The Association of Public 
Land-Grant Universities’ 2019 
innovation 
and 
economic 
prosperity award was awarded 
to the First Customer and 
Small 
Company 
Innovation 
programs. Both initiatives are 
part of the The University of 
Michigan’s Economic Growth 
Institute. Since 2013, this award 
has commemorated exemplary 
leadership and innovation in the 
fields of entrepreneurship and 
technological economic growth. 
Both 
programs 
aim 
to 
meet the diverse needs of 
startups and small businesses 
in 
Michigan 
by 
creating 
jobs, 
bringing 
products 
to 
market and capitalizing on 
the 
University’s 
academic 
resources to provide research 
and educational opportunities. 

The 
Economic 
Growth 
Institute 
more 
generally 
aims to better the Michigan 
economy by providing services 
and allocating resources to all 
market levels. 
Vikesh 
Chandrashekar, 
project manager of the First 
Customer program, said the 
Economic 
Growth 
Institute 
improves 
the 
Michigan 
economy 
by 
engaging 
and 
supporting 
the 
many 
contributing entities.
“The 
economic 
growth 
institute, the way I like to 
describe it, is an outward 
facing 
institute 
at 
the 
University where we work with 
regional companies and try to 
bolster the economy that way,” 
Chandrashekar said. “There’s 
three facets of our engagement. 
One is through working with 
manufacturing 
companies, 
another one is working with 

technology 
ventures 
and 
entrepreneurs and the third is 
doing research that guides this 
kind of work as well.”
Chandrashekar also spoke 
on the specific purpose of the 
First Customer project as a 

major 
supporter 
of 
the 
technology 
economy 
in 
Michigan, helping to bring 
new company’s products to 
market in the most efficient 
and successful way. 
“We 
work 
with 
technology 
companies 
in helping them get their 
customers,” Chandrashekar 
said. “Technology ventures 
here 
in 
Michigan 
are 
heavy in technical talent, 
but where they might be 
lacking is in their sales 
and marketing capability… 
We’re trying to provide 
them assistance, connect 
them 
to 
the 
resources 
in the state in terms of 
consultants.”
Mary 
McCardwell, 
project 
manager 
of 
the 
Small Company Innovation 

program, said the goal of this 
project has been to develop 
and support small businesses 
and entrepreneurs with the 
necessary resources by forming 
partnerships with Michigan’s 
15 public universities.
“We 
want 
to 
support 
innovation… a lot of innovation 
comes from small business, a 
lot of jobs are created by small 
business,” McCardwell said. 
“This particular program was 
for 
those 
small 
businesses 
specifically 
that 
were 
commercializing tech.”
Paula 
Sorrell, 
director 
of 
the 
Economic 
Growth 
Institute, said the programs 
were initiated in response to 
a statewide demand for jobs 
and 
economic 
revitalization 
following a recession seven 
years ago.
“The 
state 
needed 
to 
diversify the economy — so 
much of it was heavily reliant 
on the automotive industry and 
really the universities were 
such a huge asset for the state 
to be able to leverage those 
into helping small companies 
and to helping get innovative 
companies launched,” Sorrell 
said. “That was why it was 
really important to create it in 
the first place.” 
LSA 
sophomore 
Joshua 
Burg, a political science and 
economics major, shared his 
thoughts on the importance of 
cross University collaboration 
and the high educational value 
for everyone involved in such 
an opportunity.
“I think fostering cooperation 
between universities is one 
of the key aspects of being in 
a university,” Burg said. “It’s 
how we can first of all learn… 
by working together towards a 
common goal and that common 
goal being altruistic, we can 
both follow a moral mission 
while also furthering our own 
experiences 
and 
knowledge 
within economics.”

DIAG DOGS

2 — Wednesday, November 27, 2019
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
News

KELSEY PEASE/Daily
Joe Colangelo and Amanda Ewing, professional staff for the Office of New Student Programs, bring dogs to the Diag Tuesday morning to recruit 
student staff for summer orientation.

TUESDAY:
By Design 
THURSDAY:
Twitter Talk
FRIDAY:
Behind the Story

MONDAY:
Looking at the Numbers

WEDNESDAY:
This Week in History 

HANNAH MACKAY
Daily Staff Reporter

Programs commemorated for exemplary leadership, innovation in entrepreneurship, tech

Michigan Economic Growth Institute 
wins Innovation Award from APLU

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1 of 1
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University stands by women in slander suit

Nov. 24, 1987
The 
University’s 
executive 
officers 
yesterday reaffirmed their 
support for two women 
being 
sued 
for 
slander 
by 
a 
visiting 
professor 
in what has become a 
landmark case testing the 
University’s 
commitment 
to its five-year old “Tell 
Someone” program. 
The 
program 
was 
designed 
to 
encourage 
victims 
of 
sexual 
harassment 
to 
report 
incidents. 
However, 
this is the first time a 

complaintants’ charge has 
been challenged with a 
slander suit, and University 
officials decided to offer 
legal aid. The slander suit 
stemmed from a student 
who 
charged 
that 
she 
was sexually assaulted by 
Dutch author and writer-
in-residence 
Thomas 
Rosenboom in September. 
Rosenboom 
filed 
a 
defamation 
suit 
against 
the woman as well as 
University Sexual Assault 
Counselor Kata Issari. 
Rosenboom 
said 
the 
women slandered him by 

telephoning 
Germanic 
Languages 
Department 
chair Robert Kyes, his boss. 
Rosenboom will stand trial 
for fourth degree criminal 
sexual conduct December 
21. 
He would not comment 
on 
the 
case. 
Although 
University 
officials 
promised legal aid to the 
student and counselor, on 
Friday 
the’ 
University’s 
Board of Regents called 
for a review, prompted 
by Regent Neil Nielsen’s 
(R-Brighton) concern about 
high legal costs and the 

University’s responsibility 
to provide legal aid in 
“private litigation.” 
Students, faculty, staff, 
and community members 
protested 
the 
review 
saying 
the 
University’s 
“Tell Someone” program 
would be worthless if the 
University did not “stand 
behind” it with legal aid. 
University 
President 
Harold 
Shapiro 
stymied 
protestor’s 
fears 
by 
reaffirming 
the 
University’s 
commitment 
to 
victims 
of 
sexual 
harassment. 

“While we are studying 
the matter, as the Regents 
have 
requested, 
the 
University will continue 
to 
observe 
the 
present 
practice which is to defend 
employees who may come 
under legal attack as a 
result of the performance 
of their duties or following 
existing policy such as the 
‘Tell Someone’ program. 
“I want to emphasize 
that 
the 
University 
remains fully committed 
to combatting racial and 
sexual 
harassment 
and 
to 
the 
‘Tell 
Someone’ 

program,” Shapiro said in 
a press release. 
The 
regents 
can, 
however, 
overturn 
a 
decision 
made 
by 
the 
executive officers. While 
Shapiro met with executive 
officers 
behind 
locked 
doors 
early 
yesterday 
morning 
to 
review 
the 
decision 
to 
represent 
the 
women, 
about 
30 
University 
protestors 
pounded 
on 
doors 
and 
chanted 
against 
the 
regents’ review request.

The Michigan Daily (ISSN 0745-967) is published Monday through Friday during 
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available free of charge to all readers. Additional copies may be picked up at the 
Daily’s office for $2. Subscriptions for September-April are $250 and year long 
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“We want 
to support 
innovation… 
a lot of 
innovation 
comes from 
small business, 
a lot of jobs are 
created 
by small 
business.”

See APLU, Page 3

