Ann Arbor city council action taken on May 13, 2013 – at a meeting that had started on May 6 – formally accepted the money and authorized a contract with the University of Michigan. The money will be used by the city of Ann Arbor to install telecommunications fiber, sensors and electronic equipment as well as some network support.

The pilot study undertaken by UMTRI will be a large-scale test of connected vehicle technology that will take place over a 30-month period. Data will be collected through wireless communications between vehicles participating in the program and roadside equipment.

After the study, the city will own the fiber and equipment that was installed with the grant money.

This brief was filed from the city council’s chambers on the second floor of city hall, located at 301 E. Huron. A more detailed report will follow: [link]

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]

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University of Michigan president Mary Sue Coleman before the start of the May 19, 2011 regents meeting, which was held at the Fairlane Center on UM's Dearborn campus. (Photos by the writer.)

The issue was a resolution introduced at the start of Thursday’s meeting – an item not originally on the agenda – to support the rights of graduate student research assistants to decide whether to organize and be represented by a labor union. Before the vote, Coleman spoke out against the move, describing the relationship between graduate researchers and faculty as a special one that was fundamentally different than an employee-employer relationship. Changing the nature of that interaction could affect the university in significant ways, which she said caused her deep concern. The board’s two Republican regents – Andrew Richner and Andrea Fischer Newman – also objected to the resolution, both criticizing the fact that it had been introduced at the last minute without time for adequate discussion.

The resolution passed on a 6-2 vote, with Richner and Newman dissenting. It was notable in part because, with the exception of votes regarding tuition increases, nearly all votes by the board are unanimous, and in accord with the administration’s recommendations.

The meeting also included a variety of other action items, but none that spurred commentary by regents. They voted to increase room and board rates for 2011-12 by 3%, approved the schematic design for a $52 million expansion of Crisler Arena, and authorized the tenure or promotion of 169 faculty members on the Ann Arbor campus.

Regents also authorized creation of the Institute for Health Care Policy & Innovation, a new venture to be housed at renovated space in the North Campus Research Complex (NCRC) – a $13.7 million renovation project that regents also authorized at the meeting. Ora Hirsch Pescovitz, executive vice president for medical affairs, said the institute will be the largest co-located group of health care researchers anywhere in the world.

In other action related to the NCRC, regents approved agreements – among a collection of 17 conflict-of-interest disclosures – with six start-ups that will lease space in the former Pfizer site, as part of the university’s Venture Accelerator program.

And in another item added to the agenda during the meeting, regents voted to approve the hiring of Lisa Rudgers as UM’s new vice president for global communications and strategic initiatives, effective June 1 with a salary of $270,000.

The board also got an update from Sue Scarnecchia, UM’s vice president and general counsel, on the Compliance Resource Center – a new website that coordinates various compliance efforts at the university.

At the end of the meeting, philosophy professor Carl Cohen spoke during public commentary, passionately urging regents to intercede in the renovation of East Quad in order to prevent the Residential College from being pushed into smaller, inadequate space. The RC is a living-learning program that Cohen helped start in the 1960s, and that’s housed at East Quad. If regents did nothing, he said, “your Residential College will atrophy and fade away.”

Resolution of Support for GSRA Right to Organize

In a move that one regent called unprecedented, regents voted 6-2 to support the rights of graduate student research assistants to decide whether to organize and be represented by a labor union.

The resolution was introduced near the beginning of the meeting by Julia Darlow, the board’s chair. It states:

Consistent with the University of Michigan’s proud history of strong positive and mutually productive labor relations, the Board of Regents supports the rights of university Graduate Student Research Assistants, whom we recognize as employees, to determine for themselves whether they choose to organize.

UM president Mary Sue Coleman spoke against the resolution in a statement she read aloud prior to the vote. [.pdf file of Coleman's full statement]

Coleman told regents that she feels passionate about the issue personally, and is deeply concerned about it on an institutional level. She sees research assistants as students, not employees. This opinion has been formed from her past experience as a graduate student researcher, she said, as well as her work as a faculty researcher and mentor to graduate student researchers. If GSRAs choose to organize, it would fundamentally change the relationship between the GSRAs and faculty, she said. This relationship is key to recruiting both faculty and graduate students, she added.

Further, a student’s performance as a research assistant is indistinguishable from their progress as a graduate student, she said. They aren’t evaluated as employees – they’re measured in terms of their progress toward completing their degree.

Coleman noted that the funding for these positions is not a work-for-hire approach. Faculty raise funds to support the graduate student’s total education – including their apprenticeship in the lab or in other research-based academic settings, she said. “This has been an extraordinarily effective strategy for more than 60 years, and it is a model used by every major research institution in the country.”

It’s been a long-standing university policy that graduate student research assistants receive pay and benefit increases that are comparable to increases received by graduate student instructors (GSIs), Coleman said, so that GSRAs are not at a disadvantage. [GSIs are represented by the Graduate Employees Organization (GEO) union. The GEO has been lobbying for GSRAs to have the right to negotiate terms of their employment.]

Coleman concluded by saying the university has enjoyed excellent relationships with the unions that represent some of its employees, and she expected that positive working relationship would continue. If regents adopted this resolution, the administration would abide by the applicable election procedures and work to ensure that everyone who is eligible to vote can make a full and fair evaluation of the issue, she said.

Coleman said she appreciated the board’s concern for students as well as for UM’s academic quality. “We have worked through many vexing issues together, and although there is disagreement over this issue, I know we share an unwavering commitment to this great university.”

Resolution of Support for GSRAs: Regents Response

Regent Larry Deitch said he didn’t have an opinion about whether GSRAs should organize or not, but he was confident that they are employees, and as such they have collective bargaining rights. If they organize, that’s their choice, he said. It’s also the right of the university administration to reject any contract that doesn’t protect the qualities that Coleman had articulated, he said.

Regent Andrea Fischer Newman spoke against a resolution that recognized the rights of UM's graduate student research assistants to organize.

Regents Andrew Richner and Andrea Fischer Newman – the only Republicans on the board – both spoke out against the resolution. Both expressed dismay that they’d only received notice of the resolution shortly before the meeting.

Richner called the decision to act against the advice of the president unprecedented. He pressed Darlow to answer questions about who would define the group of GSRAs for the purpose of determining the bargaining unit. Darlow responded by saying that the term “graduate student research assistant” is defined in UM’s faculty handbook, and that there is already a process in place for determining how to define the bargaining unit. It’s premature to state who would be part of that, she said – that will be worked out later.

Richner asked whether Darlow would agree that the president can define that class of employees. Certainly not, Darlow responded. As Richner asked another question, Darlow said she didn’t feel it was appropriate to go into details about how this will be implemented. The board does not dictate the actions of the president, she said – they articulate policy.

Richner said it seemed then that Coleman would have some freedom to negotiate the makeup of the bargaining unit. Darlow said she’d already responded to that statement. Will the president, deans and others have the power to educate the campus about their views on this resolution and how it might impact the university? Richner asked. Darlow replied that everyone on the board was committed to the principle of academic freedom.

Richner then asked what Coleman was supposed to do with this policy. What if she determines that the law provides that graduate student research assistants aren’t employees? At this point, Darlow – clearly exasperated – told Richner that if he wanted to comment about the resolution, he should make a statement rather than try to use her as a vehicle to make his points.

