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NEWS

Thursday, May 23, 2019
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

At a press conference 
Thursday afternoon on the 
University 
of 
Michigan-
Dearborn campus, a speaker 
from the One University 
Campaign — a coalition of 
faculty and students from the 
University’s three campuses 
advocating equitable fund-
ing and resource allocation 
across the entire University 
system — said the group has 
had sit-down meetings with 
six out of the eight Univer-
sity regents, at which those 
regents expressed support 
for the coalition’s platform. 
The press conference came 
two hours ahead of a Board 
of Regents meeting, where a 
slate of 1U members would 
speak during the public com-
ment portion.
Abdul El-Sayed, Univer-
sity alum and former guber-
natorial candidate, said at 
the press conference the 
University should adopt 1U’s 
demands to better align with 
its goals of equitability and 
expanding academic oppor-
tunity.
“I’m here today because I 
love the University of Michi-
gan, and because I recognize 
the University of Michigan 
is not just one campus,” El-
Sayed said. “This was always 
intended to be a University 
that provided an ‘uncommon 
education for the common 
individual.’ It had, baked in 
its core, a mission of equity, 
a mission of access to educa-
tional opportunities.”
El-Sayed said the Univer-
sity “leverages” its resources 

toward Ann Arbor students 
by spending approximately 
$54,000 per Ann Arbor 
student each year, but only 
$18,000 and $15,000 at Flint 
and Dearborn, respectively. 
He also said this is a gov-
ernmental issue because the 
state allocates about half 
as much to Flint and Dear-
born per student than in 
Ann Arbor. El-Sayed said he 
is proud to lend his voice to 
1U’s push for a more equita-
ble University.
This conference comes 
one day after 12 state law-
makers — including state 
Sen. Jeff Irwin and state 
Reps. Yousef Rabhi and 
Rebekah Warren, all Demo-
crats representing the Ann 
Arbor area — signed an 
op-ed in the Detroit Free 
Press 
supporting 
“equi-
table” funding across the 
three campuses. The writ-
ers referenced many statis-
tics that lay the foundation 
for 1U’s platform, which 
is fundamentally against 
unequal 
funding 
alloca-
tions from the state for the 
three campuses and a “silo 
system” used by University 
administration for distrib-
uting resources.
Austin 
Ogle, 
a 
U-M 
Flint student and 1U steer-
ing 
committee 
member, 
said his campus has many 
infrastructure issues, like 
broken handicap buttons.
He also said medical and 
legal services available in 
Ann Arbor are not avail-
able in Flint and Dearborn. 

1U: six regents 
have ‘shown 
support’ for
new platform

The University of Michigan 
Board of Regents convened 
in Dearborn, Mich. Thursday 
afternoon for the third meeting 
of the calendar year. University 
President Mark Schlissel began 
the meeting with his address to 
the regents.
Schlissel said a new train-
ing to prevent sexual and 
gender-based misconduct for 
all faculty and staff across the 
three campuses and Michigan 
Medicine is being rolled out 
next week.
“Preventing all forms of sex-
ual and gender-based miscon-
duct remains a top priority for 
the University of Michigan,” 
Schlissel said. “I thank the 
regents for their leadership 
on this important issue and 
the many faculty and staff on 
all three of our campuses and 
Michigan Medicine who are 
contributing to our compre-
hensive efforts to reduce and 
address misconduct for all 
members of our community.”
Schlissel 
also 
welcomed 
new 
Dearborn 
Chancellor 
Domenico Grasso. Regent Ron 

Weiser congratulated Grasso, 
noting how well attended his 
inauguration was.
“As someone who is deeply 
entwined with the Dearborn 
campus, I wanted to express 
my excitement for the campus’s 
future, but also like to congrat-
ulate Dom and thank him for 
his efforts he put forth so far,” 
Weiser said. “We look forward 
to your continued leadership. 
This is really an exciting time 
for the Dearborn campus, and 
I think it’s ready to make that 
next giant leap forward.”
Schlissel also shared that 
Rebecca Cunningham, associ-
ate vice president for research, 
will be named interim vice 
president after Vice President 
Jack Hu leaves to become pro-
vost at the University of Geor-
gia. As it was his last meeting 
with the board, Schlissel said 
Hu’s initiatives have increased 
the University’s standing in the 
field and expanded its engage-
ment with society.
Hu said he was grateful for 
the opportunity to have served 
the University. Though it was 
never his “sandbox dream” 
to become vice president of 
research, he said the people he 
has met over his 34 years at the 

University have enhanced his 
research.
“This 
is 
a 
bittersweet 
moment,” Hu said. “I may be 
leaving Michigan, but Michi-
gan will never leave me. Go 
Blue.”
Schlissel also gave a brief 
overview of the Michigan Road 
Scholars program, which takes 
faculty and staff members 
around the state each year. He 
said this is an example of the 
faculty’s commitment to public 
engagement.
Schlissel then praised the 
University’s sports teams — 
eight of which have earned 
special NCAA recognition — 
for their academic and com-
petitive successes. In the same 
vein, he shared the news of 
 
Head Basketball Coach John 
Beilein’s decision to accept a 
position with the Cleveland 
Cavaliers and thanked him for 
his service to the University.
“Coach Beilein is the win-
ningest coach in program his-
tory, and he represented the U 
of M with impeccable honor 
and integrity,” Schlissel said. “I 
will forever cherish watching 
him from across the court.”
After a faculty presenta-
tion about presidential power 

from 
Mitchel 
Sollenberger, 
Dearborn professor of political 
science and associate provost, 
over 200 faculty from across 
the three campuses and Michi-
gan Medicine were presented 
for promotion. University Pro-
vost Martin Philbert said fac-
ulty play an essential role in the 
University’s service to society.
“One of the Universi-
ty’s great strengths is the 
breadth and depth of our fac-
ulty,” Philibert said. “Each 
year, the review of promo-
tion and tenure casebooks 
reaffirms our appreciation 
for the outstanding work 
of the faculty. It reveals the 
many ways they carry out 
our mission of contributing 
to the state, the nation and 
the world through research, 
teaching and service.”
U-M Dearborn Student 
Government 
President 
Sarah Nasser said she is 
committed 
to 
inclusion 
and 
access. 
Specifically, 
she said she is interested in 
parking reform, expanding 
student services and budget 
equality.

‘U’ officials reflect on Vice President of Research teunure, funding 
equity during Regents meeting in Dearborn Thursday afternoon

Abdul El-Sayed, students outline goals 
at One University press conference

COURTESY OF ALEX HARRING
U-M Dearborn Lecturer Deb Roundtree speaks about her experience, and the experience of other lecturers across the three University cam-
puses, at the Regents meeting in Dearborn Thursday afternoon.

Read more at michigandaily.com

Regents bid farewell to Hu, 
approve construction plans

ALEX HARRING
Summer Managing News Editor

Read more at michigandaily.com

ALEX HARRING
Summer Managing News Editor

