Shetty said.
Rushton said the RHA’s
goal is to maintain a high
standard of living and food
quality for residents while
keeping costs under control
as much as possible.
“Ultimately,
we
want
things to be affordable,”
Rushton said. “If students
are to come to this university
they need to be able to pay
for it — and not just through
receiving aid.”
While the rate of inflation
in the United States has been
2.2 percent, Rushton said
this 3-percent increase in
funding is expected and will
likely remain at a similar
level in the future.
“It is a continual effort;
it’s not something where
we say ‘well now we never
need to improve again,’ ”
Rushton said. “We don’t see
a foreseeable drop in the
future because we always
need to be improving.”
While the RHA committee
approved of the 1-percent
operations
increase,
they
conditionally endorsed the
2-percent RLI increase if, in
the long term, an alternative
source of funding can be
found.
“A one percent increase
to room and board rates
for operational purposes is
modest,” the committee’s
recommendations
stated.
“The Committee approves
the
two
percent
rates
increase for RLI this coming
year, although expects a new
financing solution to be fully
fledged to the satisfaction
of the residential student
body.”
The
passed
resolution
also states the RHA believes
the burden of the RLI costs
should not continue to fall
on University residents, and
there should be an alteration
in the future.
“RHA believes that the
current system of annual
2%
increases
in
Room
and Board Rates for the
Residence
Life
Initiative
(RLI) is not sustainable long
term, and that the burden of
RLI improvements should
not continue to fall upon the
residents of the university,”
the passed resolution states.
RHA
From Page 1
was one of the first four
universities to partner with
MOOC
provider
Coursera,
launching
its
first
course
through the platform in 2012.
In fall 2015, the University
also aligned with edX. With
over
100
courses
currently
running or in production, the
school is now well on its way
to accomplishing its goal of
transforming over 200 courses
into full-fledged MOOCs by
the end of 2017, according to
DeVaney.
In the early days of University
MOOCs, professors were mostly
self-motivated, creating entire
courses by themselves in their
spare time. Severance said his
first MOOC, a course about the
history of the internet, which
he describes as a way to turn
history buffs into technology
nerds,
arose
out
of
pretty
rudimentary materials.
“In 2012, we just found a way,”
Severance said. “In the early
days, I just bought a camera and
stuck it on my computer and
started talking … you used to be
able to get these things done in a
weekend!”
Two years later, in 2014, as
MOOC production started to
pick up, the University started
looking for a way to incorporate
them into the greater University
experience. This spurred the
creation of the Digital Education
& Innovation Lab, now housed
within the Office of Academic
Innovation. Today, MOOCs are
collaborative projects between
the instructors of the courses
and the DEIL, which is home to
studios where instructors can
film their classes.
In Severance’s opinion, this
change is positive, but he noted
it also comes with its own
difficulties. MOOCs now require
a major time commitment from
instructors — gone are the days
when an entire course could be
completed in a weekend.
“Now, it’s very organized
and
there
are
professional
studios and professional camera
people with professional lights,
professional
microphones,
professional
everything,”
Severance
said.
“It’s
really
pretty when they’re done, but
it takes a lot longer than it used
to.”
Currently, MOOCs generally
take about three to six months
to complete, and the process
involves many more people than
it did five years ago. DeVaney
said MOOCs are now much more
collaboratively created.
“Faculty submit a proposal
first to their college or school
and then to a University-level
faculty committee for feedback
and approval,” DeVaney said.
“Once approved, the faculty
team will work with the Office
of
Academic
Innovation
to
design and develop the new
MOOC.”
Always
on
the
forefront
of
MOOC
production,
the
University has several bigger
projects in the works that are
among the first of their kind.
Last month, the Office of
Academic Innovation announced
at its Innovation Forum the
University would begin a Teach-
Out Series to inform the public
on a large scale about current
issues. Dean of Libraries James
Hilton, who is also the vice
provost for academic innovation,
said the courses would help
inform citizens about relevant
current events topics on a large
scale.
“The University of Michigan
Teach-Out Series can be a model
for a new era of engagement
between institutions of higher
education
and
the
global
communities
they
serve,”
Hilton said at the forum. “Part
of our public mission is to create
opportunities for citizens to
be informed, because the more
informed people are, the more
informed debate can be.”
Additionally, students in a
School of Natural Resources
and Environment seminar are
creating the first-ever student-
led
MOOC,
which
will
be
released in early May.
“They’re only going to help
us.”
Though the University is a
big proponent of MOOCs, there
are some aspects of the process
that seem daunting to potential
instructors.
As
mentioned
above,
the
time
commitment
can
be
nerve-wracking
for
some.
Rachel Niemer, the director
of the University’s Gameful
Learning Lab, recently made
a
MOOC
about
gameful
learning pedagogy with Barry
Fishman, a professor from the
Information School and the
School of Education. She said
Fishman came to the project
with concerns about how much
time the project would take up.
