For the current fiscal year 2012, revenues are expected to reach $2.24 billion, with an 0.5% negative operating margin of $11.3 million. However, that’s better than the anticipated loss of $23.5 million that had been budgeted for the year, Strong said. The loss is due in large part to costs related to the new C.S. Mott Children’s and Von Voigtlander Women’s Hospitals, which opened in December of 2011, as well as to the expansion of an adult emergency department and a new system for patient records and billing.

Strong noted that the system’s operating margins fluctuate historically, and downturns are tied to the opening of new facilities – like the Cancer Center in the mid-1990s, and the Cardiovascular Center in 2007 – or to changes in payment rates, such as Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements.

Revenues are projected to increase to $2.39 billion in FY 2013 – a 6.7% increase. An operating gain of $10.8 million is anticipated.

This brief was filed from the Michigan Union Ballroom on the Ann Arbor campus, where regents held their June meeting.

Wall Street resident Eliana Moya-Raggio, right, talks with architect Neil Martin after the April 26 meeting at the Kellogg Eye Center. The meeting focused on a University of Michigan parking structure to be built in that neighborhood. Moya-Raggio argued for the right of neighbors to be closely involved in the project's design. (Photos by the writer.)

On April 26, 2012 about 15 residents heard from UM representatives about plans for the $34 million structure, which university regents approved on April 19. The purpose of the meeting was to get input from neighbors that will inform the structure’s design. Roughly 2,000 people live in that general area.

They offered a lot of input, expressing concerns and giving specific suggestions related to noise pollution, traffic congestion, lighting and more. Ideas from residents included putting a green roof on the top of the structure, which will likely be at least 4-5 levels tall; placing the structure as far west on the site as possible, further away from residential buildings; making the structure pedestrian friendly; and encouraging the use of alternative transportation.

Tim Mortimer, president of the Riverside Park Place Condominium Association, criticized UM for a lack of leadership in its approach to parking. While UM officials like to refer to the university as the Harvard of the Midwest, he said, it’s actually more like the Southeast New Jersey Junior College of the Midwest, in terms of environmental sustainability and design. He urged the university to do more, and presented a letter from the condo association’s board that included 11 detailed suggestions for the project – ranging from architecture to entrance/exit configuration. [.pdf of Mortimer's letter]

Jim Kosteva, UM’s director of community relations, defended the university’s efforts in encouraging alternative transportation. And Tom Peterson, associate director of operations and support services for the UM Hospitals and Health Centers, provided details on a range of programs offered by UM in that regard – including vanpools, Zipcars, free bus service through MRide, and shuttle service from outlying parking lots.

But Peterson also presented the university’s case for needing more parking at the Wall Street location, pointing to employment growth at the nearby UM medical campus. Since 2009, employment at the UM medical school and hospital complex has grown from about 19,000 to nearly 21,000 employees. Even more staff will be added when a major renovation of the former Mott children’s hospital is completed, he said.

The Wall Street parking project was revived after the university pulled out of the proposed Fuller Road Station in February. The joint effort with the city of Ann Arbor would have included a 1,000-space parking structure and, some hoped, an eventual train depot. When asked about it at Thursday’s meeting, Kosteva said the university still shares the city’s vision for that Fuller Road site as a good location for intermodal transportation. When the city receives the federal support it needs for this project, he added, the university is prepared to be re-engaged about its potential role.

Kosteva was also asked about future plans for even more parking on Wall Street. He noted that the master plan for the medical center, including the Wall Street area, was approved by regents in 2005 and remains in place. The master plan anticipates adding 700,000 to 900,000 square feet of clinical and research space in the area, as well as two parking structures. That plan is guiding decision-making, he said. [.pdf of 2005 medical center master plan]

The bulk of the 90-minute meeting focused on design aspects of the Wall Street structure, in a discussion led by university planner Sue Gott. Several people pointed to the city’s Fourth & Washington parking structure as a model. Wall Street resident Elizabeth Colvin said she refers to it as the “Sue Gott parking structure,” because of Gott’s instrumental role in soliciting public input that helped shape the design. At the time, Gott worked for JJR and was a consultant on that project.

Gott, who grew up in Ann Arbor, replied by saying she knew UM had to deliver something that was worthy of this city, and something they can all be proud of.

Context: UM Health System Growth

Near the start of the April 26 meeting, Tom Peterson – associate director of operations and support services for the UM Hospitals and Health Centers – gave an overview of the health system to provide some context for the Wall Street parking project. “We’re in a growth mode,” he said.

In-patient beds have increased about 20% over the past five years, from 848 to 1,009. In addition to in-patient care, the university opened a medical observation unit in 2008 with 18 short-term, out-patient beds. In 2010, the hospital did something similar for its surgical observation unit, adding 13 beds.

In 2011, a major expansion of the emergency room added 27 treatment bays, Peterson reported. Over the past 8-10 years, the hospital has added 18 operating rooms and expanded its diagnostic imaging services. These are just a few of the obvious signs of growth, he said.

Tom Peterson, associate director of operations and support services for the UM Hospitals and Health Centers, talks to residents about the growth in employment and patient services at the UM medical complex, which is driving the need for more parking. In the background are Paul Green of the Broadway Neighborhood Association and Sabra Briere, Ward 1 city councilmember who lives on Broadway.

The next activity that will spur additional growth is the $163 million renovation of the former C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital, which was approved by UM regents at their April 19, 2012 meeting. The new C. S. Mott Children’s and Von Voigtlander Women’s Hospital opened late last year. The renovation project, to be completed in two years, will add another 120 beds, mostly for neuroscience patients. Hundreds of employees will be hired for that facility, Peterson said.

In 2009, the UM medical school and hospital complex employed about 19,000 people. Today, there are nearly 21,000 employees. “That’s pretty significant employment growth,” Peterson said.

With that growth comes demand for parking, he said, but the university hasn’t simply been adding on-site parking. The UM has been promoting alternative transportation approaches, too, he said. About 570 employees use a vanpool program, for example, and the university hopes to expand that number. The MRide program began in 2004, allowing faculty, students and staff of the university to board AATA buses without paying a fare. The cost for the service is paid by UM to the AATA, and fiscal year 2011 was a record-setting year for the program, with 2.43 million rides taken.

In another partnership with AATA, the university is subsidizing express routes between Ann Arbor and Chelsea, and Ann Arbor and Canton. Peterson noted that he’s one of the people featured in AATA’s ad campaign, and he’s happy to support public transportation.

The university joined the Zipcar car-sharing program in 2006, and now over 3,000 people have signed up to use the system’s 21 cars in Ann Arbor.

UM’s GreenRide website was launched to help people find alternative transportation options, Peterson said. Through that, 23 new car pools and 19 vanpools have been started.

In addition, the university has also expanded its off-site parking, Peterson said. In 2010, following the acquisition of the former Pfizer facility – now called the North Campus Research Complex (NCRC) – about 300 spaces were added to the parking system. Last year, another 265 spaces were opened at an adjacent lot. That’s a temporary solution, however, because employment at NCRC is expected to grow, he said.

A UM lot on Glazier Way has been expanded by about 100 spaces. And the university added a medical express bus service between outlots and the medical campus, as well as a research link bus between NCRC and the biomedical engineering building to the medical campus.

Peterson concluded by saying that UM is trying to deal with the transportation issue in many ways. They have limited land, so they’re taking a blended approach. To some extent, it does include additional parking spaces. In 2006, the Ann Street lot was opened, adding about 525 spots. In 2007, about 450 spaces were added in a structure at the Cardiovascular Center, including about 200 spots for staff. But when the new Mott Children’s Hospital opened last year, UM converted about 300 former employee spaces for use by patients and visitors. There are multiple ways that the university is addressing its parking needs, he said.

Fuller Road Station: Still on the Table

Ray Detter, a community activist and chair of the city’s Downtown Area Citizens Advisory Council, noted that part of the university’s previous plan had focused on building the roughly 1,000-space Fuller Road Station. For many, Detter said, it had been a preferable alternative to building a parking structure on Wall Street. His understanding was that the project was suspended but not necessarily cancelled, and he asked for clarification of that.

Jim Kosteva replied by briefly recapping the history of Fuller Road Station, noting that the project had been “paused” this February. [See Chronicle coverage: "UM, Ann Arbor Halt Fuller Road Project"] The university had been trying to address the demand for parking prior to 2008 with its Wall Street parking project, Kosteva said, but suspended that effort when UM staff began talking with the city about the possible joint project on Fuller Road.

By way of additional background, university staff held a neighborhood meeting in December 2008 about the possibility of constructing an office building, parking structure and transit center on Wall Street, just down the street from UM’s Kellogg Eye Center. That  $48.6 million project, which had been approved by regents at their September 2008 meeting, was met with considerable resistance from neighbors.

But at another meeting in January 2009, city staff and some councilmembers met with Wall Street area residents and talked about the city’s relationship with the university, both on that parking project and more broadly. At the time, city planners said the university was proceeding on parallel tracks with both the Wall Street parking structure and possible interest in a Fuller Road transit station.

Then at a June 2009 meeting of the UM regents, Tim Slottow, the university’s chief financial officer, reported that UM’s purchase of the former Pfizer property resulted in enough additional parking spaces to meet their demands for the medical campus at that time. Slottow also indicated that he was encouraged by talks that the university was having with the city of Ann Arbor about a possible transit station on Fuller Road. Those two factors resulted in the university putting the Wall Street parking project on hold.

Jim Kosteva, UM's director of community relations.

Fuller Road Station moved ahead, and a memorandum of understanding between the university and city was signed in November 2009 that laid out the responsibilities for shared costs, a timetable for completion and other details. [.pdf of memorandum of understanding] The MOU called for the estimated $46.55 million project to be shared between UM and the city in proportion to the number of parking spaces available to each (78% and 22 % respectively), making the university’s share of the project an estimated $36.309 million. The target date for completing the parking structure piece of the project was June 15, 2012.

Regents formally authorized the project at their January 2010 meeting. A site plan was designed and received approval from the Ann Arbor city planning commission – on a 7-2 vote – in Sept. 21, 2010, but the plan was never moved forward to the city council for consideration.

At the April 26, 2012 neighborhood meeting, Kosteva told residents that it became clear that the city couldn’t meet its level of participation and timetable as outlined in the MOU, and in February the project was halted. However, he said, the university still shares the city’s vision for that Fuller Road site as a good location for intermodal transportation. UM officials are hopeful and supportive of the city’s efforts to gain the federal funding it needs to realize that vision, he said. When the city receives the federal support it needs for this project, he added, the university is prepared to be re-engaged about its potential role.

But given the needs of UM employees, Kosteva said, the university had to address those real demands for parking. That’s why regents were asked to authorize this Wall Street parking project, he concluded.

Future Plans for Wall Street: Even More Parking?

Jim Koli, owner of the Northside Grill on Broadway near the intersection with Wall Street, observed that there was previously a real neighborhood in that area. But over the years the property has been slowly bought up by UM and houses have been leveled, he said. At one point, he noted, there had been plans to build two parking structures on Wall Street. What was the university’s long-term intent? If more parking structures are built, it will add to the problems that have been mentioned. Koli wondered whether anyone could comment with some certainty about the plans of the “regental overlords.”

Jim Kosteva replied that the master plan for the medical center, including the Wall Street area, was approved by regents in 2005 and remains in place. It anticipated adding 700,000 to 900,000 square feet of clinical and research space in the area, as well as two parking structures. That plan is guiding decision-making, he said. [.pdf of 2005 medical center master plan]

Sabra Briere, a Ward 1 city councilmember who lives in that neighborhood, noted that the plan doesn’t specify the size of the parking structures. But she recalled that the last plan had included two 600-space structures, plus an office building.

Tim Mortimer, president of the Riverside Park Place Condominium Association, said he’d also seen the 2005 master plan, and he asked Kosteva if residents should expect a second structure in the future. That’s what the master plan reflects, Kosteva replied, adding that employment would be the driver for future parking needs.

Mortimer said there’s a general recognition that the leadership of UM hasn’t done a good job in educating its staff about the need for alternative transportation or off-site parking to minimize the impact on the neighborhood. UM leaders don’t have the courage to tell staff that if they don’t want to accommodate a sustainable, environmentally sensitive approach to transportation, they can work somewhere else.

Tim Mortimer, president of the Riverside Park Place Condominium Association's board of directors.

UM officials like to refer to the university as the Harvard of the Midwest, Mortimer noted. In terms of environmental sustainability and design, it’s actually more like the Southeast New Jersey Junior College of the Midwest,  he contended. The neighbors hope that someone can exert some kind of leadership that will result in less need for parking in the area.