Richner said there were a lot of questions about this resolution, and he didn’t feel they had a clear understanding of the issue. It’s one of the most important votes they’ve taken since he’s been on the board, he said, and he was disappointed that regents didn’t have the opportunity to discuss it – they’ve spent more time discussing issues of far less importance, he noted. He felt it would have a negative impact on the university’s reputation and on its ability to recruit faculty and students, and that there will be negative consequences to academic freedom.

Newman also objected to the resolution. She’d just seen it about 20 minutes before walking into the room, she said, though she understood that others on the board had known about it before then. She wished they’d had an opportunity to talk to people who would be impacted by this vote. She noted that she’d had experience working with unions both through her job and as a regent.[Newman is senior vice president-government affairs for Delta Airlines.] But the relationship between a GRSA and a faculty member is not an employee/employer relationship – it’s learning-centered, she said, and the university’s reputation hinges on that. They’ve worked hard to keep UM strong in the wake of competition, and this change would be harmful.

It was a rare occurrence when the majority of the board had such a fundamental disagreement with the administration, Newman said, adding that she found it deeply troubling. GSRAs should not be considered employees, she said, and she opposed the resolution.

A voice vote was taken without further discussion.

Outcome: By a 6-2 vote, regents approved the resolution, with regents Newman and Richner dissenting. Deitch left the meeting immediately following the vote.

Room & Board Rates for 2011-12

Regents were asked to increase residence hall rates at the Ann Arbor campus by 3% this fall. The rate increase for Northwood Community Apartments – housing primarily for graduate students and families on UM’s north campus in Ann Arbor – is 1% for the 2011-12 academic year. [.pdf of proposed rate increases]

Chart showing University of Michigan room & board rates for 2011-12. (Links to larger image)

Normally, the topic of room and board rates falls under the purview of the vice president of student affairs, Royster Harper. But Harper was out of the country, so provost Phil Hanlon made a few remarks before the regents’ vote. He noted that significant improvements to UM’s residence halls have been made over the past several years, with strong support from regents. Capital investments require a very careful balance between providing the best possible facilities for students, he said, while maintaining reasonable housing rates.

Hanlon said the rate increases reflect an anticipated increase of $2.6 million in expenses related to employee costs, food supplies and other items, but that the University Housing staff was able to reduce operating expenses in other areas by about $1.7 million for fiscal 2012, which begins July 1, 2011. He indicted that effort allowed the rate increases to be lower than they might otherwise be.

A staff memo accompanying the proposal indicates that the 3% increase for residence halls is divided into two components: 1% for increased operating costs; and 2% for residence hall renovations. Room and board costs for a single residence hall room would increase from $10,970 to $11,300. A double would increase from $9,192 to $9,468.

In April, Eastern Michigan University’s board of regents approved an aggregate 2.15% room and board increase, and a 3% increase for university apartments. A list of housing rate increases at peer institutions was provided as part of the regents meeting packet. At the top end is Duke University, with a 5.9% increase. A 5.1% increase is slated for Michigan State. Among other Big Ten universities, UM is at the low end of rate increases – only Purdue University has a lower rate increase, at 2%. However, UM’s room and board costs are among the highest in that group – only Northwestern and Purdue cost more. [.pdf file of comparison housing rates]

Regents had no comment on this item.

Outcome: The board unanimously approved increases in room and board rates for the Ann Arbor campus in 2011-12. They separately voted to approve a 2.9% increase for residence halls on UM’s Flint campus.

New Communications VP Appointed

In an item that wasn’t on the original agenda, regents approved the appointment of Lisa Rudgers as vice president for global communications and strategic initiatives. Her appointment takes effect June 1, with a salary of $270,000. She replaces UM’s previous vice president of communications, David Lampe, who stepped down from that job earlier this year. He now serves as executive director of research communication in the office of UM’s vice president for research.

Rudgers was the university’s vice president for communications from 2000-2007. She left the university to start her own consulting firm – Lisa Rudgers & Associates – where she worked for other institutions, including Eastern Michigan University. A 2007 article in The Ann Arbor News reports that EMU paid Rudgers $37,000 for media consulting services, providing advice on releasing a report and communicating with the media after a probe into the December 2006 death of EMU student Laura Dickinson.

In 2009, Rudgers returned to UM on a part-time basis as special counsel for communications in UM’s Law School.

In her new role, Rudgers’ responsibilities include developing the university’s communications strategy and overseeing the Freedom of Information office, Michigan marketing and design, public affairs, internal communications, Michigan public media, presidential communications, the film office and the news service. She will be a member of the senior management team and will advise deans, directors, executive officers and the president regarding communications, according to a statement issued by the university.

Crisler Expansion

At Thursday’s meeting, the board was asked to approve the schematic design for a $52 million Crisler Arena expansion project. The board had given its initial approval of the project at its January 2011 meeting, and had selected TMP Architecture and Sink Combs Dethlefs as the architects. Regents had also previously approved – at their October 2010 meeting – a renovation of the arena’s infrastructure and a replacement of seating to a capacity of 12,800.

Don Dethlefs, CEO of Sink Combs Dethlefs, was on hand to give a brief description of the project – his Denver-based firm specializes in sports projects. The expansion will add about 63,000 square feet of new construction, and includes building new spectator entrances, retail spaces, concession areas, ticketing counters and a private club space. In addition, roughly 54,000 square feet would be renovated to accommodate accessible seats, increase the number of restrooms and concession areas, and add other fan amenities. Dethlefs said a new colonnade will for the first time mask the arena’s service functions, such as its loading dock and trash area.

Dethlefs described the addition as essentially enveloping the current structure. The concourse level will include significantly more restrooms for women, and a roof deck accessible to fans, with a view to the east. One of the new entries will allow access to the southwest, convenient for people who park at the Pioneer High School lot, he said. Glass entries will make the building seem like it’s glowing at night when events take place there, he said, and allow for natural lighting in the day to reduce energy costs.

Construction is expected to be finished by the winter of 2014.

Outcome: Regents unanimously approved the schematic design for Crisler Arena’s expansion.

Institute for Health Care Policy & Innovation

On Thursday, regents approved the Institute for Health Care Policy & Innovation, a new venture to be housed at renovated space in the North Campus Research Complex – a $13.7 million renovation project that regents also authorized at their May 19 meeting. Ora Hirsch Pescovitz, executive vice president for medical affairs, told regents the institute will be the largest co-located group of health care researchers anywhere in the world.

The institute will be part of UM’s Medical School, and bring together researchers who are studying a range of topics related to health care services, including insurance design and preventative care. The hope is that housing researchers in close proximity will spur additional innovation and collaboration. It’s expected that researchers from other parts of the university – including the colleges of engineering and pharmacy, and the schools of nursing, public policy, public health and dentistry – will eventually become part of the institute.

A national search for the institute’s director will begin soon. That person will be appointed by the president and will report to the dean of the Medical School. The president will also appoint an executive committee to help oversee the institute.

As part of this effort, regents approved a $13.7 million renovation project at the NCRC – the former Pfizer site. The project entails renovating 120,000 square feet in Building 16. Five floors, three conference rooms and a fitness center will be renovated as part of the project.

About 100 researchers who’ll likely join the institute are already working at NCRC, in different locations on the site. Eventually, more than 500 researchers could be part of the venture.

SmithGroup will serve as architect for the project, which is expected to be completed in the spring of 2012.

Outcome: In separate unanimous votes, regents approved both the creation of the institute and the NCRC renovation project.

