Pollinator
populations
across the country have been
experiencing significant losses,
threatening
biodiversity,
agriculture and food chains. The
state of Michigan alone has seen a
61% drop in its bee population over
the span of 15 years. A team of
masters students at the University
of
Michigan’s
School
for
Environment and Sustainability
is aiming to raise awareness
for pollinator conservation and
enhance pollinator habitats on
campus.
Thanks in part to the work of
the team, dubbed “SEAS Bees,”
the
University
was
officially
designated a bee-friendly campus
in December by Bee Campus USA,
an initiative of the Xerces Society
for
Invertebrate
Conservation
which recognizes colleges and
universities practicing sustainable
pollinator conservation across the
country.
Sheila
Schueller,
academic
program specialist at SEAS and
project advisor for the team, told
The Michigan Daily pollinators
are essential to life on Earth.
Humans rely on pollinators for
75% of staple crops and 90% of all
flowering plants.
“We
definitely
depend
on
pollinators
in
many
ways,”
Schueller said. “There are studies
that show with pollinator declines,
malnutrition can occur because
you see changes in diets, especially
in developing countries.”
Environment and Sustainability
postdoctoral
fellow
Michelle
Fearon told The Daily habitat
loss and a decline in pollinator
populations are directly correlated
with climate change.
“Many pollinator species —
particularly native bee species —
have been declining due to loss of
habitat,” Fearson said. “It’s one of
the primary concerns along with
increasing spread of disease and
pesticide use and the interaction of
many of these factors. With climate
change, we’re seeing changes in the
timing of when different species
and flower species emerge, so that
can also lead to mismatch and this
can very rapidly lead to either local
extinctions of either the bees or
the native plant species.”
As temperatures rise across
the world, growing and blooming
seasons have shifted by half
a day each year, resulting in
unpollinated
plants
and
bees
without food. Bee colonies have
also begun to experience colony
collapse disorder — a phenomenon
in which bees abandon their hives
due to emerging diseases — which
has created a spike in disease
among the species.
Global
warming
has
also
affected the integral processes
of
other
pollinators,
altering
the
migratory
patterns
of
butterflies,
body
temperatures
of hummingbirds and ultrasonic
hearing in bats.
Schueller said the diverse array
of species that are classified as
pollinators play a significant role
in maintaining biodiversity in
communities across the world.
On a snowy Monday morning,
The Michigan Daily sat down with
University President Santa Ono to talk
about his recent inauguration, new
residence halls, contract negotiations
with
the
Graduate
Employees’
Organization and what it would take
for him to call a snow day.
This interview has been edited and
condensed for clarity.
The
Michigan
Daily:
Your
inauguration just happened. How
does it feel to be inaugurated?
Santa Ono: The inauguration isn’t
about me. It’s about a chapter in the
life of the University. I happen to be
the person who is in that seat during
this period of time. It’s a celebration
of what we have been, but more of a
conversation about where we want to
go moving forward — who we want
to be. That’s what’s exciting about
the inauguration. It’s a moment to
pause and take stock of who we are,
how we’re doing and what we can do
moving into the future.
TMD: What was that day like
from your perspective?
SO: It was fun. It was just an
amazing day. And I was so excited
that it began with two symposia
based on two things that the
University is focused on and that
matter a lot to me: climate change
and sustainability and the Inclusive
History Project — what’s happened
on this campus over the past 200
years and being truthful about our
shortcomings
as
an
institution
in terms of diversity, equity and
inclusion. The symposium was really
looking to the future and how we
can become a more inclusive, more
diverse campus. And I think the
quality of the keynote addresses at
my inauguration ceremony were
outstanding, and the conversation
was terrific. What I was most
excited about were the poster
sessions that occurred. The students
also presented to the President’s
Advisory Group the day after. I was
just blown away by the creativity and
innovation of our students. What was
presented was actually just a small
subset of the posters that have been
presented prior to the symposia, and
I can’t wait to see the outcome of
those projects that will be funded by
the Office of the President.
TMD: University Provost Laurie
McCauley was recently approved for
a full term. What do you hope to work
on and accomplish in collaboration
with her?
SO: We’re very lucky to have
Laurie McCauley as provost of the
University. Not only has she served
as dean of the highly-ranked School
of Dentistry for 10 years, but I’ve
already had the chance to work with
her for three and a half months.
I also had a chance to talk to all
the deans and other stakeholders.
I’ve never had a situation where I
essentially got 100% unanimous
support for that individual and
their
performance.
McCauley
not only knows the University of
Michigan very well, but I find that
she’s a very thoughtful leader, and
she really listens to people. I’m
lucky to have her as a key partner
in moving the institution forward.
For the University of Michigan,
it’s really important for there to
be stability at the leadership level,
and the provost is one of the most
important senior executive officers
of the University. She’s already
made significant investments in the
student experience, in wellness and
in academic programs. She’s well-
equipped to continue with that.
TMD: How do you feel about
the recent change to the academic
calendar for the 2023-2024 school
year that will extend Winter Break
by a week?
SO: The wonderful thing about
being president of the University of
Michigan is that I get tremendous
amounts of input. I have a pretty
good idea when people are happy
and when people are not happy.
I would say judging from all the
direct messages and emails that
I’ve received, the vast majority of
responses have been very positive.
We’ll have to evaluate whether this
is a permanent change. What we’re
hearing from students is ‘thank
goodness,’ they needed a little bit of
a break between the terms and so if
that holds up to be true then I would
venture that this will be a long-
standing change.
TMD: After the shooting at
Michigan State University that left
three dead and five more injured,
does the U-M administration plan to
take any further action to support the
students, faculty and administration
at MSU?
SO: I have been in direct
conversation with the President
of Michigan State, and Provost
Laurie McCauley has been in direct
conversation with the Provost of
Michigan State. We have worked
together with their athletic director
and coaches. There were a number
of games that occurred between
Michigan
and
Michigan
State
following the shooting, and it was
really their decision whether a game
was to be played. The basketball
game occurred because they wanted
to play the game. There were other
games where the players weren’t
ready for a game and we honored
their wishes. We will continue to
work directly with Michigan State.
We want to do everything we can
to help them — they’re our sister
institution. There are a lot of families
that have ties to both universities. It’s
really clear from the vigil on the Diag
that this affected our own students
as well. We will do everything
we can to support Michigan State
University. One silver lining is that
there’ll be a new chapter written
about the relationship between
the University of Michigan and
Michigan State, not only in terms
of athletic competitions but also
in terms of opportunities for more
collaboration, teaching and research
between universities.
2 — Wednesday, March 22, 2023
News
President Santa Ono gives March updates in exclusive interview
ADMINISTRATION
UMich designated bee-friendly campus
From GEO negotiations to snow days, here’s what Ono
had to tell The Daily this month
As of December, the University has been officially ‘bee-friendly’ following
masters students’ pollinator protection advocacy
RESEARCH
PHOTO OF THE WEEK
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University of Michigan President Santa Ono in an interview with the Michigan Daily in the
Ruthven building Tuesday morning.