Kosteva responded, saying that the alternatives outlined by Tom Peterson earlier in the meeting did demonstrate leadership. A wide variety of transportation alternatives are provided to employees, he said, and there is strong financial encouragement as well. While Kosteva said he appreciated that there’s room for improvement, the objective is to continue to support these alternatives. Kosteva said it was that kind of leadership that caused UM to get involved in Fuller Road Station, and the university continues to try to support that vision.

Another structure would be the worst of both worlds, Mortimer said. It would require people to drive in to the structure, then take a shuttle to get to their final destination.

Peterson told Mortimer that he heard and understood those concerns, but that he also hears from UM employees that there’s not enough parking. The hospital leadership has consistently told its employees to “get over it,” Peterson added – there will never be enough parking for every employee. The university needs a blended approach, he said.

Brenda Giers, who lives in the only remaining single-family home on Wall Street – owned by her brother-in-law, Harry Hawkins of West Hawk Industries – said she worried about what would happen to her home. She said she feels like she’s in the middle of nowhere, and is worried because she’s retired. If the university bought the house it would put her in a jam, she said.

Kosteva noted that development of the Wall Street area has been in the university’s master plan since 1988. Yet the university has never aggressively sought to acquire property, he said. When individual property owners approach UM indicating a willingness to sell, the university makes an offer, Kosteva said. As long as Giers’ brother-in-law doesn’t want to sell, he added, the university can’t buy that property.

Design Considerations

Sue Gott, university planner for UM, led the discussion to solicit input on the parking structure’s design. She began by noting that the regental authorization had been given just a week ago, at the regents’ April 19 meeting. The staff thought it would be best to meet with neighbors early in the process, she said, but the challenge is that there’s no design work to share yet.

A map of the Wall Street area, with the proposed parking structure – located between Wall Street and Maiden Lane – indicated in yellow. (Links to .pdf of full map.)

Gott displayed the graphic of the area that had been shown to the regents, and said she wanted to get input from the residents before they launch into the design. Doug Koepsell of the university architect’s office was on hand to record input from the evening, Gott said, and that input would inform the site’s design.

Gott told residents that she had reviewed her notes from the meeting in 2008, but noted that the project has changed since then. [Most notably, the current plan calls for one parking structure – the plan in 2008 included an office building, parking structure and transit center on Wall Street.]

One consideration is the importance of maintaining pedestrian circulation, she said. In the past, there had been a strong desire to have street trees, she noted, so one possibility is to have street trees as a buffer between the sidewalk and Maiden Lane. That might make sense along the Wall Street side, too, she said. There will likely be space at the east and west ends of the site that could be used for stormwater management, but also for green space that could be used by residents, she said. Perhaps people would like to have benches or some other kind of seating there. These are the kind of things they were hoping to get feedback on, she said.

Later in the meeting, the project’s architect – Neil Martin of the S/L/A/M Collaborative (Stecker Labau Arneill McManus) – described his initial thoughts on the structure.  He talked about inspirations from the neighborhood and the university, including the historic DTE building on Broadway, with its warm brick and mortar, and Hill Auditorium, designed by Albert Kahn. The thing that’s striking is the sense of craft that these buildings display, he said. He hopes to bring that sense of craft to the parking structure, too. In part it will involve selecting the right kind of brick, he said.

Martin also talked about the scale of the project, saying it was his mission to create a structure that doesn’t feel enormous and that is pedestrian friendly. It was important to design a building that doesn’t look like a parking structure, he said, and to make the rhythm of the building pleasing both from the perspective of people walking down from the bridge over the Huron River, as well as for people walking close to the structure.

Throughout the meeting there were a wide range of suggestions and issues raised by residents and addressed by Gott and Martin. The following report presents a summary of that discussion, organized by topic.

Design Considerations: Green Space

Randall Jacob, who lives on Jones Drive, asked about the status of a cluster of mature trees at the east end of the site. Gott replied that a tree assessment will be conducted to look at the types, health and quality of the trees there, but she couldn’t guarantee that all would be saved.

Tim Mortimer noted that to the east of that tree cluster is a small area of city parkland with a path running through it to primarily handle pedestrian flow, he said. It might be nice to have an adjacent green area between there and the parking structure for people to sit or play Frisbee or use for things other than a walkthrough, he said.

Looking down from a 7th floor meeting room in the Kellogg Eye Center, a view of the parking lot on Wall Street where the new 700-space parking structure will be built. In the right foreground is Wall Street. Parallel to Wall Street on the left is Maiden Lane. The white buildings are the Nielsen Square condominiums.

Gott replied that this was useful feedback, and that the UM staff also will be talking to staff at the city – including parks planner Amy Kuras – about what kinds of features might contribute to the neighborhood experience.

City councilmember Sabra Briere said she hoped the designers would think of a creative use for the top of the structure, so that it doesn’t become a major heat source. She observed that some cities have made parking structures with green roofs, but that hasn’t happened in Ann Arbor. Gott replied that UM’s parking structure at the Cardiovascular Center has a green roof.

A green roof would address several issues, Jim Koli observed. It would help with stormwater management, make it visually more pleasing, and eliminate the need to plow. He suggested asking people at UM’s School of Natural Resources and Environment for advice.

One resident requested a good mix of evergreens and shade trees, noting that shade trees “turn into sticks” for six months each year. Gott said evergreens are used selectively, because of security concerns – such trees can become hiding places.

Eliana Moya-Raggio suggested that instead of having green areas on each end of the structure, the building could be pushed to the west and have a larger green space on the east end, closer to the majority of residents. Gott said they’d look at placing the structure as far west as possible.

Christine Crockett, president of the Old Fourth Ward Association, urged UM to use flowering trees in the landscaping. “Bloomerang” lilacs, for example, will flower throughout the season and are salt resistant, she said. Crockett hoped the landscaping wouldn’t just be stark, green and boring. “I hope you let your color sense get carried away,” she said.

Design Considerations: Pedestrians

Tim Mortimer urged the design to allow for pedestrian paths and crosswalks all the way from the Nielsen Square condos across Maiden Lane, Wall Street, Canal Street and into Riverside Park. He indicated that if they had to choose, the residents of Nielsen Square would likely prefer a tree buffer on the north side of the parking structure, rather than a sidewalk. Gott said the design would aim for both, but she noted that Maiden Lane is relatively narrow, so that might be a factor.

Elizabeth Colvin pointed out that there’s quite a bit of pedestrian traffic on both sides of Maiden Lane. A resident of Long Shore Drive observed that many people walk their dogs along that stretch, heading to Island Park. It would be great if there were green areas for dogs to take “breaks,” she said – and a trash can would be nice, too.

Design Considerations: Noise

Sabra Briere, who lives on Broadway and represents Ward 1 residents on city council, said she’s heard concerns from residents about noise pollution from a new parking structure. Lighting systems make a constant noise, as do air circulation systems. It would add yet another “major hum” to a neighborhood that already has a lot of other major hums, she said. Briere hoped that designers would think about mitigating that kind of noise, as well as the noise from the cars themselves.

Later in the meeting, Briere observed that in the past, there has been a difference between the city’s ordinances and the university’s expectations for construction projects on UM property. She asked that UM not schedule the arrival of trucks or the start of construction before 7 a.m. under any circumstances, and that the work be concluded at a reasonable time at night. It’s important for residents to have the ability to enjoy the outdoors in their neighborhoods, she said.

Kittie Morelock, who lives on Wall Street, noted that speed bumps within the structure also cause noise when vehicles hit them, and she asked that speed bumps not be included. She also said that snow removal on the surface lots was already loud, with the beeping of trucks as they back up. Sometimes the work takes place between 2-6 a.m., and is very disruptive. Any way to mitigate that noise – especially at the top of the structure – would be good for the community of 2,000 people who live in the area, she said.

Design Considerations: Traffic, Congestion

Several comments focused on the already-congested Maiden Lane traffic, and the impact that bringing in an additional 500 vehicles will have.

Sue Gott reported that a traffic study will be conducted before the structure is built. They’ll look at the number of employees that will be working in Wall Street buildings, as well as how many will be walking to the hospital or taking a shuttle. Not all of the traffic will be new, she noted – although the structure is planned for 700 spaces, it’s a net increase of 500 spaces.

Ward 1 city councilmember Sabra Briere was knitting socks. Behind her to the left is Jim Koli, owner of Northside Grill, with his son Josh. Behind Briere to the right is Doug Koepsell of the university architect's office.

Tim Mortimer suggested placing entrances and egresses toward the west side of the structure, away from the more residential areas. He also wondered if it would be possible to accommodate shuttles within the parking site, rather than having them idling on the street. Gott said they could look into that, although they’re hoping to keep the footprint tight so that it doesn’t become a huge, long structure. It’s a balancing act, she said.

Ken Koral noted that Wall Street is primarily used by UM employees, while Maiden Lane is the real traffic corridor, leading directly to the bridge over the Huron River. He suggested it might be better to put the entrances and egresses to the structure on the Wall Street side, with possibly a new traffic light at Broadway and Wall Street.

Elizabeth Colvin, who lives in the Nielsen Square condos facing Maiden Lane, said there are already a lot of vehicles that idle on that street, including school buses and AATA buses. It’s very stop-and-go, she said, and she hoped that the design would keep that issue in mind.

Mortimer suggested shooting a video from the vantage point of the meeting room they were in – on the 7th floor of the Kellogg Eye Center, overlooking the parking lot. They could learn a lot about traffic flow from that, he said.

Jim Koli pointed out that four years ago when this project was initially being discussed, it was noted that Wall Street is wider than Maiden Lane because the original bridge across the Huron River was at Wall Street. The bridge was later moved to Maiden Lane, bringing more traffic to that narrower street. Now, 500 additional cars might be dumped onto Maiden Lane, he said. Perhaps putting an entrance/exit from the structure onto Wall Street, on the side closest to the bridge, would help ease the traffic onto Maiden Lane, he suggested.

Mortimer noted that there are residents on that east end who wouldn’t be happy about that strategy. Kosteva suggested then perhaps the entrance could be at the west end of the structure, away from residences and closer to the Kellogg Eye Center.

Design Considerations: Lighting

Brenda Giers, who lives in a single-family home on Wall Street, stressed the need for adequate street lights. Gott replied that designers are sensitive to lighting issues, including concerns about light spilling into the neighborhood from cars at the structure. There are also safety and security concerns about the need for adequate lighting within the structure. There could be motion-sensitive controls in the structure that would dim the lighting if no one is there, she said, but that would turn brighter when cars or people move through.

The design will also be sensitive to the need for pedestrian lighting outside the structure so that people will feel safe, Gott said, while trying to keep light contained on the site.

Design Considerations: Height

Paul Green of the Broadway Neighborhood Association asked what the range of levels might be for the structure – how tall would it be? There was some reluctance to speculate. The architect, Neil Martin, said they hadn’t figured it out yet, but it would likely be in the range of 4-5 stories. Sue Gott added that it will depend in part on the footprint. If they keep the structure on a smaller footprint, it would need to be taller.

Design Considerations: Public Art

Ray Detter noted that there’s been a lot of discussion in Ann Arbor about public art. He felt that generally, the university does a better job at this than the city, so he hoped it would be an element of the parking structure.

Sue Gott said that the designers had wondered whether Detter would like to include some historic markers regarding Lower Town. [Detter spearheaded the Downtown Ann Arbor Historical Street Exhibit Program, which includes permanent sidewalk exhibits at more than a dozen sites in downtown Ann Arbor and on the UM campus.]

Detter said the area had an interesting history, and he indicated a willingness to explore adding markers there. Gott said now would be the time to start talking about that, so the university could possibly provide a backdrop for that.

Design Considerations: Letter from Riverside Park Place

Tim Mortimer read aloud a two-page letter from the Riverside Park Place Condominium Association – he’s president of the association’s board. The letter made 11 specific design suggestions to mitigate the structure’s negative impact on the neighborhood:

1. Incorporate an architecturally detailed facade that minimizes the building’s apparent identity, hides its structural skeleton, and gives it an attractive appearance. Design the building to provide a net positive contribution to the streetscape. (Possible means include: careful selection of materials; visual articulations; reducing horizontal lines as the dominant theme in the facade.)

2. Afford special consideration to the experience of pedestrians walking along the structure’s perimeter. If at all possible: Avoid completely blank walls at the street level; make sidewalks sufficiently wide to accommodate two-way traffic comfortably; include pedestrian comfort as a criterion for building setback. Incorporate devices that animate the street frontage and provide visual interest.

3. Arrange vehicular entrances and access control points to permit sufficient stacking of arriving vehicles within the structure to avoid back-ups into the street during peak arrival times.