Tenure and Promotion Approvals

Regents were asked to authorize tenure or promotion cases for UM faculty in the Ann Arbor campus, presented by provost Phil Hanlon and Ora Hirsch Pescovitz, executive vice president for medical affairs.

Hanlon began by saying the university’s preeminence rests in large part on the quality of its faculty. Decisions that they make regarding tenure and promotions will shape the future of the institution, he said – they take the process very seriously. Of the 233 cases that were reviewed, 169 were accepted.

Hanlon recalled that when former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice had given a lecture earlier this year on campus, she’d been asked which role she preferred – secretary of state, or faculty member at Stanford. He said she responded by saying she most preferred being provost, because it allowed her to see into the future of knowledge being developed, as she reviewed the work of faculty who were up for tenure and promotion. Hanlon and Pescovitz agreed that it was a highlight of their jobs, too.

Hanlon and Pescovitz each highlighted three examples of exemplary faculty, reading descriptions of the accomplishments that each person had achieved. The faculty who were highlighted include: Anthony Grbic of the College of Engineering; Laura Kay Kasischke in the College of Literature, Science & the Arts; Tiya A. Miles in the Center for Afroamerican and African Studies; Gary Hammer in the Medical School’s department of internal medicine; Celina G. Kleer in the Medical School’s department of pathology; and Alexandra Minna Stern in the Medical School’s department of obstetrics and gynecology.

Outcome: Regents approved the recommendations for faculty tenure and promotions.

Infrastructure Projects

In addition to Crisler Arena and NCRC renovations, regents approved other infrastructure-related projects at their May 19 meeting.

Infrastructure Projects: Beal Avenue Water Main

A $2.2 million water main project on Beal Avenue involves a 60-year-old, 12-inch water main, which serves all university buildings along Beal Avenue between Hayward Street and Bonisteel Boulevard, on UM’s north campus. Tim Slottow, UM’s chief financial officer, often jokes about the exciting nature of these infrastructure upgrades, and this meeting was no exception.

According to a staff report, recent breaks have reduced water service reliability, and buildings in the area have experienced water infiltration from flooding. A recent study recommended that installing a storm relief sewer is the best way to reduce the surface flooding. UM’s Department of Architecture, Engineering and Construction will collaborate with Hubbell, Roth & Clark Inc. to design the project. Construction is scheduled to be completed in the spring of 2012.

Outcome: Regents unanimously approved the Beal Avenue water main project.

Infrastructure Projects: University Hospital

Two projects for the University of Michigan Hospitals and Health Centers’ University Hospital – totaling $9.7 million – were on the agenda.

A $4.8 million project to improve access to the hospital’s computed tomography angiography (CTA) technology includes renovating two radiology rooms to house a new CTA scanner system. The architectural firm Integrated Design Solutions will design the project, which is expected to be complete by the fall of 2011.

In addition, regents approved $4.9 million to replace an existing CT simulator with a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system, and to renovate roughly 1,800 square feet in the hospital to accommodate the new MRI. The architectural firm Project and Design Management LLC will design the project, which is scheduled for completion in the winter of 2012.

Outcome: Regents unanimously approved the two University Hospital projects.

Building Named for Gorguze

Regents were asked to authorize naming the College of Engineering’s Engineering Programs Building as the Gorguze Family Laboratory. Vincent T. and Gloria M. Gorguze donated $5 million to fund an expansion of the building, located on UM’s north campus.

Vincent Gorguze received a bachelor’s degree from UM in metallurgical engineering in 1941. He worked for Ford Motor Co. and Curtiss-Wright Corp. before joining Emerson Electric in 1962, eventually becoming president and chief operating officer. Gorguze is now co-founder and chairman of Cameron Holdings Corp., which specializes in acquiring and operating manufacturing, industrial services and distribution companies.

Outcome: Regents approved renaming the Engineer Programs building as the Gorguze Family Laboratory.

Wolfson Endowment

Regents were asked to approve a variety of uses for $419,000 in estimated income from the Julian A. Wolfson and the Marguerite Wolfson Endowment Funds, which support the UM law school faculty. The uses include paying for faculty to attend professional meetings, equipping faculty offices, and sponsoring the Wolfson Scholar-in-Residence program, among other things.

Regents also approved continued use of the Wolfson reserves – unspent endowment income accumulated from prior years – as recommended by the law faculty for emergency and housing loans to the faculty.

Outcome: Regents unanimously approved items related to the Wolfson endowment funds.

Conflict-of-Interest Disclosures

On Thursday’s agenda were 17 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. Often, the items involve technology licensing agreements or leases.

This month, the items included seven lease agreements, 11 licensing agreements and three research agreements with various companies, including several based in Ann Arbor.

Six of the agreements relate to start-ups that will lease space in the university’s Venture Accelerator program, located in Building 26 at the North Campus Research Complex (NCRC) – the former Pfizer site on Plymouth Road. The highest-profile among those was a three-year lease agreement with Lycera Corp., which is planning to occupy 14,134 square feet of laboratory and office space. The item had been withdrawn from the regents’ April 2011 agenda because the deal hadn’t been finalized in time for the meeting. It was not on the original May 19 agenda, but was added at the meeting as a supplemental agenda item. Lycera is a start-up that’s developing treatments for autoimmune diseases like psoriasis, multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis.

The lease would begin during the summer of 2011, with Lycera paying a monthly rate of $42,083.33 and 3% annual increases. The lease is a full service gross lease – all costs are covered by the monthly rent. In addition, Lycera will enter into an animal services agreement during the lease, paying standard rates for UM’s regulatory oversight of research animals for no more than $500,000 annually.

The disclosure was triggered because three UM employees also own stock in Lycera. They are David Canter, executive director of the NCRC; Lycera co-founder and UM professor Gary Glick, who also serves as the company’s chief scientific officer; and associate professor Anthony Opipari, a Lycera co-founder who serves on the firm’s scientific advisory board.

Other start-ups leasing space at NCRC that were approved by regents include Advanced Battery Control, Chemxlerate, Edington Associates, JBR Pharma Inc., and Reveal Design Automation Inc.

The remaining conflict-of-interest disclosures related to the following entities: 1250 N. Main LLC, BHJ Tech Inc., Arbor Research Collaborative for Health, Baker-Calling Inc., LectureTools Inc., Possibilities for Change LLC, SenSigma Inc., and Vortex Hydro Energy.

Outcome: Without discussion, regents unanimously authorized all 17 conflict-of-interest disclosures.

Presentations: Compliance Website, MSA Report

In addition to a presentation related to business education at UM’s Dearborn campus, regents heard two other reports, regarding: (1) a new compliance website; and (2) the Michigan Student Assembly.

Presentations: Compliance Website

Sue Scarnecchia, UM’s vice president and general counsel, gave an overview of a new website that coordinates various compliance efforts at the university. The Compliance Resource Center has been developed over the past 18 months, Scarnecchia said – a process that included interviews with over 100 individuals and many campus groups. She introduced two staff members – Fiona Linn, compliance project manager, and Kris Snook, senior paralegal and compliance coordinator – who took the lead on that effort.

Sue Scarnecchia, UM's vice president and general counsel, gave a presentation about a new website that coordinates the university's various compliance efforts.

They also looked at the approaches taken by more than two dozen other universities, Scarnecchia said, and found two basic models: (1) a centralized compliance office; or (2) a decentralized approach, with compliance efforts handled by individual units. They didn’t think either model would work for UM, so they created their own, she said.