“In the beginning, Barry …
was nervous about how much
time it was going to take,” she
said. “In the end, he ended
up being a much bigger fan of
the process than he expected
to be. Most people find that
it’s challenging to figure out
how to fit it all together, but I
think faculty are pretty used to
situations where they had to (do
that).”
DeVaney
echoed
Niemer’s
sentiments, saying most faculty
find the MOOC creation process
to be rewarding and informative.
“The most common feedback
from faculty is that the effort
required to create a MOOC
was more than they expected,
(but) that the experience was
transformative,
that
they’ll
never teach on campus the
same way, and that they want to
create another,” DeVaney said.
This
idea
of
changing
campus climate is one that
comes up frequently in talks
about MOOCs, and people are
generally
undecided
about
whether this change will be
for better or for worse. Here
at
the
University,
though,
most people think the rise of
MOOCs will only improve the
college experience. Severance
thinks there’s no possibility
of harm from MOOCs — only
improvement.
“They’re only going to help
us,” he said. “There might be
others that are harmed by this,
but not us. I think ultimately
what is going to happen is
we are going to find ways to
smooth everybody’s transition
into higher education and have
people arrive on campus better
prepared to make the most of
their time on campus with us.
We will teach less remedial stuff
and more fun stuff.”
“We’re going to continue to
break this mold of what a MOOC
is.”
Of course, MOOCs are not
perfect,
and
the
University
constantly working to improve
them. One area Niemer is trying
to change is the relatively
rigid pedagogical structure of
MOOCs. Her course, which was
released last month on edX, is
about gameful learning, and it
was important to Niemer that
the class use the method she
was trying to teach. This proved
to be difficult.
“MOOC platforms tend to
assume one kind of delivery,
and they’re really designed
with an implicit pedagogy,”
she said. “And even though
MOOCs themselves are really
innovative, I see that as a space
for further innovation. Over the
next few years, we’re going to
continue to break this mold of
what a MOOC is and really bring
new and exciting … learning
experiences.”
Natural
Resources
and
Environment student Dahlia
Rockowitz is currently enrolled
in the MOOC creation seminar
and has had the unique ability
to
experience
MOOCs
as
both a learner and a creator.
She and her classmates in
the
seminar
are
creating
a
course,
tentatively
titled
ActOn Climate, which aims to
introduce learners to climate
action by presenting different
ways people experience the
environment.
Though Rockowitz enjoys the
creation process and finds it to
be a great experience, she said
being both a full-time student
and an instructor has some
challenges, especially within
the MOOC format.
“We’re
trying
to
do
something brand new, in that
we’re designing a brand-new
course and it’s people most of
whom don’t have a background
in online education,” she said.
“Everyone’s really committed to
making sure the MOOC is really
interesting and engaging and
motivating, but also recognizing
that we have other obligations
of students and the timeline of
the world doesn’t always match
up with the timeline of the
University of Michigan.”
Rockowitz sees some room
for
improvement
from
the
learner’s side of MOOCs, too.
She thinks more engagement
and communication between
students is necessary for future
MOOCs.
“I
remember
thinking
it
was really cool to be sitting in
my living room and watching
a lecture,” Rockowitz said. “I
remember it being hard to wrap
my head around that there
were so many other people like
me around the world taking
the course … I also remember
wanting to dedicate more time
to (a) course than I actually
could. There are quizzes and
assignments and stuff, but not
that
same
accountability
…
also, I’m a people person, and it
would’ve been nice to interact
with others.”
On the other hand, LSA
freshman Boyang Yu felt the
fluidity and independence of the
MOOCs he’s taken were major
assets to the courses. While he
has not taken any MOOCs since
coming to the University, he
completed two in high school
and greatly enjoyed them.
“I’m not one of those people
who needs to study in groups
and I really like the freedom a
MOOC has of starting whenever
you
want
and
repeating
whatever you want,” Yu said.
“In certain ways, it works better
than physical classes.”
MOOCs are a new concept,
and they will undoubtedly grow
and change. The focus going
forward, though, will likely be
on what the learners want —
whether it’s more structure, like
Rockowitz prefers, or less, as Yu
would like. Regardless of what
changes will be made, the most
important thing, as Severance
said, will be improving access
to a University of Michigan
education to anyone around the
globe.
“(The
learners
are)
the
reason I got into it,” Severance
said. “I got into it to impact
lots of lives in a positive way. I
love programming and I love
technology and I think everyone
should love it, but I can’t get to
meet everyone. With the MOOC,
I can affect all these people’s
lives in a positive way, and there
are tons and tons of stories
about people who take one class
and it changes their life … that is
so gratifying … I’m the luckiest
person in the world!”
MOOCS
From Page 1