4. Locate the vehicular entrances and exits to utilize the existing Maiden Lane/Nielsen Court intersection to the maximum extent feasible to minimize the impact of traffic on adjoining residential uses and to minimize vehicle idling time.

5. Accommodate shuttle bus service at the west end of the structure, and manage the service to minimize bus idling on site.

6. Minimize the structure’s total size relative to its desired capacity by incorporating smaller stall spaces for a substantial portion of the parking capacity.

7. Design the structure to be LEED certified at least to the Gold level.

8. Design and select lighting to minimize glare and other impacts on homes in the area. (Example: High pressure sodium lighting is very harsh.) Minimize the light shining laterally away from the structure and off the top of the structure towards local homes.

9. Include a roof or screening on the top floor to minimize the eyesore of open parking when viewed from taller buildings in the area (both residential and Kellogg).

10. Minimize noise projected by infrastructural elements (transformers, light ballasts, fans, etc.) through optimal selection, placing, mounting and muffling of components.

11. Locate the structure as far as possible to the west to enable the open land east of the structure and adjacent to a small, existing area of city parkland to be as large as possible.

Neil Martin of S/L/A/M, the project’s architect, told Mortimer that the notes were helpful and that he agreed with many of the suggestions.

Design Considerations: General Design Features

Several residents pointed to the city’s Fourth and Washington parking structure as a successful design, that doesn’t look like a typical parking garage. Elizabeth Colvin said she called it the “Sue Gott parking structure,” and that it’s generally considered the gold standard of structures in Ann Arbor. It’s pleasant to look at, Colvin said, and doesn’t seem like a parking structure. The Wall Street structure wouldn’t need to look exactly like that, Colvin said, but it’s an example of design that works. [In the 1990s, Gott worked for the architecture and urban planning firm JJR and was hired by the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority – which managed the Fourth & Washington project – to help solicit public input. The design itself was done by the Ann Arbor architecture firm Mitchell & Mouat.]

University planner Sue Gott talks to Ken Koral, a resident of the nearby Broadway neighborhood, about the proposed parking structure on Wall Street. They are overlooking the current surface lot from a meeting room on the 7th floor of UM's Kellogg Eye Center.

Sabra Briere echoed those comments, saying that some people want to park at Fourth & Washington even though other structures might be closer to their destination. They like the way it feels to enter that structure, even though there are complaints about the tight turns between levels, she said. The stairwells are clean, and it’s not viewed as a hostile environment – compared to other structures like Ann Ashley or Fourth & William. Even people who generally hate parking structures don’t hate the one at Fourth & Washington, Briere said.

Kittie Morelock described it as a calm, quiet presence. Colvin noted that a design of that kind would result in allies for the Wall Street structure. Tim Mortimer joked that they shouldn’t make it too attractive, because they wouldn’t want to entice more people to use it.

Gott responded by saying that Fourth & Washington’s design resulted from the kind of community discussion that she wanted to have with residents for the Wall Street project, too. It was a discussion that was specific about aspirations for the building. There are many subtle cues in the Fourth & Washington structure that contribute to how people experience it, she said.

Gott recalled that Christine Crockett, at a previous meeting years ago, had used the term “humanity” to describe a design concept, and that word had resonated with her. Gott talked about how others in the room were influencing her approach too. She said she goes back years with Ken Koral, who lives on Broadway and has attended neighborhood meetings for other projects, advocating for the university to honor the experiences of neighbors. And Ray Detter “is like my conscience,” Gott said – she knows she has to deliver something that’s worthy of Ann Arbor.

Residents want to see something great happen on Wall Street, Gott said, and that’s why she and others involved in the project want to listen and work with them. There are obviously limitations, she added – they have to work within their budget. But the university wants to do something that’s great. Neil Martin was chosen as the architect on the team because they want to do a design that’s contextual to the neighborhood, appropriate, and something that they can all be proud of, she said.

Koral referred to Martin’s desire to incorporate aspects of existing buildings, and noted that there’s a hodge-podge of design in the neighborhood. He said it sounded like Martin was set on using brick, but there might be other materials that would better integrate. Fourth & Washington, which has a brick exterior, is a good design for its location, Koral said, but might not be the best choice for Wall Street. Mortimer noted that some of the nearby buildings, like the Riverside Park Place condominiums, aren’t exactly models of good design to emulate.

Eliana Moya-Raggio, a resident of Wall Street.

Paul Green observed that since many of the questions related to how the structure would look, residents should simply take a photo of a structure that they like, and send it to the designers. “It’s easy to do,” he said.

Tom Peterson pointed to a parking structure on the campus of Michigan State University, on Grand River Avenue, that does a good job of integrating the older architecture on that campus.

Eliana Moya-Raggio noted that parking structures are inherently dead spaces, so anything that can be done to enliven the building would be welcome. Because the university is not building on campus, but is building in a neighborhood, they need to listen to residents and incorporate feedback as much as possible. “I think it’s our right,” she said.

Short-Term Parking Plans

Sabra Briere raised a question that she characterized as a short-term issue. When construction on the site begins, 200 parking spaces will be temporarily displaced. Already she routinely gets complaints from people who live nearby because some UM employees park all day at Island Park, along Traver Road, or in the free spaces near the Amtrak station. She wondered where the people will park who currently use the Wall Street surface lot.

Steve Dolen, executive director of UM parking and transportation services, said that when new patient parking is completed next to the Kellogg Eye Center, that will open up more spaces at a nearby lot for employees. They are also planning to use shuttles to north campus, and encourage alternative modes of transportation. He told Briere that this was the first time he’d heard about employees parking at Island Park or along Traver Road.

Tom Peterson noted that there is still excess parking capacity at the North Campus Research Complex (NCRC) – the former Pfizer site. About 200 spaces are unused there, and some people from the Wall Street lot will likely migrate there.

Briere observed that because parking in the neighborhood is free and no residential parking permits are required, employees tend to like that option. She regularly sees people wearing scrubs walking toward the UM medical center, and when she asks them, they are very comfortable telling her where they park. The fact that UM employees park all day at city parks is not something she views with pleasure, Briere said.

Jim Koli added that since the city added parking meters along Wall Street, some of the more “frugal” UM employees have taken to parking in the neighborhood where there are no meters.

Next Steps

Elizabeth Colvin asked for a timetable on this project, and whether there would be additional meetings. Sue Gott replied that it’s too soon to know the schedule, but they’ll be working quickly because the demand for parking is great. She said Jim Kosteva will be a point person for neighbors. Kosteva encouraged people to contact him and he would add their names to an email list for notifications about the project. [Kosteva's email is jkosteva@umich.edu.]

Eliana Moya-Raggio asked when residents can expect to be included in the process. Gott promised that there would be more meetings, as soon as they determine the design schedule. Meetings with neighbors would typically occur through the design and construction process, Gott said.

At the end of the meeting, Tim Mortimer – president of the Riverside Park Place Condominium Association board – thanked the university staff for meeting with residents as soon as possible. Based on Gott’s leadership and the description offered by the architect Neil Martin, Mortimer said “I’m very optimistic.”

The Chronicle could not survive without regular voluntary subscriptions to support our coverage of public bodies like the University of Michigan. Since you’re already parked in front of a computer, click this link for details: Subscribe to The Chronicle. And if you’re already supporting us, please encourage your friends, neighbors and colleagues to support The Chronicle, too!

Before the start of the Jan. 19 board of regents meeting, UM president Mary Sue Coleman scanned an article from The Chronicle – but not this Chronicle. It's a report from The Chronicle of Higher Education. (Photos by the writer.)

Instead, regents dealt with less high-profile matters, approving a range of action items with little discussion. Those included funding for a major expansion of the UM Health System into Wayne County, along the I-275 corridor; renovations that will transform the entrance to Schembechler Hall and make a museum of football memorabilia more accessible to the public; and improvements to the university’s Northwood apartment complex on north campus.

But much of the meeting consisted of reports. Stephen Forrest, UM’s vice president for research, presented a sobering outlook for future research funding, calling the climate for federal funding “worrisome.” After his talk, regent Andrea Fischer Newman pointed out that tuition is helping to support the university’s $1.2 billion research program – about 25% of those research expenditures are covered internally.

Regents also heard from dean Alison Davis-Blake, who described how the business school is countering the caricature of managers that are only focused on short-term profits, and whose management skills consist of the ability to say, “You’re fired!” Graduates of Ross are taught to think more broadly, she said.

An item not on the agenda of the Jan. 19 meeting received considerable attention during public commentary. One student and three professors spoke against an effort to unionize graduate student research assistants (GSRAs).

Also during public commentary, the chair of the Sierra Club’s Huron Valley group raised concerns over the proposed Fuller Road Station, saying that the joint UM/city of Ann Arbor project runs counter to the university’s sustainability efforts. Fuller Road Station’s initial phase is a proposed parking structure, located near the UM medical campus, that could hold over 1,000 vehicles.

President’s Opening Remarks

The board typically meets in the regents boardroom of the Fleming Administration Building, but the January meeting was held in a sixth floor conference room of the Ross Business School. Another event was scheduled in the same room following the regents meeting, so UM president Mary Sue Coleman began her remarks by noting that they needed to move through their agenda “with alacrity.”

Coleman thanked the business school and dean Alison Davis-Blake for hosting the meeting. Construction of the new building had been made possible through philanthropy, she noted. [The school is named for businessman Stephen J. Ross, who donated $100 million – the largest donation ever to UM.]

Coleman said she wanted to revel in the Sugar Bowl one last time. Several regents and UM executive had traveled to New Orleans for the game, she said, and it had been terrific to see the resurgence of the historic American city in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Alumni were enthusiastic, the marching band outdid themselves, and coach Brady Hoke and the football team made the fans proud, she said, though at times nervous. It was a magnificent display of spirit and intercollegiate athletics, Coleman said.

Turning to academic honors, Coleman reported that UM chemistry professor Brian Coppola had received Baylor University’s Robert Foster Cherry Award for Great Teaching. It’s the most financially lucrative teaching award in the country, she said – $250,000 to the winner, plus $25,000 for his home department, to further develop teaching skills there. Coppola is known for his innovative teaching, Coleman said – he won the U.S. Professor of the Year award in 2009, and UM’s Golden Apple teaching award in 1994. She said she’d watched one of his lectures that’s posted on the Baylor website, and she highly recommended that others watch the video too.

Calling it a landmark event, Coleman also highlighted the fact that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has decided to open a satellite location in Detroit – its first office outside of Washington D.C. This region was selected because of its high number of patent applications, from the auto industry as well as university research. Coleman reported that UM, Michigan State and Wayne State had worked hard to convince government officials to open the office here. She said she expects the university law schools will form alliances with the office, too.

Unionization of GSRAs

By way of background, at the board’s May 2011 meeting, regents had passed a resolution of support regarding the rights of graduate student research assistants (GSRAs) to decide whether to organize and be represented by a labor union. The resolution was passed over dissent from the board’s two Republican regents – Andrew Richner and Andrea Fischer Newman. Before the vote, UM president Mary Sue Coleman had spoken in opposition to the action.

On Jan. 19, Newman asked provost Phil Hanlon for an update on a UM graduate student who had spoken at a press conference the previous day. [The event had been organized by the Graduate Employees Organization (GEO), a group that hopes to represent GRSAs if they decide to unionize. The student, Jennifer Dibbern, was a GSRA who alleges that she was fired by professor Rachel Goldman over her support of efforts to unionize the GSRAs.]

Hanlon responded to Newman, saying that a lot of faculty members had inquired about the situation. He said he had personally reviewed the student’s academic record and is convinced that the decision was justified and appropriate, and that the decision was made based on academic grounds. He strongly supported the action.

Unionization of GSRAs: Public Commentary

During public commentary at the end of the meeting, four people spoke against the unionization effort.

Stephen Raiman, founder of Students Against GSRA Unionization, started off the public commentary by noting that he had spoken to regents on the same issue at their November 2011 meeting. Now, he wanted to talk about the negative effects on the faculty. He said he’s talked to many people across campus at various levels, and encountered people who are afraid to speak out. One faculty member said his department chair didn’t want anyone to address this issue for fear of retribution from the board of regents, Raiman said. This feeling is pervasive, he said, and stems from the disagreement between the majority of board members and the university administration. He contended that the overwhelming majority of faculty are against the unionization of GSRAs.