They didn’t want to create a duplicative process or add employees, so they decided to develop a website that coordinates existing compliance offices campuswide, she said. In addition, a compliance coordinator position was created – that job is held by Snook. The website is intended to respond to queries from outside entities or the regents, if questions arise about compliance issues. It also is designed to help people who are new to the university or to their roles, guiding them through compliance processes and providing resources.

The site allows users to browse by topic – such as athletics, health care or tax/financial – or by activity or operation. It also provides compliance overviews related to specific roles – faculty, staff, researchers or managers. There are mechanisms on the site to report concerns or ask questions, and a guide to “acting ethically.”

The site launched in March, and has had 3,500 unique visitors and about 13,000 page views since then, Scarnecchia said. Other universities have also started to ask if they can copy UM’s site design, she said.

Presentations: MSA Report

DeAndree Watson, president of the Michigan Student Assembly – the university’s student governing group – gave regents an update on MSA’s efforts to promote student activism, including an effort to boost recycling and composting on campus. He also noted that high school students at the University Academy, a Detroit charter school, have decided to model their student government bylaws and constitution based on MSA documents. Students from the school were coming to campus the following day to meet with him and other MSA leaders, he said. [.pdf file of MSA report]

Public Commentary

Carl Cohen was the only speaker during the meeting’s two opportunities for public commentary.

Cohen, a UM philosophy professor at the Residential College, outlined the history of the RC, a living-learning community located within the East Quad dorm. He noted that he was one of the faculty who designed the program, which opened in 1967.

UM philosophy professor Carl Cohen advocated for design changes in the upcoming East Quad renovations, to better accommodate the Residential College program.

Cohen said the RC does what’s now being praised at the new North Quad: “We integrate the residential circumstances of undergraduates with their university studies.” When the college celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2007, more than 10% of graduates returned for the event – normally, such reunions only bring about a half percent, he said. What’s more, “our students have been more than loyal – they have excelled,” he said.

East Quad is about 70 years old, and will soon get a “badly needed” renovation, Cohen said. The RC, which he said will be exiled for the 2012-13 academic year, recently was shown plans for where the program will be located after the renovation. “Present plans are a total disaster,” he said. Spaces that have been used by the RC will be returned to university housing, and instead the program will be given less space in undesirable locations – including windowless cubicles for faculty in the basement, and classrooms and small offices that are “jammed on top of one another.”

“In this cramped and profoundly unsatisfying setting we simply cannot survive,” he said. Senior faculty won’t come, he added, nor will undergraduates be attracted to it.

Cohen urged regents to intervene and ensure that adequate space is provided to the Residential College in the renovated East Quad. He said he knew how passionate regents have been in supporting undergraduate education. “You have an opportunity to manifest that support,” he said. “You can make your pleasure known – you can save the college of which we have all been so proud. But if you do nothing, the planned deployment of spaces will go forward, and your Residential College will atrophy and fade away.”

Present: Mary Sue Coleman (ex officio), Julia Darlow, Larry Deitch, Denise Ilitch, Olivia (Libby) Maynard, Andrea Fischer Newman, Andrew Richner, Kathy White. Martin Taylor participated by speaker phone. Deitch left the meeting following the vote on the GSRA resolution.

Next board meeting: Thursday, June 16, 2011 at 3 p.m. at the Fleming Administration Building, 503 Thompson St., Ann Arbor. [confirm date]

Stephen Forrest, left, talks with David Lampe before the start of the Jan. 19, 2011 University of Michigan board of regents meeting. Forrest, UM's vice president for research, gave a presentation on the university's research efforts. Lampe is vice president for communications. (Photos by the writer.)

Stephen Forrest, UM’s vice president for research and chair of the board for economic development agency Ann Arbor SPARK, described the concept of an “innovation pipeline,” with the input of funding and ideas yielding an output of jobs, prosperity and expanded opportunities for faculty and students. The process has leaks and clogs, he noted, but the university has strategically applied patches – citing as an example the Venture Accelerator program that launched this month.

And Jim Baker, director of the Michigan Nanotechnology Institute for Medicine and Biological Sciences, was on hand to embody the efforts of faculty who successfully translate research into economic development. Baker’s talk focused on the rewards of creating new businesses – he observed that one reason why students come to UM is to enhance their economic prospects and improve their lives. Baker talked about the importance of keeping those graduates in Michigan to aid in the state’s economic recovery – and doing that requires jobs. He noted that the four companies he has helped launch in Ann Arbor have brought in $160 million in investments and created 45 new jobs so far.

Regents took action on several items during the meeting, including approval of two projects related to the athletics department: A $52 million renovation and expansion of Crisler Arena – the second phase of a major overhaul of that facility, which was built in 1968; and a $20 million project to install video scoreboards at Michigan Stadium, Crisler Arena and Yost Ice Arena. David Brandon, UM’s athletic director, made a brief appearance at the meeting but did not address the regents publicly. And this month’s biggest athletic-related news at UM – that Brady Hoke was hired as head football coach – received only a mention as part of president Mary Sue Coleman’s opening remarks. He did not attend the meeting.

Seven people spoke during public commentary on a variety of topics. Among them were: (1) a call to reassess Fuller Road Station, a proposed parking structure and possible train station near UM’s medical campus; ( 2) questions about the medical leave of Ken Magee, executive director of UM’s Department of Public Safety (DPS); (3) thanks from the leader of the Ann Arbor Summer Festival for the university’s support of that annual event; (4) criticism of the use of live animals to train survival flight nurses; and (5) a plea for financial support for The Loyal Opposition to the Status Quo (LOSQ), a nonprofit launched to address disparities between African-Americans and Caucasians.

President’s Opening Remarks

Mary Sue Coleman began by saying she was honored to have been in the state capitol the previous night to attend Gov. Rick Snyder’s State of the State address. He delivered a powerful vision for the state and its return to prominence, she said, and public universities will play a role in that rejuvenation. The state is facing serious economic challenges, and “as a university, we are ready to do our part” for Michigan’s recovery, Coleman said. She noted that they were also awaiting word on the state budget, which will include appropriations for Michigan’s public universities.

A strong spirit of enthusiasm and optimism isn’t limited to Lansing, Coleman said. She welcomed Brady Hoke as UM’s new football coach, and thanked the campus community for making him feel welcome. They all sense his deep affection for the university, she said, and they’re looking forward to the 2011 season.

University of Michigan president Mary Sue Coleman, left, talks with Nancy Asin, assistant secretary of the university, before the start of Thursday's regents meeting.

Coleman then highlighted several honors recently bestowed on people connected with the university. Nine faculty members had recently been named as fellows to the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a prestigious honor. Allen Kim, a UM engineering student, was named College Entrepreneur of the Year by Entrepreneur magazine. He was recognized for his startup Bebarang, a baby clothes rental service. Of the five finalists for that award, two were from UM, which Coleman said speaks volumes for how the university is embracing the spirit of entrepreneurship.

Two new university building projects received architectural awards, Coleman noted: (1) the University of Michigan Museum of Art (UMMA) was given the 2011 American Institute of Architects (AIA) Honor Award for Architecture, one of the top honors in that field; and (2) the newly expanded Michigan Stadium was given a Best of the Best Award by McGraw-Hill Construction. Each building provides entertainment and inspiration, Coleman said, adding that it’s wonderful to see recognition for the extensive work that’s gone into them.

University Research & Economic Development

The meeting’s main presentation – by Stephen Forrest and Jim Baker – focused on the university’s research efforts. Forrest is UM’s vice president for research; Baker is a faculty member who wears many hats, including as director of the Michigan Nanotechnology Institute for Medicine and Biological Sciences and co-founder of several technology firms.

Forrest began with a bit of historical context, noting that the regents had passed a resolution in 1996 that supports a strong technology transfer program as an “integral component” of the university’s overall mission. The statement of support had far-reaching implications, he said – it seems passive, but a lot of activity has flowed from that.

Rick Snyder, who helped launch the economic development agency Ann Arbor SPARK, and Mike Finney, who served as its president, have recently risen to positions of extreme importance statewide, Forrest noted – Snyder as governor, and Finney as head of the Michigan Economic Development Corp., an appointment made by Snyder. Snyder and Finney both expect universities to participate in the state’s recovery, he said – and “that’s not a passive expectation.” They expect action. But UM can’t be “green” in a brown field, Forrest said. If the state overall isn’t prosperous, the university won’t be able to attract the students and faculty they need.

Graphic of an "Innovation Pipeline." (Links to larger image)

The old model of a university as an ivory tower is outdated – now, UM bleeds out into the city and beyond, making it a “rather blurry-edged university,” he said. Partnerships with other organizations – including government entities, universities, industry and international institutions – create a university that’s connected, he said.

Forrest showed a Rube Goldberg-esque graphic of an “innovation pipeline” to illustrate the dynamic nature of the research process, and obstacles potentially blocking that process – he observed, for example, that university culture can act like a wad of hair or steel wool in the pipeline. The goal is to identify leaks, breaks and blockages, and patch them, he said. The outcome is jobs and prosperity.

One of those patches recently hit the news, Forrest said: UM’s Venture Accelerator, a new business incubator that opened earlier this month at the North Campus Research Complex (NCRC), the former Pfizer site. About 500 people attended the grand opening, he said, and most of them were from outside the university.

Though they’ve been talking about a business incubator for more than a decade, it was the regents’ decision to buy the Pfizer site that “flipped a switch” to make it happen, he said.

Saying that if they aspire to be the best, they’d better know where they stand now, Forrest showed a chart comparing UM to peer institutions in three research metrics: Licensing agreements, number of start-ups using university technology, and revenues from intellectual property – for example, from royalties on licensed research or from an equity stake in a company.

Chart showing research metrics at various universities. (Image links to higher resolution file.)

Agreements are important because they show what’s at the beginning of the pipeline, Forrest said. He also cautioned that revenues can be “bursty,” reflecting perhaps just one technology that “hits” for a particular period. Overall, UM is in the top tier, he observed, “but we’re definitely not at the top.”

At UM, revenues from technology transfer approached $40 million in fiscal 2010, which Forrest attributed in large part to one-time revenues from the licensing agreement for FluMist, which was developed at the university. This year, that figure will likely be significantly lower.

Forrest then announced the recipients of the 2011 Distinguished University Innovator Award: Ken Wise and Khalil Najafi, who are both faculty focused on microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technology. They’ve spurred their students to start many companies based on academic research, Forrest said, making UM “the center of the MEMS world, which is a big world.”

Forrest concluded his remarks by saying there’s urgency to take advantage of the current climate. Because of changes in Lansing, the Ann Arbor SPARK model will be rolled out across the state, he said. [Forrest serves as chair of SPARK's board of directors.] He appealed to the regents to be patient, saying there is no quick fix or single action that will improve the innovation pipeline, “but I think we’re well on our way.”

Jim Baker focused his part of the presentation on the rewards of creating new businesses. Students come to UM to improve their lives, he said – and part of that includes enhancing their economic prospects. He reported taking his daughter on a university admissions tour, and observed that many parents looked distressed – most of their questions during a Q&A related to financial aid, he said. They want a better life for their children – for the university, he said, “this mission can’t be ignored.”

UM has a heritage of providing opportunities that aren’t available elsewhere, Baker continued. As an example, he noted that he graduated from Williams College in 1975 – the first year that the institution admitted female students. [UM admitted its first female student in 1870.]

Current challenges make this role of economic enhancement crucial, he argued. There’s a widening economic disparity, especially in Michigan. Our future is knowledge-based, he said, and most wealth creation will be due to new businesses. That was part of the governor’s message in his State of the State address, Baker said.

Baker acknowledged that universities don’t create jobs, but said that their actions can support job creation. They need to change their culture in order to help entrepreneurs thrive, and to keep them from leaving Michigan. Baker noted that he’s CEO of NanoBio, a company he co-founded. He’s not CEO by choice, he added, but rather because it’s difficult to recruit someone to take that job.

He asked, rhetorically, whether it’s possible to change their culture in this way while still maintaining UM’s high academic standards. Yes, he said – and doing so will put more emphasis on translating basic research into marketable applications, provide for a broader range of research activities, and bring in support from a wider variety of sources.

The four companies that Baker has helped launch – NanoBio, Avidimer Therapeutics, PhotonAffinity, and BioPartners LLC – have brought in $160 million in investments, including $30 million in the past 18 months, he said, creating 45 new jobs.

Baker concluded by saying that he hoped these companies could serve as examples to students, showing them how to improve their own lives, “and more importantly, keep their lives here in Michigan.”

After his presentation, regent Larry Deitch told Baker they were honored to have him as part of the university community. Deitch asked what they could do better – in what ways is the university not supporting faculty who are brilliant researchers and would-be entrepreneurs?

Baker replied that they often talk about needing money or lab space, but the most important thing is people. Every year, the university brings 6,000 of the most remarkable kids in the country to UM, he said. The university needs to find a way to keep them here. If students graduate and stay in Michigan rather than leave for jobs in Chicago or the coasts, it would transform Michigan’s culture, he contended. Graduates need to know that there’s an opportunity here to make their mark.

Capital Projects: Crisler Arena, Scoreboards, Tunnels

Regents approved several building-related projects at their Jan. 20 meeting, including two items that weren’t on the original agenda: A $52 million second phase of renovations at Crisler Arena, and a $20 million project to add video scoreboards at Crisler, Michigan Stadium and Yost Ice Arena. In introducing the items at the table, UM chief financial officer Tim Slottow cited the tight timetable the projects are under as a reason for being added at the last minute. UM president Mary Sue Coleman added that this wasn’t their preferred method of handling it, but said that in this case, it was necessary.

Tim Slottow, UM's chief financial officer.

Crisler Arena Renovations

Regents unanimously approved a $52 million renovation and expansion of Crisler Arena – the second phase of a major overhaul of that facility, which was built in 1968. The new construction will add about 63,000 square feet for new retail spaces, spectator entrances, ticketing areas and a private club space. About 54,000 square feet will be renovated to improve Americans with Disability Act accessibility, and increase the number of restrooms and concession stands, among other things.

Regents also approved TMP Architecture of Bloomfield Hills, working with Denver-based Sink Combs Dethlefs, to design the project. At their January 2010 meeting, regents had approved a $23 million phase one renovation of infrastructure and replacement of spectator seating at Crisler. A schematic design for that phase was approved in July.

The same architecture firms also designed the new basketball player development center at Crisler, a two-story, $23.2 million addition that will be completed later this year. That project was approved by regents in September 2009.

Video Scoreboards

In a second sports-related agenda item, regents unanimously approved a $20 million project to install video scoreboards at Michigan Stadium, Crisler Arena and Yost Ice Arena. The high-definition scoreboards will be put in place before the start of the 2011-12 season.