Raiman noted that in order for the unionization effort to move forward, signatures from more than 50% of GSRAs needed to be collected – and this was completed by the Graduate Employees Organization (GEO), he said. But many of the signatures were secured through misinformation or outright deception, he contended. He cited some specific examples of people he’d talked with, who told him that they hadn’t been informed about the $400 in dues they would owe to the GEO if the GSRAs are unionized. One person told him ”I signed their card to get rid of them,” Raiman said. These examples are anecdotal, he acknowledged, but he’s hearing more instances like this.

Victor DiRita, UM professor of microbiology and immunology, spoke during public commentary against the unionization of graduate student research assistants (GSRAs).

On Feb. 1, the Michigan Employment Relations Commission (MERC) will hold an administrative hearing on the legality of the election to unionize GSRAs, Raiman told regents. But his group is barred from attending – that means only one side of the issue will be represented, he said. He asked the board to ensure that the election is fair, if there’s an election. Raiman concluded by saying he was glad to see that there were faculty members brave enough to come and speak during public commentary.

The next three speakers were UM faculty: Victor DiRita, Finn Larsen, and Cagliyan Kurdak.

DiRita, a professor in the department of microbiology and immunology, is also associate dean for graduate and postdoctoral studies at the UM Medical School. He agreed with the sentiments expressed by Raiman. Saying he understood the impulse to offer choices to students, DiRita said that in this case, the choice is based on the flawed premise that students are employees. The faculty views that premise as a serious affront, he said. Faculty take mentoring and academic progress very seriously, and in fact it’s a red flag if someone treats a student like an employee, he said.

Larsen and Kurdak also raised concerns over possible GSRA unionization. Larsen, who’s chair of the physics department’s graduate program, said it’s meaningless to distinguish between thesis research and GSRA-supported research. Doing so will have a negative impact on the education and research missions of the university.

Kurdak, director of the applied physics program, also objected to characterizing GSRAs as employees. The relationship between faculty and students is very personal, he said. When problems arise between the faculty member and student, often times the problems are academic in nature – and union involvement would not be effective. In fact, it might result in escalating the situation so that there are no solutions that benefit the student, he said. Kurdak encouraged regents to recognize the academic nature of GSRA appointments.

Regent Andrea Fischer Newman thanked the faculty for coming to speak to the board on this issue.

Annual Research Report

Stephen Forrest, UM’s vice president for research, began his presentation by noting that this was the 90th annual research report to regents, but that it would be a more sober report than previous reports, because the university is entering sobering times. [.pdf of fiscal 2011 UM research report]

To put the research enterprise in context, Forrest noted its $1.2 billion in expenditures makes research the third-largest segment of the university, behind the health system ($2.4 billion) and education ($1.3 billion). He cautioned that these numbers can be misleading, because the three segments interlink in many ways.

Forrest then cited a 1962 quote from Harlan Hatcher, UM’s 8th president, on the occasion of the 40th annual research report: “The university fulfills three basic, interlocking functions: to educate youth in the widest possible variety of intellectual disciplines; to collect, increase, and disseminate knowledge that bears on these disciplines; and to perform those services for society, both individually and collectively, which, consistent with its education and research functions, it is peculiarly qualified to perform.”

Stephen Forrest, UM's vice president for research.

The statement was true then, Forrest said, “and it’s certainly true today.”

The challenge now, he said, is how to make the research enterprise thrive during a time of flat or declining federal support. Federal funding is the largest source of research dollars at UM, accounting for 66.7% – $824.75 million – of total research expenditures in fiscal 2011. For UM, federal funding has always increased year-to-year, Forrest noted, even when the overall amount of federal dollars available for research nationwide has declined. In fiscal 2011, federal funding for UM research increased 9.8% compared to the previous year.

In fiscal 2012, the university had expected federal funding to drop, but it didn’t, Forrest said. Regardless of the noise coming out of Washington, both political parties agree that innovation is a driver of American economy, he said.

In looking at funding received by UM from specific federal agencies, 46.2% of all UM research expenditures in fiscal 2011 were funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), an increase of 12.6% compared to the fiscal 2010. UM’s medical school is the sixth largest recipient of NIH funding in the country, Forrest noted, and they ?? need to be concerned a little – “or maybe a lot” – about diversification, he said.

The university’s second-largest federal funding source is from the National Science Foundation. NSF funding increased 10.3% to $74.25 million in fiscal 2011. Federal energy funding grew 30.4% to $35.40 million – the largest percentage increase.

Research funding to UM dropped from two federal sources – NASA and transportation funds.

Total non-federal funding also decreased by 1.1%, to $105.63 million. Industry support accounts for $40.84 million of that non-federal total, an increase of 4% for the year. (Other non-federal sources are foundations and state or local government.)

Overall, funding from industry sources makes up only a small percentage of total research expenditures, Forrest noted. But it’s important, he said, because it serves as a catalyst for other funding. In the 1980s, the federal government started emphasizing “use-inspired” basic research – work that can eventually lead to the creation of jobs or that supports an “innovation economy,” Forrest said. Very often, federal grants require some kind of industry partnership.

Looking ahead, Forrest said the growth forecast is worrisome. The global growth domestic product (GDP) is hovering just above recession levels. The GDP dip in 2008 was “terrible,” he said, and subsequent shocks, like the tsunami in Japan or the debt crisis in Europe, have had an impact.

In the future, Forrest expects to see significant budget cuts across all federal agencies, as the nation’s debt catches up with it. The university dodged a bullet in 2012, he said, but shouldn’t get complacent. These trends are likely to persist over the next 5-10 years.

So what should UM do? It’s important to focus on the university’s research strengths that are priorities for the federal government and industry, Forrest said. The university’s “sweet spot” is use-inspired basic research, he said, in areas including health, energy, intelligent vehicle systems, advanced manufacturing and sustainability.

Secondly, UM needs to build on its culture and research environment, Forrest said. The university already has a reputation for strengths across disciplines, and for interdisciplinary cooperation, ties to industry, and international relationships, he said. Forrest also described the North Campus Research Complex (NCRC) as the university’s “secret calling card,” with rapidly developing potential.

Finally, Forrest told regents that UM’s research operations need to streamline the administrative process. One example is the need to mentor young faculty, he said, so that they can more quickly start getting research grants. UM’s research administration needs to improve, he continued, by forging better relationships with the university’s office of technology transfer, business engagement center, and individual academic units.

The administration also needs to reduce barriers to working with industry, he said. Forrest concluded by telling regents that they can look forward to announcements about how the university will make it easier to craft intellectual property agreements, and in general improve its relationship with industry.

Annual Research Report: Regent Commentary

Andrea Fischer Newman said it seems that the university is losing money on its research – is that the case? Forrest replied that internal funding accounts for about 25% of UM’s total research program, paying for things like fellowships, infrastructure, and packages for startups that license university technology. Research returns a great value, he said, but it does cost a lot.

Newman said she wasn’t criticizing it. But she wanted to point out that tuition is used in part to subsidize the university’s research program.

Update from the Business School Dean

Alison Davis-Blake, dean of the UM Ross School of Business since July 2011, gave a brief overview of the school’s mission and approach to business education. Much has been written about the ill effects of business school graduates, she began – people who are narrow-minded, focused on short-term profits, and whose management skills consist of the ability to say, “You’re fired!”

Alison Davis-Blake, dean of the UM Ross School of Business.

That’s a caricature, she noted, yet there’s some truth to it. The future of business requires managers who think broadly and who have subtle management skills – and those are the kinds of managers that the Ross School is training, she said.

The school offers the traditional business disciplines, Davis-Blake said. But it also take an action-based learning approach, she added, focusing on organization sustainability – doing more with fewer financial, human, temporal and environmental resources, while creating positive outcomes for people and organizations. The approach is done in a multi-disciplinary way, she said, and involves not only faculty and students, but also alumni, businesses, nonprofits and government organizations.

Davis-Blake gave three examples to illustrate this approach. An “advanced model factory” at the Tauber Institute will be coming online in September, she said. Located at the North Campus Research Complex, it will be a small-scale replica of a real production environment. Because it will be easy to reconfigure, it will allow students to examine the effectiveness of various production methods. The focus will be on lean manufacturing and “green” techniques, she said, using principles of “factory physics.” In addition to teaching undergraduate and graduate students, workshops will be offered to Michigan businesses as well, she said.

Davis-Blake also cited work done by the school’s Center for Positive Organizational Scholarship. The emphasis is on cultivating positive emotions, positive connections and positive interpretations of events. A “job crafting” tool, for example, helps people change the way they work to make it more positive and productive.

In her final example, Davis-Blake described environmental sustainability work at the Erb Institute, a joint venture of the business school and the School of Natural Resources & Environment. Graduate students complete a thesis that involves a real client, and alumni teams choose projects that are suitable for publication. Three books – printed locally by Thomson-Shore – have been produced so far, she said, on the topics of climate strategies, hybrid organizations, and sustainable hotels.

Davis-Blake concluded by noting that her father had been a business school dean, and photos from his tenure showed an all-male faculty. Ross is not your father’s business school, she said.

Coleman thanked Davis-Blake, and commented that the energy from students in the building’s Winter Garden – the first floor lobby – was palpable.

Health System Expansion

A major expansion into western Wayne County by the University of Michigan Hospitals and Health Centers was on the Jan. 19 agenda for regents to authorize.

The $39 million project entails opening a new clinic along the I-275 corridor, at a site located at Seven Mile and Haggerty Roads in Northville Township – about a half mile away UM’s existing Livonia Center for Specialty Care. Attracting patients from outside the market of Livingston and Washtenaw counties is part of the UM Health System’s strategic plan.

The plan calls for signing a 25-year lease on 100,000 square feet, with base rent of $27.25 per rentable square foot per year, increasing 5% every five years. The base lease covers expenses related to the land, site work, design and management fees, and a part of the building construction. Operating costs would be an additional expense.

Ora Peskovitz, UM's executive vice president for medical affairs.

The location is expected to include primary and specialty care; a musculoskeletal program; eye care for adults and children; radiology services; infusion for cancer and non-cancer treatment; and a medical procedure unit.

The site is expected to be ready by the winter of 2014.

When he introduced the item, UM chief financial officer Tim Slottow noted that there were several reasons why this particular lease required board approval – the lease is longer than 10 years, more than 50,000 square feet, and over $1 million annually. He said the project is something that has been worked on for several years.

Ora Pescovitz, UM’s executive vice president for medical affairs, spoke briefly about the project, saying it was a very important facility and pivotal for the health system’s strategic plans. It’s responding to the burgeoning clinical needs in communities along this stretch of I-275.

Outcome: The board unanimously approved the lease for the Northville Township health system expansion.

Executive Officer Reports

During every meeting, UM’s executive officers have the opportunity to give verbal reports, supplementing any written communications they provide to the regents.

Executive Officer Reports: Health Care Costs

Tim Slottow, UM’s chief financial officer, said that in light of changes to health benefits made at the state level, he wanted to remind people of the successes that the university has seen in its health benefits strategies. Changes that UM has made since 2003 have resulted in about $94 million of savings annually, Slottow said, or about $400 million cumulatively. Of that, greater cost-sharing by employees accounts for about 65% of the savings. Employees pay for 30% of their health care premiums and co-pays.

Other savings were gained from use of generic drugs, instituting a one-year waiting period before new employees get university contributions toward their retirement savings accounts, and reducing administrative costs, he said.

UM president Mary Sue Coleman said the administration recognizes that faculty and staff have been partners in cutting costs. Everyone is aware of the need to do that, she said.

Executive Officer Reports: Development

Jerry May, UM’s vice president of development, reported that there was a strong uptick in donations in December, but fiscal year-to-date giving to the university is only up about 2% – $140.88 million for the first six months of fiscal 2012, compared to $138.05 million for the same period in fiscal 2011. [.pdf of development report]

May noted that in 2009, UM president Mary Sue Coleman had issued a challenge grant, with $5 million in matching funds to provide a $1 match for every $2 in endowment gifts of up to $500,000. That meant that the development office needed to raise $10 million in contributions to the university to fund undergraduate and graduate study abroad.

That goal has been met, May said, and there is now a permanent $15 million endowment that over the years will benefit thousands of students.

UM Athletics: Renovations, Finance

Two action items on the Jan. 19 agenda related to university athletics – for renovations of Schembechler Hall and Yost Ice Arena. In addition, regents were provided with supplemental information related to a financial audit of the athletics department.

UM Athletics: Renovations – Schembechler Hall

Regents were asked to authorize a $9 million renovation to the entrance of Schembechler Hall, which will integrate the Margaret Dow Towsley Sports Museum area. The building at 1200 S. State St. was constructed in 1990 for UM’s football program, and contains locker rooms, meeting rooms, medical treatment rooms, training areas, weight rooms, and administrative offices. The project will add about 7,000 square feet to the building, and renovate an additional 7,000 square feet. Funding will be provided from athletic department resources.