In addition, the Michigan Sports Television production studio – which manages operation of the scoreboards – is relocating to Michigan Stadium. The studio is normally housed at Crisler, but will be at its temporary location until renovations at Crisler are completed in 2012-13.

Tunnel Refurbishment

Over the past few years, regents have approved several projects to repair and refurbish the utility tunnels that run underneath campus. An agenda item for a $2.55 million repair of a utility tunnel running under Huron Street received unanimous approval from regents at their Jan. 20 meeting. The project covers a 500-foot stretch of tunnel, with plans to completely replace about 120 feet and repair the rest of it with patches and epoxy injections. Fishbeck, Thompson, Carr & Huber – a Grand Rapids engineering and construction firm – will design the project, which is expected to be finished in the winter of 2012.

Regent Andrea Fischer Newman joked that this must mean the tunnel system actually exists – it isn’t a myth. Slottow indicated that a tunnel tour could be arranged for her.

Institute for Social Research

The regents most recently got a report on Institute for Social Research activities at their September 2010 meeting, when director James Jackson gave an overview of ISR’s work. A $23 million expansion of ISR’s building on Thompson Street had been approved by the board in April – they signed off on the project’s schematic design in July.

This month, the regents unanimously approved a $1.5 million project to install a fire suppression system in the oldest part of the building, now known as Wing One. That 82,000-square-foot structure was built in 1965. According to a memo accompanying the request, the fire suppression system will eliminate the need for fire separation barriers between the existing building and the addition.

Conflict of Interest Disclosures

Regents authorized 10 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. Often, the items involve technology licensing agreements or leases.

This month, four disclosures related to leases between the university and start-up companies that are leasing space in UM’s North Campus Research Complex, as part of the Venture Accelerator program: Phrixus Pharmaceuticals Inc.; Civionics LLC; 3D Biomatrix Inc.; and Eng XT Inc.

The remaining disclosures involved deals with the following entities: TechSpek (website development); Cornell Farms (to house sheep for research purposes); ElectroDynamic Applications (to provide development support services for a 100 kW class Nested Hall Thruster); Li, Fischer, Lepech and Associates LLC (technology licensing agreement); Ascentage Pharma Group Corp. Ltd. (research agreement); and Proteostasis Therapeutics Inc. (research agreement).

There was no discussion on these items.

Michigan Student Assembly Report

Chris Armstrong, president of the Michigan Student Assembly, gave his monthly report to regents about MSA activities. Among the MSA’s projects are efforts to develop an open housing policy, improvements in course guides, and support of a petition requesting that UM stop using live animals in its survival flight nurse training.

Armstrong also noted the popularity of MSA’s Airbus service to Detroit Metro airport, reporting that over 2,000 students had used the service on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, and even more people used it over the holidays. He said that MSA is working with UM’s parking and transportation office on a car rental service for student service groups. A similar program was previously offered by the university’s Ginsberg Center, but has been discontinued.

Regent Andrea Fischer Newman asked about the rental car service – who has the liability for that? Armstrong said MSA was simply providing the funding. It was his understanding that liability issues caused the Ginsberg Center to drop the service. Sue Scarnecchia, UM’s general counsel, said this was the first she’d heard about the program – though she allowed that others in her office might be handling it. She assumed the program would be insured by the university, but told regents that she’d look into the matter.

Public Commentary

Seven people spoke at the end of the meeting, during the time set aside for public commentary.

Robb Woulfe, executive director of the Ann Arbor Summer Festival.

Robb Woulfe, executive director of the Ann Arbor Summer Festival, told regents that the festival is preparing to celebrate its 28th season, and he was there to say thanks for the university’s support. For 21 days each summer, the festival transforms Ann Arbor with its offering of music, films and other entertainment, drawing thousands of people to the city. It wouldn’t be possible without their partners, Woulfe said, particularly the university. He thanked them for supporting this community tradition.

Douglas Smith has spoken at several previous regents meetings, often criticizing the university and UM’s Department of Public Safety for its treatment of Andrei Borisov, who was dismissed as a research assistant professor in the university’s pediatrics department. [Smith also spoke at the Jan. 5, 2011 meeting of the Washtenaw County board of commissioners, questioning the use of Tasers by law enforcement officials.] At this month’s regents meeting, Smith began by asking “Where the heck is Kenny Magee?” He noted that DPS has been without leadership since Magee, the department’s executive director, went on paid medical leave in October 2010, and said that complaints filed with the department have been stymied. Smith said that the official reason given for Magee’s departure is medical leave, but he claimed that rumors are rampant that it’s related to sexual harassment allegations.

Ken Magee, director of UM's Department of Public Safety, in a photo take at the Jan. 22, 2009 regents meeting.

Smith told regents that he has filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the university for “any records or communications regarding any allegations, suspicions or complaints of sexual harassment or sexual misconduct” by Magee. However, he reported that his FOIA request has been denied, with the university citing attorney-client privilege. He said he was appealing the decision to the regents, asking them to overturn it and grant his request, which he doesn’t believe is covered by attorney-client privilege. He said he also doesn’t believe the university has provided all the documents that would be responsive to his FOIA request.

[By way of background, Magee – who grew up in Ann Arbor, and whose father was a UM professor of neurology – worked in a variety of law enforcement jobs, including with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), before returning to Ann Arbor. He was hired by the university to lead the DPS in November 2008.]

Magee’s attorney, Nick Roumel, said in a phone interview that they are aware of the rumors but that “the rumors aren’t true” and Magee is “absolutely on approved medical leave.” No investigation is being conducted, he said. Roumel acknowledged that Magee helps out at Antelope Antiques, but said he’s not employed there. Nor has he opened a magic shop, Roumel said, though he has leased retail space in the cluster of shops where Antelope is located. In general, UM considers outside employment acceptable if it doesn’t conflict with someone’s job duties at the university, Roumel said – again stressing that at this point, Magee is on medical leave and not working elsewhere.

In a phone interview with The Chronicle, UM spokesman Rick Fitzgerald said that Magee went on medical leave in October, and that there’s no investigation being conducted. Beyond that, he said the university does not comment on personnel issues.

Raymond Mullins introduced himself as an Ypsilanti native, and a graduate of Howard University and the UM law school. He has been president of the Ypsilanti/Willow Run chapter of the NAACP, and is a co-founder of The Loyal Opposition to the Status Quo (LOSQ). The nonprofit group was launched to address disparities between African-Americans and Caucasians, including the academic achievement gap, imprisonment and poverty. When members of LOSQ met with university officials last year seeking support, they were told that because of the state’s anti-affirmative action laws, UM can’t fund efforts to increase the academic proficiency of minority students, he said. In that case, Mullins said he was asking regents and university executives to direct his group toward development entities that could help LOSQ raise money to meet their goals.

Mullins said a major program to address these goals is called the LOSQ Challenge, aimed at helping minority students in grades 6-12 in the areas of visual and performing arts, humanities, sciences, math and business. They’ll be sponsoring a free event on Feb. 26 at the Peace Neighborhood Center in Ann Arbor – the Fourth Annual Celebration of African-American Life in Washtenaw County, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The LOSQ general membership meetings, which are open to the public, are held on the third Saturday of each month at 30 N. Washington St. in Ypsilanti, from 2-4 p.m.

Ellora Gupta came to the regents meeting to ask for their support of the 21st Asia Business Conference at UM’s Ross School of Business. Gupta is co-chair of this event, which will take place on Jan. 28-29 and feature 21 speakers on nine different panel discussions. The conference is only about 55% toward its fundraising goal, she said, and they need help in putting on this event, which she described as something that helps set UM apart from other institutions. Funds are raised by students, she noted, and it’s been difficult in this economy, especially since UM isn’t located in a business hub.

Regent Andrea Fischer Newman asked whether Gupta’s group had talked to UM’s solar car team – that team does a great job in raising money, she noted. Newman encouraged the students to be creative in their fundraising, not just this year, but going forward. “I know you guys can figure this out,” she said.

UM graduate student Joel Batterman urged regents to explore alternatives to expanding their parking system, and to reassess the need for the proposed Fuller Road Station.

Joel Batterman, a graduate student in urban planning who is specializing in transportation issues, spoke to regents about the university’s transportation policies, in light of UM’s phase 2 draft reports for its Integrated Assessment of Campus Sustainability. [.pdf file of Batterman's remarks to regents]

Batterman pointed to findings that he said have significant implications for the university’s transportation policies, specifically as they relate to expanding its parking facililities. He described the university’s perceived parking capacity problem as really a problem of parking allocation. Though parking near the central campus and medical campus is at capacity, for example, many other lots – such as those in the north and south campus areas – are underutilized, with average vacancy rates of 20% and 28%. UM’s purchase of the former Pfizer facility, now called the North Campus Research Complex, has increased parking capacity even more.

Structuring the pricing system for parking to better match demand would prompt more people to use the existing park-and-ride lots and shuttle buses, Batterman said, which would make additional parking in high-demand areas unnecessary. It would also yield operational savings, he noted, and affect future investments. He observed that each parking space at the proposed Fuller Road structure is estimated to cost $44,000 – or the equivalent of undergraduate tuition for four years. Related to that, Batterman said he and others would be meeting with university and city staff to ask them to reassess the proposed $43 million Fuller Road Station, a joint city/UM parking structure, bus depot and possible train station located near UM’s medical campus. He urged regents to support an approach that would cut costs and pioneer innovative transportation solutions.

UM students Joseph Varilone and Akshay Verma both spoke against the use of animals in UM’s survival flight nurse training, strongly objecting to the practice. Varilone noted that in November 2010, the Michigan Student Assembly passed a resolution urging the UM Health System’s Surivival Flight Course to use simulators rather than animals. The administration has been secretive about this issue and its policy is opaque, Varilone said – “we not only expect, we demand better.” Verma noted that animals feel pain and stress, just as humans do. He wondered how UM can claim to be “leaders and best” when they’re using an archaic pedagogical technique. [UMHS issued a statement last year regarding the use of animals in flight training.]

Present: Mary Sue Coleman (ex officio), Larry Deitch, Olivia (Libby) Maynard, Andrea Fischer Newman, Andrew Richner, Kathy White. Denise Ilitch participated in the meeting via conference call.

Absent: Julia Darlow, Martin Taylor.

Next board meeting: Thursday, Feb. 17, 2011 at 3 p.m. at the Fleming Administration Building, 503 Thompson St., Ann Arbor. [confirm date]

Chris Armstrong, right, president of the Michigan Student Assembly, talks with Royster Harper and Kelly Cunningham before the Sept. 16 UM Board of Regents meeting. Harper is vice president for student affairs. Cunningham is director of UM's Office of Public Affairs. (Photos by the writer)

Board chair Julia Darlow read a brief statement near the start of the meeting, stating support for anyone in the university community who comes under attack for their identity – an oblique reference to what’s been characterized as the cyber-bullying of Chris Armstrong, the Michigan Student Assembly president. Armstrong, who is gay, is the target of  the “Chris Armstrong Watch” blog, maintained by Andrew Shirvell, a state assistant attorney general.

Later in the meeting during his regular report on MSA activities, Armstrong criticized the Ann Arbor city council for its recent proposal to ban porch couches, noting that although he planned to meet with some councilmembers later that day, they had not consulted students before taking action on the issue. At their Sept. 20 meeting, council is expected to vote on an ordinance amendment to ban upholstered furniture on porches.

Also during Thursday’s meeting, regents approved renovations and upgrades for several facilities on campus. The vote for a high-profile project to add permanent night lighting at Michigan Stadium passed without comment, while a seemingly innocuous elevator replacement at South Quad yielded an uncharacteristic, albeit relatively brief, discussion about long-term planning for the renovation of that dorm.

Regents heard a presentation about the research work being done at UM’s Institute for Social Research, given by ISR’s director, James Jackson. They also heard from Stephen Forrest, UM’s vice president for research, that the university had for a second year passed the $1 billion mark in research expenditures for fiscal 2009-10, increasing 12% over the previous year.

Not faring as well are donations to the university. Jerry May, vice president for development, reported that contributions dropped 4% to $254 million during 2009-10, which ended June. 30. However, there was an uptick in the last half of that fiscal year and the first two months of this year, which May described as “very healthy.”

The meeting concluded with one speaker during public commentary. Douglas Smith criticized regents Andrew Richner and Andrea Fischer Newman for, among other things, failing to deliver on a campaign promise to hold tuition increases to the rate of inflation. Noting that the two Republicans were running for re-election, he urged the public to vote against them in November. After his remarks, three of the Democrats on the board came to the two Republicans’ defense.

President’s Opening Remarks

UM president Mary Sue Coleman began the meeting, as she typically does, by highlighting events and achievements at the university. The start of classes brings a burst of energy to campus, she said, and this year’s incoming class is particularly remarkable – the average high school GPA for UM freshman is 3.8, and 13% had achieved a 4.0 GPA. Her annual open house, held earlier in the week, brought hundreds of students through the president’s home on South University. “As always, I came away impressed with their ideas and plans,” she said.

Lion Kim, a UM student golfer, was recognized at the Sept. 16 regents meeting for winning the 85th annual U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship in July.

Coleman mentioned the “house warming” event held on Sept. 15 to mark the opening of North Quad, the university’s new student dorm at the corner of Huron and State. Also newly opened is the Central Campus Transit Center on North University, she said, though additional work on the center will continue through the fall.

Coleman made note of several accomplishments related to UM’s athletic department, starting with the unveiling of the newly expanded and renovated Michigan Stadium, which she said has met with an enthusiastic response.

Coleman noted that the men’s gymnastics team, which won the 2010 national championship earlier this year, had been honored by President Barack Obama at a White House reception on Sept. 13. The team had attended the regents’ May 20, 2010 meeting in Dearborn, where they were recognized for their achievement.

Coleman also praised Lion Kim, a UM student golfer who won the 85th annual U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship in July. That victory gives him an invitation to play in the 2011 Masters tournament in Augusta, Georgia. Both Kim and UM men’s head golf coach Andrew Sapp attended Thursday’s meeting, and regent Larry Deitch asked whether they had any extra tickets for the Masters, a remark which yielded laughs around the room. Regent Andrea Fischer Newman added, “When you get your new golf facility, you’ll have more of these moments.” Earlier this year, regents approved the construction of a $2.5 million men’s and women’s indoor golf practice facility, and approved the schematic design at their July 15 meeting.

Coleman mentioned the recent death of Ron Kramer, a former Michigan player who had kept strong ties with the university over the years. She said that Kramer loved Michigan, both the university and the state. On the Wednesday before every home football game, he would bring apples to her office, she said. “We miss him greatly.”