Tim Slottow, UM’s chief financial officer, said the renovations would completely change the look and feel of the entrance. Regent Andrea Fischer Newman asked whether the changes would make the museum more accessible. “Absolutely,” Slottow replied. The museum is significantly underutilized, he said, and this project is rethinking its whole use.

Newman said that if the university is going to spend $9 million on renovations, the public needs better access. Slottow said the changes will result in the museum being far better used.

The museum is a collection of UM football memorabilia, including some of the program’s championship trophies. In a statement released after the regents meeting, athletics director Dave Brandon indicated that more interactive displays will be added to the museum during the renovations. There’s no admission and it’s open to the public, but hours are limited. It’s open Monday-Thursday from 9 a.m.-noon and 1-4 p.m., and Friday from 9 a.m.-1 p.m.

Outcome: Regents unanimously approved the renovations to Schembechler Hall.

UM Athletics: Renovations – Yost Ice Arena

In a separate vote, regents were asked to authorize issuing bids and awarding construction contracts for a $14 million project at Yost Ice Arena. The overall project was initially approved by the board at its June 2011 meeting, with a schematic design subsequently approved in October.

The project includes replacing seating on the east, south and west sides of the rink, improving accessibility and emergency exits, converting the west side media balcony into a series of loge boxes, adding a new level five on the west side for media, and constructing new corner and stair platforms for additional seating. The project will be paid for out of athletic department revenues, and has been designed by Rossetti Architects Inc. of Southfield, Mich.

There’s the potential that a donor might provide additional funding for enhanced window treatments at Yost, Slottow said – UM athletics director Dave Brandon and Jerry May, the university’s vice president of development, are working on that. If the donation comes through, Slottow said he’ll be returning to the regents asking for an approval of an additional $1-2 million for the project.

Outcome: Without comment, regents unanimously approved issuing bids and awarding construction contracts for renovations at Yost.

UM Athletics: Finance – Supplement to Audit

As an item of information, Slottow pointed regents to a supplemental report for the athletics department financial audit covering the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2011. [.pdf of supplemental audit information] Slottow noted that the information is required by the NCAA. The report includes reviews of financial contributions from various booster organizations, financial aid for one student athletic in each of 10 sports, compensation for 12 coaches, and several other items. No exceptions were noted.

Renovation Projects: Kraus, Northwood

Regents were asked to approve renovation projects totaling nearly $10 million for academic and student housing purposes.

Renovation Projects: Kraus

A $1.7 million renovation to the auditorium of the Edward Henry Kraus building was on the Jan. 19 agenda for approval. The Kraus building is used by biology departments and was constructed in 1915. Its auditorium – one of the largest on central campus – was last updated in 1990.

The current project would renovate about 5,100 square feet and include accessibility improvements, new seating, power for laptops and other devices, and other upgrades. The renovation will be funded by the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts and the provost’s office. The work is expected to be complete by the summer of 2012.

Outcome: Regents unanimously approved the Kraus renovations.

Renovation Projects: Northwood

The board was asked to authorize a $7.5 million upgrade to the fire alarm and boiler systems at Northwood I, II and III – a 58-building apartment complex on north campus with 686 units of student housing.

The complex had been mentioned at the regents’ Nov. 17, 2011 meeting in the context of other housing changes on north campus and elsewhere throughout UM’s student housing system. At that meeting, regents approved renovations at two dorms – Baits II on north campus, and East Quad on central campus – and discussed the need for a broader strategic plan for student housing. Royster Harper, the university’s vice president for student affairs, had informed regents that the living/learning communities in the Northwood apartments I and II would be expanded to Northwood III.

The renovations to Northwood will be designed by UM’s department of architecture, engineering and construction, in collaboration with Riverside Integrated Systems Inc. and Structural Design Inc. The project is expected to be completed by the summer of 2013.

Outcome: Regents unanimously approved the Northwood renovation project, without comment.

Michigan Energy Institute

As an item of information, Stephen Forrest – UM’s vice president for research – noted that the Michigan Memorial Phoenix Institute is being renamed. As of Feb. 1, it will be called the University of Michigan Energy Institute.

When the institute launched six years ago, Forrest said, its name was chosen to reflect the legacy of the Michigan Memorial Phoenix Institute, which had been formed in 1948 to focus on peaceful uses for atomic energy. It was a way to honor the more than 500 students and alumni who sacrificed their lives during World War II.

A prominent display about the Phoenix project will be located in the lobby of the building, he said, and the building itself will be named the Michigan Memorial Phoenix Laboratory on North Campus. [The building is located at the North Campus Research Complex (NCRC) on Plymouth Road, site of the former Pfizer research operation.]

The institute’s new name will reflect a more interdisciplinary approach that draws on a range of disciplines, including science, technology, policy, business and other fields, Forrest said. It’s an academic research unit of the office of the vice president for research, with the mission of developing and promoting energy research and education.

Regents had no comments regarding the name change.

Conflict-of-Interest Disclosures

Regents were asked to authorize five items that required disclosure under the state’s Conflict of Interest statute. The law requires that regents vote on potential conflict-of-interest disclosures related to university staff, faculty or students.

The items often involve technology licensing agreements or leases. This month, companies involved are Edington Associates LLC, ArborMetrix, Valley View Farms, FlexDex LLC, and Diapin Therapeutics LLC.

Outcome: In one vote, regents authorized the five conflict-of-interest disclosures, without comment.

Public Commentary

In addition to the four people who spoke during public commentary against the effort to unionize graduate student research assistants, as reported above, a fifth speaker raised concerns over the proposed Fuller Road Station.

Public Commentary: Fuller Road Station

Nancy Shiffler, chair of the Sierra Club’s Huron Valley group, congratulated the university for its Planet Blue sustainability efforts, saying she was impressed by its goal and scope. However, she’s concerned about a project that runs counter to those goals.

Nancy Shiffler, chair of the Sierra Club's Huron Valley group.

The proposed Fuller Road Station would be a parking garage for potentially 1,600 vehicles, and would directly contradict the university’s sustainability goals, she said. The garage would primarily be used by UM employees commuting by car, although eventually it might include a commuter rail station.

Shiffler outlined several concerns. If a train station is eventually built, having a large parking garage there would discourage people from using commuter rail, she said. The structure would increase air pollution and traffic congestion, especially during hospital shift changes. Building on parkland, repurposing the land for non-park uses, violates city zoning. An extended lease or use agreement amounts to a de facto sale of parkland, which by city ordinance would require a vote by residents for approval.

In addition, Shiffler noted that the project’s first phase is expected to be funded by UM and an undetermined source of local funding. For phase 2, the city hopes to secure a federal grant, she said, which would require an environmental assessment and possibly an environmental impact statement. However, construction could begin on phase 1 and negate the results of those environmental reports. The Sierra Club has contacted the Federal Rail Administration about this issue, she said.

Shiffler concluded by saying that UM appears to tout its sustainability program, but ignores the program when it’s convenient to do so. She didn’t think this was the image that UM wanted, and she urged regents to look at the project from the point of view of sustainability.

Regents gave no response to Shiffler’s commentary. Other residents have raised this issue at previous board meetings. For example, in March 2010 Rita Mitchell also spoke to regents about Fuller Road Station, urging them not to proceed with the project. Mitchell attended the regents’ Jan. 19 meeting, but did not address the board during public commentary.

Present: Mary Sue Coleman (ex officio), Julia Darlow, Denise Ilitch, Olivia (Libby) Maynard, Andrea Fischer Newman, Andy Richner, Kathy White.

Absent: Larry Deitch, Martin Taylor.

Next board meeting: Thursday, Feb. 16, 2012 at 3 p.m. at the Fleming administration building on UM’s central campus. [confirm date]

The Chronicle could not survive without regular voluntary subscriptions to support our coverage of public bodies like the University of Michigan board of regents. Click this link for details: Subscribe to The Chronicle. And if you’re already supporting us, please encourage your friends, neighbors and colleagues to help support The Chronicle, too!

The plan calls for signing a 25-year lease on 100,000 square feet, with base rent of $27.25 per rentable square foot per year, increasing 5% every five years. The base lease covers expenses related to the land, site work, design and management fees, and a part of the building construction. Operating costs would be an additional expense. The site is expected to be ready by the winter of 2014.

The brief was filed from the colloquium room at UM’s Stephen M. Ross School of Business, where the regents meeting was held this month. A more detailed report will follow.

There are currently five such leases: (1) 222,775 square feet at the Domino’s Farms complex, used by various UM Health System departments; (2) 125,815 square feet at the KMS Building on South State Street, used by UMHS; (3) 65,693 square feet at 325 East Eisenhower Parkway for use by Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Spine Rehabilitation and the Dental School; (4) 63,920 square feet at 2301 Commonwealth Boulevard, for use by UMHS; and (5) 51,534 square feet at 1051 North Canton Center Road in Canton, for the UMHS Canton Health Center.

This brief was filed from the boardroom of the Fleming administration building on the UM campus in Ann Arbor. A more detailed report will follow: [link]

Project and Design Management LLC, an architectural firm based in Ferndale, will design the project. According to a staff memo, a phased construction schedule is planned to minimize disruption to operations and patient care, with construction to be completed in the fall of 2012.

This brief was filed from the boardroom of the Fleming administration building on the UM campus in Ann Arbor. A more detailed report will follow: [link]

The county contracts with the University of Michigan Health System (UMHS) for the medical examiner’s administration, customer service and autopsies – UMHS provides field investigators, administrative support, customer service, and autopsy assistants. Jentzen is a UM professor of pathology. Cassin is a clinical lecturer with UM’s pathology department.

A final vote on the appointments is expected at the board’s Sept. 21 meeting.

This brief was filed from the boardroom of the county administration building at 220 N. Main in Ann Arbor. A more detailed report will follow: [link]

University of Michigan provost Teresa Sullivan, left, and vice provost Phil Hanlon brief the media about tuition rates immediately prior to the regents meeting on June 17. Hanlon will become provost when Sullivan leaves at the end of the month for her new post as University of Virginia president. (Photos by the writer.)

This year, with two regents dissenting, a tuition increase of 1.5% for in-state undergraduates was approved for the Ann Arbor campus. UM executives noted that it’s the lowest rate increase in 26 years – but if their projections for state appropriations prove too optimistic, they cautioned that they might need to return to request raising tuition later in the fiscal year.

University officials say they’re buffering the tuition increase by substantially adding to the amount of financial aid available to students – $126 million, up $8.3 million from the current year. They’re also launching a new “economic hardship” program, adding $500 in financial aid per year for up to four years for qualified students.

Tuition makes up a large portion of the general fund operating budget. For the Ann Arbor campus, a budget of $1.55 billion in FY 2011, which begins July 1, marks a 6.75% increase from FY 2010.

Regents also approved the FY2011 budget for the UM Hospitals and Health Centers – revenues are projected to top $2 billion for the first time during this year, with a $66 million operating surplus.

And UM athletic director Dave Brandon gave a briefing on the athletic department budget, though it doesn’t require regental approval. Projected revenues of $105 million includes $38.19 million from ticket sales, while the budgeted $100.3 million in expenses includes a $9.22 million debt service payment for Michigan Stadium renovations.

In addition to budgets, regents approved several construction projects, including a $56 million renovation of Alice Lloyd Hall and a $1.6 million repair of Burton Memorial Tower, which will close the landmark site – and silence its carillon – for about a year, starting in August.

Budget Overview

Tim Slottow, UM’s chief financial officer, began the budget presentations with an overview of the university’s financial status. The university has $13.8 billion in assets – both financial and in its physical plant – and $4.5 billion in liabilities, resulting in net assets of $9.3 billion.

In discussing UM’s liabilities, Slottow cited several threats to the balance sheet. “People often ask what keeps a CFO up at night,” he joked. “This is the list.” Future liabilities include deferred maintenance of buildings, retirement health benefits and increasing future debt liabilities, he said.

Other threats include unprecedented market volatility, which will continue, he said, as will volatility in energy prices, which have swing “wildly” up and down. But the one thing that never seems to go down is health care costs, he said – this year, those costs for UM have increased 2.8%, compared to a national average of roughly 10%.

He discussed efforts to endow the general fund – in FY 2010, the general fund was supplemented by $210 million from the endowment. That money is used primarily for scholarships, professorships and academic programs, Slottow said. Strategically, the move to endow more general fund activities began five years ago, and has included gifts to endow building maintenance and operations for facilities like the Stamps Auditorium and Kelsey Museum. The endowment for the general fund today stands at $213 million, he said, yielding annual revenue of $12 million. The university’s total endowment is an estimated $6.7 billion.

Slottow reviewed the physical plant of the Ann Arbor campus, as a reminder of the infrastructure that the university supports. That includes:

• 25 miles of roads and 4.5 million square feet of sidewalks, steps, and plazas
• 7 miles of utility tunnels and 150 miles of fiber optic cable
• 280 acres of parking lots/decks
• 32 million gross square feet of buildings and core infrastructure
• 601 buildings, 1,807 classrooms and instructional labs, 1,113 study rooms, and 6,125 research labs/rooms
• 540 elevators and escalators
• 14,000 trees and 12 million square feet of turf
• 100,000 network desktop computers

For all three campuses, the university employs 28,809 regular staff and 6,967 instructional, clinical and research faculty. Slottow pointed out that about 40% of employees will be eligible for retirement within the next few years, as will more than 50% of UM’s managers. They need to start preparing for that with leadership training, knowledge transfer and career development for a smooth transition, he said.

As of March 31, 2010, the university’s debt totaled $1.58 billion. Slottow said a prudent debt management policy has helped the university earn the highest possible credit rating from Standard & Poor’s – a triple-A. And soon, he added, UM’s provost will be the only living person to have worked as a senior executive for three universities with that rating: Texas, Michigan and Virginia. Provost Teresa Sullivan, who previously was executive vice chancellor for academic affairs at the University of Texas, will be leaving at the end of June to become president at the University of Virginia.

Tuition Rates, Financial Aid: Ann Arbor Campus

Provost Teresa Sullivan presented the FY 2011 general fund operating budget for the Ann Arbor campus, which included tuition rates and fees. [Regents had approved housing rates at their May 20 meeting – a 3% average increase in room and board.]

For the fiscal year beginning July 1, total general fund operating revenues are projected at $1.55 billion – up 6.75% from the current year. Sullivan cited several reasons for the revenue increase, including higher undergraduate enrollment and increased research funding. [Stephen Forrest, UM's vice president for research, had briefed regents on the latter topic at their Jan. 21, 2010 meeting.]

Julia Darlow was elected chair of the board of regents at their June 17 meeting, succeeding Andy Richner. She's holding an iPad, which regents are starting to use as part of an effort to reduce paper documentation.

The budget assumes the university will receive $315.1 million in state appropriations. Given the state’s financial crisis, “there is the possibility that this assumption is too optimistic,” Sullivan said. She noted that since 1960, state support as a percentage of UM’s general fund has dropped from 78% to 20%. Conversely, tuition and fees accounted for only 20% of UM’s general fund in 1960 – today, it accounts for 65% of general fund revenues.

Sullivan also outlined the university’s cost containment efforts, noting that the budget assumes $39 million in cuts. Those cuts are coming from greater sharing of benefits costs with employees, the consolidation of information technology units, more efficient use of space, and reform of UM’s travel/hosting policy, she said.

Over the past seven years, Sullivan said the university has trimmed $159 million in recurring general fund expenditures – and more cuts are to come. There are five task forces looking at ways to find further budget savings, as well as exploring ways to increase revenues. And a committee that’s examining the costs of retiree health benefits will be presenting its report in the next few weeks.

Sullivan said these efforts also involve reallocating resources to fund academic initiatives – for example, the FY 2011 budget includes expanded funding for the popular undergraduate research opportunity program (UROP). The budget also includes funding for 50 additional faculty hires, above the previously targeted 100 positions that UM plans to add. The new hires are in response to increased undergraduate enrollment, she said, and will make smaller class sizes possible.

The university is increasing its centrally awarded financial aid to $126 million – $8.3 million more than the current year. That’s in addition to financial aid that’s available from individual schools and colleges, Sullivan said. She also pointed out that some families are eligible for a federal tax credit for tuition – as much as $2,500 for families earning up to $160,000 (in a two-income household) or up to $80,000 for a single-income household per year.

In addition, UM has launched the “economic hardship” program, which will provide an additional $500 in financial aid to in-state students with family income in the $60,000 to $100,000 range. The grant will be renewable for up to four years, and will cost the university about $3.6 million over that period.

All of this set the stage for the recommended tuition increase: 1.5% for in-state undergraduate students, and 3% for non-residents. First-year undergraduates would pay roughly $11,837 in tuition and fees, or $178 more than the current year. Non-residents would pay $36,001, or an additional $1,064 per year.

The 1.5% increase is the lowest since 1984, Sullivan noted. [Last year, regents approved a 5.6% increase, with regents Julia Darlow and Denise Ilitch dissenting.]

Tuition rates for both in-state and out-of-state graduate students will go up 2.8% –or $498 per year for in-state graduate students, $1,000 per year for out-of-state students. A tuition decrease of 15.4% for doctoral candidates will keep tuition revenue neutral, Sullivan said, due to a new continuous enrollment policy that requires students to pay tuition throughout their candidacy. [Regents were briefed on that policy change, which has been controversial among graduate students, at their December 2009 meeting.]

Tuition for UM and peer institutions. (Image links to larger file.)

Sullivan put the tuition increases in the context of peer institutions, noting that UM’s increase will bring its tuition rates to fourth among Big Ten universities. She also compared tuition for out-of-state students with a range of private universities, noting that UM tuition ranks near the bottom.

She ended her presentation with a caveat: If the state appropriations turn out to be lower than projected, the administration might return to regents to request a mid-year tuition increase.

Sullivan said the university takes very seriously its responsibility to students to keep tuition increases to a minimum. This budget does that, she said, while also ensuring continued quality.

Comments from the Regents

There was no discussion of the budget proposal, but several regents read prepared statements or made remarks before the vote was taken.

Julia Darlow, who voted against tuition increases last year, expressed support for the entire budget, but directed her remarks specifically toward the budget for the Ann Arbor campus. The limited tuition increase of 1.5%, coupled with significant increase in financial aid, show that the university is reaching out to hard-pressed Michigan families, she said – they know how difficult the economy is. This year, the university is also proposing a huge amount of help for middle-income families as well, she added, citing the new Economic Hardship Program that will add $500 in grant aid to qualifying students. Darlow said she did her own calculations, and was satisfied that, in fact, many families would be paying less in tuition than they do now. It’s not a resting point, she said, but it’s a step toward making the university accessible to all.

Regent Denise Ilitch talks with Tim Slottow, the university's CFO, prior to the start of the June 17 board of regents meeting. Ilitch voted against tuition and fee increases, as well as the overall budget for FY 2011.

Citing the challenges of Michigan’s economic crisis, Denise Ilitch argued against the tuition increase, saying that the university must solve its budget crisis from within, not on the backs of working-class families. She noted that she voted against increases last year, and would do the same this year. The university needs to be more innovative in finding ways to control escalating tuition. Michigan families are strapped, and with each dollar increase in tuition, the university limits the low- and middle-income students who can attend. The price of admission limits the economic diversity of the student body, she said. Ilitch acknowledged that the administration and regents have made progress, including more financial aid, a lower rate of tuition increase and an effort to cut costs – she noted that many executives at the table had foregone salary increases. “Yet we can do more, and we must lead by example.” It should not be the assumption that tuition is raised, she said, adding that the university saw new revenue this year that isn’t being passed on to students. Other universities have stepped up to control tuition, and UM should do the same. She said she’d keep prodding to make sure they did more.

Andrew Richner said he was happy and proud that his son will be one of the 6,000 or so freshman coming to UM in the fall. “I’ll be awarding him my own personal regents scholarship,” he joked. “I hope he appreciates it.” Richner said that’s why he has a very keen interest in this budget, and believes it balances the interests of affordability and accessibility, while preserving quality.

Libby Maynard said she would also be supporting the budget. She agreed with Darlow that it wasn’t an end game, but she felt that the budget preserved the quality of the institution.

Larry Deitch described the budget as restrained. He pointed out that regent Andrea Fischer Newman had been the first to advocate for endowing the general fund budget. He said he shared Ilitch’s passion for working families, and noted that no one worked harder than Darlow in coming up with a budget that balanced all of these interests. He planned to vote for the budget because they need to keep an eye on the long-term. Michigan is in the midst of an economic crisis, but they’ve lived through these before. And when the university celebrates its 200th anniversary in 2017, they’ll still be here, he said, leading the state and the world. They need to balance the needs of the people in the short term with the needs of the institution in the long term, Deitch said. The value of a quality education can’t be underestimated, he said, and unfortunately, it’s more expensive than they’d like it to be.

Votes on the Budget, Tuition, Fees

The board then voted on three budget-related items: 1) The university’s 2010-2011 revenue and expenditure operating budgets, which includes the general fund, designated fund, auxiliary activities and expendable restricted fund; 2) the Ann Arbor general fund operating budget; and 3) Ann Arbor tuition and fee rates.

The items passed, with dissent from Ilitch and Newman.

The budgets for the Flint and Dearborn campuses were presented separately. Both UM-Flint and UM-Dearborn had proposed a 3.9% increase in undergraduate tuition and fees, and a 2.9% increase in graduate tuition and fees.

Before the vote on these items, Newman commented that she would be supporting those increases, even though she had voted against lower tuition hikes for Ann Arbor. The reality is that the Flint and Dearborn campuses have less opportunity for bringing in new revenue, she said, compared to the Ann Arbor campus. The budgets from the three campuses aren’t intertwined, she noted, and Flint and Dearborn don’t get money from Ann Arbor. Newman said she was very aware of how important the general fund revenues were to Flint and Dearborn.

The tuition increases for UM-Flint and UM-Dearborn were approved, with dissent from Ilitch.

The board unanimously approved several fee assessments, which were not raised for the current year. They are, per student: 1) $7.19 to fund the Michigan Student Assembly; 2) $6 for Student Legal Services, 3) $1.50 for school/college student government organizations; and 4) $171.20 for the University Health Service.

UM Hospitals and Health Centers Budget

Doug Strong, CEO of the UM Hospitals and Health Centers, made a presentation on the FY 2010 budget, which ends June 30, as well as a budget plan for FY 2011. He began by noting that UM is the only health system in Michigan that serves people in every county throughout the state.

In looking ahead, he outlined some challenges and risks faced by the system, including a slow economic recovery and the impact of uncompensated care. There’s been a 17% increase in uncompensated care within the system in the past year, and a higher percentage of patients are being covered by government plans, including Medicare and Medicaid, which reimburse at lower rates than private insurers. Other risks include the consolidation in the industry – as other health care systems merge, that threatens UM’s referral base, he said. The state budget’s impact on the Medicare program is another concern, Strong said.

Completing the new C.S. Mott Children’s and Von Voigtlander Women’s Hospital is another challenge, Strong said, and they look forward to opening the facility in the fall of 2011. He also cited the uncertainties and impact of recently passed federal health care reform as a challenge the system will face.

Revenue for the current fiscal year is expected to reach $1.975 billion – next year, it’s expected to top $2 billion for the first time. This year’s operating surplus is expected to be $66 million, for an operating margin of 3.3%. Next year, the system is projecting a surplus of $83 million, for a 4% margin. The numbers for FY 2011 are premised on a nearly 6% increase in revenue, while keeping expenses down. Payroll for the coming year is projected to be $1.075 billion, up 4.6% from the current year.

Strong said the system remains financially strong, but needs to generate cash to invest in the future.

Vote on the UM Hospitals & Health Centers Budget

Regents had no questions or comments on the budget, which they unanimously approved.

Athletic Department Budget

The regents are not required to vote on the athletic department budget, but they heard a brief presentation by athletic director Dave Brandon. The department’s current cash flow is sufficient to sustain a healthy operating margin, he said, describing the budget as fairly conservative on the revenue side – they’re projecting $105 million in revenues for FY 2011, with $100.3 million in operating expenses. That leaves a projected operating surplus of $4.73 million. For the current fiscal year, which ends June 30, the department expects a $16.1 million operating surplus on $100.9 million in revenues.

Ticket sales account for the largest chunk of revenues – $38.19 million for FY 2011, including $32.5 million from football alone. Football revenues will take a hit because Michigan will have one fewer home football game this season, Brandon said, with only seven games played in Ann Arbor. This year, ticket sales brought in $38.26 million. An additional $11 million is anticipated from premium seating at Michigan Stadium.

The department expects to get $20.22 million in FY 2011 from Big Ten conference distributions, including $16.59 million from the TV broadcast of football and basketball games. This year, conference distributions accounted for $18.35 million in revenues.

Total debt – now standing at $175 million – has increased, Brandon said, primarily because of the Michigan Stadium construction project. The FY 2011 includes debt service payments of $9.226 million – $2.84 million in principal and $6.38 million in interest. The balance on the project as of June 2010 is $147.38 million. Two additional projects – Crisler Arena renovations and the adjacent Player Development Center – will increase debt to $215 million.

Endowment balances as of March 2010 stood at $56 million, Brandon said.

The FY 2011 budget includes a $1.5 million contingency line item, Brandon noted, which he said affords him the flexibility to restructure the department, as incoming athletic director. Brandon took over the job from Bill Martin earlier this year.

The athletic department budget also includes a $2 million transfer to the university’s need-based financial aid fund for non-athlete UM students. For the current year, the department transferred $1.6 million into that fund.

Construction, Facilities Projects

Regents approved several infrastructure-related projects, with no discussion. They include:

• $4.8 million for the annual Information and Technology Services maintenance and replacement program. Major project include replacing the networking infrastructure that supports the university’s data network, and upgrading the campus voicemail systems.
• A $56 million “deep” renovation of Alice Crocker Lloyd Hall, which is located on Observatory just south of Ann Street and houses about 560 students. Integrated Design Solutions LLC will design the project.
• A $1.6 million repair of Burton Memorial Tower, to be completed by the fall of 2011. The work will include repairs to the concrete and steel structure that supports the 55-bell, 12-ton carillon on the tower’s 10th floor – the carillon will be silenced during the project. In addition, workers will replace and waterproof the bell chamber floor, and replace the transmission system on bells affected by the structural work. This is only the second time that the carillon has been silenced in the tower’s 75-year history – the first time was in 2006, when a pair of peregrine falcons were spotted in the tower. Tim Slottow, UM’s CFO, told regents that workers would take care to accommodate the falcons. The engineering firm of Simpson Gumpertz & Heger Inc. will design the project, which also includes exterior work.
• A $1.7 million renovation of the molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) lab in the Carl A. Gerstacker Building at the College of Engineering. MBE is a procedure used in the design and manufacture of semiconductors, photovoltaics, and other devices.

In addition, regents acted on seven conflict-of-interest items. State law requires that regents vote on potential conflict-of-interest disclosures related to university staff, faculty or students. The items typically involve technology licensing agreements or leases, but cover other issues as well. This month’s batch, for example, included disclosure of plans by UM’s Office of New Student Programs to buy beverage break service during parent orientation sessions from Thayer Street Ventures. The item required a vote because Mark G. Pavach, a UM Health System employee, is a partner of Thayer Street Ventures.

There was no discussion of any of these items, which were all unanimously approved.

Additional Misc. Approvals

Regents unanimously approved several other items, without comment. They include:

• A new School of Nursing degree program – the doctoral of nursing practice.
• Renewal of the interlocal agreement for the Washtenaw Community Health Organization, a joint effort between UM and Washtenaw County. [The agreement has previously been approved by the Washtenaw County board of commissioners at their June 2 meeting.]
• The FY 2011 business plan for the Michigan Health Corp., a nonprofit entity that’s part of the UM Health System.
• Establishing a new regental committee on health affairs. Currently, there are two regental committees: the finance, audit and investment committee; and the personnel, compensation and governance committee.

Teresa Sullivan, outgoing UM provost.

Farewell to Teresa Sullivan

Earlier in the meeting, regents honored Teresa Sullivan, who was attending her last meeting as UM provost and executive vice president for academic affairs. In opening remarks, president Mary Sue Coleman noted that Sullivan is at the heart of the budgeting process, and expressed deep gratitude for her leadership, acumen and counsel. Coleman also highlighted Sullivan’s sense of humor, “which is more than required in her position.”

Regent Andy Richner, citing the budget challenges that the university has faced over the past few years and its ability to manage them well, joked that they are now “victims of our own success – we’ve lost our provost.” Sullivan has been appointed as president of the University of Virginia, starting Aug. 1. She’s leaving UM at the end of June.

Richner read a resolution in her honor, which highlighted her role in identifying funding for the hiring of 100 new tenure-track faculty, developing a systematic process of reviewing capital projects within the schools and colleges, and establishing task forces on cost reduction and revenue enhancements, among other achievements.

In thanking regents, Sullivan said that she and her husband, Doug Laycock – a UM law professor – “have enjoyed every day in Ann Arbor.” She thanked the board, her colleagues and staff. Regents and others in the boardroom gave her a standing ovation.

Public Commentary

Renee Echols was the only person to speak during the public commentary portion of the meeting. Identifying herself as a doctoral candidate and secretary for the Graduate Employees Organization, Echols told regents in the coming year the GEO will be entering contract negotiations with the university, as they do every three years, and they’d be coming to the regents to bring up issues related to that.

Renee Echols, an officer in the Graduate Employees Organization (GEO), spoke to regents during public commentary.

One concern is the issue of accessibility and accommodations for graduate student instructors with disabilities – she noted that she is visually impaired. The university has an excellent system of accommodation for students, she said, but that doesn’t extend to graduate instructors. When accommodations are requested from a department, they are usually turned down, she said, mainly due to a lack of understanding of what constitutes a reasonable accommodation.

In their upcoming contract negotiations, the GEO hopes to propose some procedures to help solve this problem, Echols said. Specifically, they’d like to develop concrete processes by which graduate instructors can request accommodations through their departments.

Denise Ilitch asked Echols for examples of requests that had been turned down. Echols said she’d twice been turned down for a request to have an assistant in the classroom to help during a course she was teaching. Other graduate instructors with chronic pain issues had requested a specific type of chair to use while teaching – those requests had been turned down, too.

Julia Darlow expressed concern, and asked the university’s general counsel, Suellyn Scarnecchia, whether graduate student instructors were considered as employees under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Scarnecchia said this issue hadn’t been brought to her office yet, and they’d follow up on it. It’s not just a matter of contract negotiations, she said – there’s a lot of law that applies to these issues.

Libby Maynard said the issues that Echols raised are essential to making the university what they want it to be – an inclusive institution.

Present: Mary Sue Coleman (ex officio), Julia Darlow, Larry Deitch, Denise Ilitch, Olivia Maynard, Andrea Fischer Newman, Andy Richner, Martin Taylor, Kathy White.

Next board meeting: Thursday, July 15, 2010 at 3 p.m. in the Fleming Administration Building, 503 Thompson St., Ann Arbor. [confirm date]

Dave Brandon addressed the UM Board of Regents for the first time publicly as athletic director, speaking at their April 15 meeting at the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel in Grand Rapids. (Photos by the writer.)

Though most of the meeting entailed presentations and reports – focused on UM programs with links to the Grand Rapids area and western Michigan – the regents also unanimously approved several action items, with little discussion.

Increases for parking permit fees – 3% in each of the next three fiscal years – were set, as was the transfer of the Henry Ford Estate to the nonprofit Ford House foundation. The estate had been given to UM in the 1950s along with land that became the university’s Dearborn campus. Regents also approved a major expansion of the Institute for Social Research building on Thompson Street.

During public commentary, two leaders of the lecturers’ union spoke to regents, charging that UM lecturers are being asked to shoulder an unfair burden as the university tries to cut costs. The union is negotiating with the administration for a new contract – its current contract expires May 15.

After the meeting – held at the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel – regents, executives and staff headed over to the nearby J.W. Marriott hotel for a reception hosted by the UM Alumni Association.

Opening Remarks

Mary Sue Coleman began Thursday’s meeting by noting that many of the regents and administrators had been in town since Wednesday, meeting with community and academic leaders in Grand Rapids. She noted that there are already many connections between the university and the western side of the state, pointing out that the president of Grand Valley State University, Tom Haas, is a UM graduate.

Another link comes through the Michigan College Advising Corps, a statewide initiative that UM announced on Thursday. The program aims to increase the number of low-income, first-generation and underserved students entering college by recruiting and training recent UM graduates to work full-time for up to two years as college advisers in underserved high schools. It will launch this fall in eight communities, Coleman said, including five in western Michigan: Battle Creek, Benton Harbor, Grand Rapids, Jackson, and Muskegon.

Coleman noted that the university is preparing for President Obama’s visit to the May 1 commencement in Ann Arbor, which Gov. Jennifer Granholm will also attend – among about 80,000 others. The ceremony will be broadcast live on the Big 10 Network starting at 10:30 a.m., and will be streaming live on the UM website. “It’s going to be an exciting day,” Coleman said.

Board chair Andy Richner gave brief remarks as well, saying that Thursday’s meeting underscored the strong connections between the university and Grand Rapids. He said he was especially glad to be in this particular venue – the Gerald R. Ford Ballroom – because it honors the legacy of Ford, “who just happens to be a graduate of the University of Michigan.” He promised that regents would more regularly visit the western part of the state. Their last meeting in Grand Rapids was held in 1998.

At left: Wayman Britt, Kent County's assistant county administrator, talks with UM vice president for government relations Cynthia Wilbanks and UM president Mary Sue Coleman before the start of the UM regents meeting in Grand Rapids.

Speaking on behalf of the Grand Rapids community was another UM graduate: Wayman Britt, Kent County’s assistant county administrator. Britt told regents that he had been captain of the UM men’s basketball team, which had gone to the NCAA final four in 1976. His daughters also went to school at Michigan, he said.

Britt was glad to see a strengthening of ties between the university and the Grand Rapids area, saying “we know how to get it done here in west Michigan.” One example: The State Games of Michigan, which launches in June and is co-chaired by Britt. He concluded by saying he hoped to see growing enrollment at UM from the western part of the state, and that he looked forward to regents regularly visiting Grand Rapids and Kent County.

New Athletic Director Promotes Upcoming Events

Though he was hired earlier this year and has been on the job about five weeks, Thursday was the first time that Dave Brandon had attended a regents meeting to address the board publicly as athletic director. Himself a former regent, Brandon gave an update on Michigan Stadium renovations and spoke briefly about the football program – though not mentioning or even alluding to the NCAA investigation of the program and coach Rich Rodriguez’ coaching practices.

Brandon reported that the stadium renovations will be done in time for the Sept. 4, 2010 season opener against the University of Connecticut. “I’m here to say there are plenty of suites and club seats still available,” he quipped. [The $226 million renovation project includes 83 private suites and 3,200 indoor and outdoor club seats.]

Brandon noted that tours of the suites will be given during this Saturday’s spring football game at the stadium. The free event allows fans to watch the team’s final spring practice, and will raise money for the C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital through sponsorships and donations. [Brandon, with his wife Jan and Lloyd and Laurie Carr, are leading the fundraising campaign for the new hospital.]

Brandon said he’d had the chance to see some practices, and reported that the football team “looks terrific.” The players are “less young than they were a year ago,” he said, and have a better understanding of what big-time college football is all about.

In addition to football, Brandon highlighted several other UM sports. The Dec. 11, 2010 “Big Chill” will turn Michigan Stadium into a hockey arena, he said, between rivals Michigan and Michigan State. They’re hoping to break the world attendance record for spectators at an outdoor hockey game.

Spring sports teams are doing well, he said. Women’s softball, coached by Carol Hutchins, consistently ranks No. 1 or 2 in the nation – the previous day, they’d given Central Michigan an 8-0 “drubbing,” Brandon noted. Among the other sports he cited were the women’s gymnastics team, which recently won the Big 10 championship, and women’s water polo, which won its division title for the third consecutive year. There’s a lot of positive energy in the athletics program, he said.

In wrapping up, Brandon said that while they’d been making Michigan Stadium more beautiful, that made Crisler Arena look “even less beautiful.” He was looking forward to starting a major renovation project there. [Regents previously approved a $23 million addition to Crisler – a two-story, 57,000-square-foot basketball training facility that will include offices for men’s and women’s coaching staffs, locker rooms, two practice courts, film-viewing and hydrotherapy rooms, conditioning space and other amenities. Another $20 million will be spent on renovations to the existing arena.]

Brandon said the Crisler project will get underway as soon as Obama departs.

Parking Rate Increase

Regents unanimously approved were informed about increases for parking permits – 3% in each of the next three years. The change means that the highest-level Gold permit will increase from $1,443 this year to $1,577 by FY 2013, while Blue permits jump from $611 to $667 over that same period.

UM parking permit increases 2010-2013. (Links to larger image)

Tim Slottow, UM’s chief financial officer, told regents that the additional revenues were needed to help pay for the university’s parking infrastructure. He noted that in FY 2010, they’d held rates flat for all permits except Gold, which had increased by 4.5%.

According to a cover memo about the increases, parking revenues help fund debt service for new construction, as well as operations and annual maintenance projects. Capital projects include an addition to the Thompson Street parking structure and the Fuller Road Station, a joint UM/city of Ann Arbor project that includes a large parking structure.

The memo states that fees for Gold permits are in line with rates charged by the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority. [The DDA charges $130 for monthly parking permits to city structures, or $1,560 per year.]

Other Capital Projects

Two other major projects were approved on Thursday: an expansion to the Institute for Social Research (ISR), and an upgrade to the pneumatic tube system at the UM hospitals.

Institute for Social Research

A four-level, $23 million expansion is planned for ISR, adding 44,700 gross square feet to the existing building at 426 Thompson St. Another 7,200 square feet will be renovated. The project, to be designed by the architectural firm of Lord, Aeck & Sargent Inc., will be paid for in part by federal stimulus funds via a grant from the National Institutes of Health. The expansion will allow the institute to house its research programs under one roof.

ISR’s director, James Jackson, attended Thursday’s meeting but did not address the regents.

Pneumatic Tube Upgrade

This $3 million project will entail improvements to an extensive pneumatic tube system that’s used to transfer patient materials among 120 stations in multiple buildings at UM’s medical complex, including the University Hospital, Cancer Center, Taubman Health Care Center, and Maternal Child Health Center. It will also integrate the system into the new C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital and Von Voigtlander Women’s Hospital.

According to a cover memo about the project, the upgrade is expected to increase delivery times by 30-40%, and increase the system’s throughput during peak times from 150 to 200 transactions per hour.

Handing over the Henry Ford Estate

Regents unanimously approved transferring the Henry Ford Estate – Fair Lane to the Edsel and Eleanor Ford House, a nonprofit foundation. The property – originally the residence of Henry and Clara Ford – had been given to the university in 1957 by the Ford Motor Co., along with a $6.5 million donation. The gift helped UM establish its Dearborn Campus, located adjacent to the estate.

The transfer includes the main house, powerhouse, greenhouse, dam, garage, boathouse and surrounding property. Also included in the transfer are personal property on the estate, and endowment funds that had been restricted for use on the estate.

UM has been paying more than $300,000 annually for upkeep on the estate, and an estimated $12 million investment is needed over the next 10 years in infrastructure improvements. The estate is designated a National Historic Landmark.

Several regents noted that it was unusual for the university to give away property – it’s a deal that’s been discussed for several years. Mary Sue Coleman said she was pleased that they were able to arrive at this outcome.

Public Commentary: Lecturers’ Union

At the end of the meeting, two speakers during public commentary focused on current negotiations between the university and the Lecturers’ Employee Organization (LEO).

Elizabeth Axelson: Noting that she’d been a lecturer at UM for 20 years and is currently lead negotiator for LEO, Axelson said they’d initially been heartened to hear the provost say that budget goals could be met without layoffs, with resources for some new initiatives, and a “moderate salary program.” But that’s not what’s being offered to lecturers, she said.

Elizabeth Axelson, lead negotiator for the Lecturer Employees Organization (LEO).

Minimum salaries for the classification of Lecturer I or II are $31,000 in Ann Arbor, $26,000 in Dearborn and $25,000 in Flint, she said. The median full-time lecturer salary in Ann Arbor is $44,000. This is less than the starting pay for new high school teachers with a master’s degree, she noted, and less than the national average of $53,112 for lecturers, according to the American Association of University Professors.

LEO is asking for 3% annual raises over the next three years. The goal is to eventually gain equity with the teaching portion of the current median professor salary on each campus, Axelson said. The university has offered 1.75% increases for Ann Arbor lecturers. For Flint and Dearborn, raises would be tied to those given to tenure-track faculty, which could be flat. There would be no increase in minimum salaries.

Axelson said the university’s new cost-sharing proposal for benefits, which requires employees to bear more of the cost for health care, will effectively eliminate the 1.75% increase. LEO estimates that the average lecturer will end up losing about 4%.

Axelson also told regents that the union’s vice president, Kirsten Herold, who has taught in the English department for 18 years, had not been reappointed. “We see her non-reappointment as an abuse of the performance evaluation provisions of the contract; it would be a wrong move at any time, but doing it now looks like intimidation.”

She concluded by saying that lecturers were willing to share the burden of a difficult economy, but should not be expected to bear a greater burden than full-time employees who are better paid. “We hope you can help us achieve the goals of greater equity, a fair part of cost sharing, and a moderate salary program, at the bargaining table,” she said.

Catherine Daligga: Speakers for public commentary are required to sign up in advance – Kirsten Herold had signed up, but was unable to attend. Instead, Daligga read remarks prepared by Herold.

The remarks outlined the impact of layoffs on students in the College of Literature, Science & the Arts (LSA). First-year winter semester writing courses were full for the first time ever, with students being wait-listed, faced with having to take the course next year instead. One of Herold’s students wasn’t able to get into a fourth semester of Spanish until eight months after completing her third-term course. The student has experienced problems getting into other courses as well, and is concerned that she won’t be able to complete her degree in four years. (Herold’s statement noted that if the meeting had been held in Ann Arbor, the student would have been able to attend and speak directly to regents.)

With 6% budget cuts coming over the next three years, the worst is yet to come, according to Herold. They’ve heard that cuts are being discussed that would affect the heart of the undergraduate curriculum – for example, discussion sections for physics, which are taught by lecturers, as well as courses in psychology and first-year Spanish. Anthropology is cutting its part-time lecturers, and at least half of physics lecturers expect to lose their jobs, Herold noted. English lecturers are being replaced by graduate students.

The anxiety across the college is palpable, according to Herold. And LEO members are angry that they seem to be bearing a larger share of the burden – or in some cases, like Spanish, all of the cuts. It’s not clear that tenure-track faculty will be moved into courses that were previously taught by lecturers. If not, Herold pointed out that undergraduates in particular will be affected.

Michigan Student Assembly: New President

Former Michigan Student Assembly president Abhishek Mahanti was on hand to introduce MSA’s new president, Chris Armstrong, who was elected to that office in March. Mahanti described Armstrong as someone who’s “got a laugh that can light up an entire room.” Armstrong told regents that his priorities for the coming year would be to push for Saturday night dining and gender-neutral housing options. He also hopes to work with the administration on prohibiting exams on election days.

Armstrong brought up the fact that he’s received a lot of attention – including some national media – because he’s the university’s first openly gay student body president. The attention wasn’t something he sought, Armstrong said, but it was an opportunity to engage students in a positive way, and he’s excited for what that means to others on campus.

Presentations: Highlighting the Grand Rapids Connection

Regents heard four presentations during Thursday’s meeting that each touched on a link to the western side of the state. The meeting also included a signing ceremony for a new pharmacy admissions program.

Pharmacy Partnership Agreement

Near the beginning of the meeting, the presidents and provosts of UM and Grand Valley State University, along with UM pharmacy dean Frank Ascione, moved to a table in the corner of the room to officially sign a partnership agreement between the two institutions establishing the Pharmacy Preferred Admission Program. The program reserves up to eight spots each year in the UM College of Pharmacy‘s doctoral program, set aside for students from Grand Valley State who complete certain pre-pharmacy undergraduate coursework. The Grand Rapids-based university doesn’t have a pharmacy school.

Tom Haas, president of Grand Valley State, spoke briefly before the signing ceremony. He recalled that three years ago he, UM president Mary Sue Coleman and provosts from both institutions had lunch to discuss ways of partnering. The first result of that effort was a preferred-admission agreement signed last year, allowing UM kinesiology students to enter Grand Valley’s graduate program in occupational therapy. The pharmacy program is the second significant agreement, he said. “We’ll continue to look for those kinds of opportunities for continued mutual gain for the state of Michigan.”

Elementary Mathematics Laboratory

Deborah Ball, dean of UM’s School of Education, described the Elementary Mathematics Laboratory that will be expanding this summer to Grand Rapids. The two-week program is a combination teaching and research effort, bringing in students who’ll be entering the fifth grade and who are struggling with math. They receive intensive training, both in a classroom and with one-on-one tutors.

The “lab” component comes into play because the teaching is observed by researchers, veteran teachers, teachers-in-training, mathematicians and others who are interested in how kids learn and how teachers teach. They’re trying to understand why different teachers – given the same resources and environment – achieve dramatically different academic outcomes for their students. Their findings can be used in teacher training and instructional design.

The lab is a prototype that the school would like to develop more broadly, Ball said – they’re planning to launch a secondary-level lab this summer in Ann Arbor.

After the presentation, UM president Mary Sue Coleman held up a copy of the March 2, 2010 New York Times Magazine – Coleman said she saw it and thought the woman on the cover looked like Ball, and sure enough, it was. Ball was featured extensively in the issue’s cover story, “Building a Better Teacher.”

Research on Down Syndrome and Autism

Up next was Dale Ulrich, a UM kinesiology professor whose research focuses on people with Down Syndrome and autism. He described growing concerns over childhood obesity, and noted that the problem is even greater among kids with Down Syndrome, because they tend to be more inactive than the general population. Less than 10% know how to ride a two-wheel bike, for example. Medical advancements have extended the life span for people with Down Syndrome, he said, but what’s being done to improve their quality of life?

Ulrich leads the UM Center for Motor Behavior and Pediatric Disabilities, and discussed the work they’ve done at week-long bike-training clinics, including ones held in the Grand Rapids area. [Link to video about the bike camp] The camp uses bikes equipped with special rollers instead of back wheels – working one-on-one with aides and gradually adapting the rollers, most of the children are able to ride a regular bike by the end of the week, Ulrich said. The more remarkable thing is to see how their lives change after learning to ride, he said, as they gain self-confidence and independence.

The center has partnered with Grand Valley State’s College of Health Professions, among others, to develop a research project based on these efforts. Steelcase Foundation funded initial pilot studies, and now the project has received a $596,000 federal grant from the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research. The funds will support a three-year intervention program, with the goal of reducing sedentary behavior and body fat, increasing social skills and interaction, and increasing participation in community activities.

Offshore Wind Energy Research

Dennis Assanis, director of the Michigan Memorial Phoenix Energy Institute at UM, described a large-scale research project aimed at studying offshore wind energy. The institute is partnering with Grand Valley State’s Michigan Alternative and Renewable Energy Center, led by Arn Boezaart.

Studying offshore wind energy is important, in light of the country’s reliance on fossil fuels, Assanis said – there are compelling environmental, economic and national security issues involved. Wind is an untapped renewable energy resource, and a great opportunity for Michigan to create clean energy jobs, he said: “We know very well how to design drive-trains,” needed for wind turbines.

The project aims to build a research platform and tower in Lake Michigan, to collect data and push forward the commercial wind-energy development in the Great Lakes. To do that, they are trying to raise an additional $5 million, having already secured $1.427 million from the U.S. Dept. of Energy, $1.336 million from the Michigan Public Service Commission and $334,100 from UM. Additional funding will likely come from the private sector.

Boezaart described several things they’d like to learn from the research, including: 1) the impact of the environment on the platform and tower, 2) how the tower and platform impact the environment, 3) how to navigate the licensing, permitting and regulatory process, 4) the economic potential for the Michigan’s lakeshore region and western part of the state.

Boezaart said they need to move quickly, because other states and countries are leading the way with research and technology development. “Wish us well and favorable winds,” he said, “because we’ll need those.”

UM Health System Collaboration

Jack Billi, UM associate vice president for medical affairs, spoke to regents about several statewide partnerships the University of Michigan Health System has formed to improve the quality of care and cut costs.

The UM Faculty Practice Group was chosen five years ago as one of 10 sites nationwide to participate in the Medicare Demonstration Project – an effort to demonstrate how health care costs for Medicare patients can be lowered while at the same time improving prevention and care for chronic conditions like diabetes and hypertension. UMHS is coordinating the project among doctors at 50 hospitals statewide. Aspects of this project were incorporated into the recently passed federal health care act, Billi said.

UMHS is also involved in the Physician Group Incentive Program, supported by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan. The university is helping 26 physician groups and more than 90 clinics statewide redesign care for patients with chronic illnesses, using “lean thinking” principles they learned from the auto industry, Billi said.

The Michigan Quality Improvement Consortium is another effort in which UMHS is playing a role. The project’s goal is to develop clinical practice guidelines and performance measures that can be adopted by health insurance plans statewide.

The bottom line, Balli said, is that it’s possible to lower costs and improve care at the same time. Collaboration, he added, is key to all of these efforts.

Present: Mary Sue Coleman (ex officio), Julia Darlow, Larry Deitch, Denise Ilitch, Olivia Maynard, Andrea Fischer Newman, Andy Richner, Martin Taylor, Kathy White

Next board meeting: Thursday, May 20 at 3 p.m. at the Fairlane Center on UM’s Dearborn campus, 19000 Hubbard Drive. [confirm date]