Looking ahead to next month’s meeting, Coleman said that the October regents meeting is usually held in Flint. But this year, because the university will be celebrating the 50th anniversary of John F. Kennedy’s speech at the Michigan Union, where he first described an idea that eventually became the Peace Corps, the regents will meet in Ann Arbor, she said. An array of events are planned in connection with that anniversary, she said, adding that UM’s connection to the Peace Corps is one of the university’s “signature points of pride.”

Finally, Coleman congratulated regent Julia Darlow on being named by Michigan Lawyers Weekly as one of the state’s most influential female attorneys. Darlow received a round of applause. [Three other Ann Arbor attorneys are on this year's list: Kelly Burris, Jean Ledwith King and Susan Kornfield.]

Julia Darlow, chair of the UM board of regents.

Statement by the Board Chair

Julia Darlow, the board’s chair, made a brief statement after Coleman’s remarks, saying that whenever a member of the university is targeted because of their identity, “we are all attacked.” She said they will continue to stand together and hold the university’s values with dignity and respect. When Darlow finished, Coleman added that those sentiments are shared by the entire university community.

The statement was likely a reference to recent news that state assistant attorney general Andrew Shirvell has been using his blog – the “Chris Armstrong Watch” – to attack Armstrong, president of the Michigan Student Assembly, criticizing him for his openly gay lifestyle and “radical homosexual agenda.” The blog has been characterized as cyber bullying, and attorney general Mike Cox has stated that Shirvell’s “immaturity and lack of judgment outside the office are clear.”

Institute for Social Research

James Jackson, director of the UM Institute for Social Research, gave regents a presentation about the institute’s activities. At their April 2010 meeting, the board had authorized a $23 million expansion project for ISR’s building at 426 Thompson St., and approved a schematic design for the project at their meeting in July.

ISR is celebrating its 61st year, Jackson said. For the 2009-10 fiscal year, the institute received over $130 million in funding, including roughly $41 million in federal stimulus dollars. ISR employs about 1,230 people in its five research centers, including 254 research scientists which Jackson says he thinks of as entrepreneurs. They are committed to hiring an additional 40-50 scientists over the next decade, and Jackson said that when ISR’s expansion is completed in 2013, they will already be out of space.

James Jackson, director of UM's Institute for Social Research.

During his presentation, Jackson highlighted several research studies that are ongoing at IRS, many of which have spanned decades.

The Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers, led by Richard Curtin, is the only social science project on the federal government’s index of leading economic indicators, Jackson said. Curtin is projecting that unemployment will rise through the first half of next year, and the gains in the second half of the year will hardly dent the staggering job losses suffered so far.

Jackson cited several long-term studies managed by ISR. Every year since 1975, ISR’s Monitoring the Future Study has surveyed 50,000 American youth regarding their use of tobacco, alcohol and illicit drugs, Jackson said.

The American National Election Studies, conducted since 1948, is one of two ISR studies recently named to the National Science Foundation’s “Sensational 60” list of the most influential projects the federal agency has funded in its 60-year history. The other study receiving that honor is the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, which started in 1968 and is the longest such study in the world. It’s a longitudinal look at the changing socioeconomic dynamics of families, currently collecting data on 22,000 people.

Several ISR studies look at the impact of our society’s aging population, Jackson said. The ISR Health & Retirement Study, sponsored by the National Institute on Aging, began in 1990 and is the largest federally funded project at UM. Over 150,000 interviews have been conducted with more than 30,000 people aged 50 or older.

Jackson also mentioned the Society 2030 Consortium, a three-year effort to assist corporations in developing products and services for the aging population. Jackson likened it to developing spinoffs – via a university/corporate partnership – in the field of social sciences.

The final ISR project that Jackson highlighted is the U.S. Army’s Study to Assess Risks and Resilience in Servicemembers (STARRS), with the goal of preventing suicide and improving the mental health of army personnel during and after active duty. The five-year study, now in its second year, will survey 90,000 active duty soldiers, as well as families and peers of those who’ve committed suicide, and people who attempted to take their lives. A longitudinal follow-up will track 15,000 soldiers.

Regental Committee Reports

The regents have three committees: 1) finance, audit and investment; 2) personnel, compensation and governance; and 3) health affairs. The health affairs committee, chaired by regent Larry Deitch, was created earlier this year to provide oversight to the UM Hospitals and Health Centers. None of the committee meetings are open to the public.

The chairs of each committee give cursory reports at each monthly regents meeting. On Thursday, Deitch reported that the health affairs committee had held its first-ever meeting and was setting a schedule for a “deep dive” into the operations of the health system. He said he expected their work to cover everything from the development of the North Campus Research Complex (NCRC) to how long it takes to get an appointment at a UM clinic.

Michigan Student Assembly Report

Chris Armstrong, president of the Michigan Student Assembly (MSA), gave his monthly report to regents, highlighting events on campus and MSA-sponsored activities. He reported on the Ann Arbor city council’s proposed resolution to ban porch couches, saying that while the fire at a South State Street house that killed a student earlier this year was tragic, the council’s response has been “skewed.” He noted that there are other ways to address fire safety, and that the council didn’t involve students at all before proposing this resolution. Armstrong said that representatives from MSA would be meeting with some councilmembers that night to talk about how students might be more involved with these kinds of decisions in the future.

By way of background, the resolution – sponsored by councilmember Christopher Taylor (Ward 3) – was initially on the council’s July 19, 2010 agenda, but was taken off the agenda before that meeting. It passed on first reading at council’s Aug. 5, 2010 meeting. Taylor wrote an opinion piece published on Sept. 5 by the Michigan Daily, the university’s student newspaper, focusing on the issue of fire safety – though the proposed resolution would amend the city code chapter on public nuisances, not fire prevention.

The council heard a staff presentation on the issue at their Sept. 5 meeting, and MSA member John Oltean spoke during a public hearing on the issue that night, urging council to postpone action. He also encouraged them to deal with the issue fully by considering how rental housing may not be up to code in other ways, describing a lot of the city’s student rental housing stock as “ancient.” Action was subsequently postponed until the council’s next meeting on Sept. 20.

Donations to the University Decline in 2009-10

Jerry May, UM’s vice president for development, reported that contributions to the university were down for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2010. Contributions during the year totaled $254 million, compared to $265 million the previous year.

Overall, since the university wrapped up its “Michigan Difference” capital campaign, the severe economic downturn has had an impact on philanthropy at UM, May said. However, he added that they saw a significant uptick during the second half of the fiscal year, and the first two months of this year – July and August – have been “very healthy.” He noted that of the $254 million, $56 million was given specifically for scholarships and fellowships.

May highlighted three large gifts in particular: 1) a $15 million gift from the Ted and Jane Von Voigtlander Foundation for the new women’s hospital, which regents named the Von Voigtlander Women’s Hospital, 2) the $10 million gift from Bob and Ann Aikens for a UM Law School addition, the largest gift received from living individuals, and 3) the $2 million gift from Ed Elliott to endow a professorship at the UM-Dearborn campus.

Research Activities

Stephen Forrest, UM’s vice president for research, reported that research expenditures at the university had grown 12% during fiscal 2009-10, to $1.14 billion. It was the second year that UM had exceeded the $1 billion milestone, he said. Of that, 5.1% was attributable to stimulus dollars. This year, the university is on a similar track, Forrest said.

Stephen Forrest, UM vice president for research.

For federal research funding, the National Institutes of Health contributed more funds than any other federal agency, accounting for $507 million, or 44.5% of UM’s total research funding. Corporate sponsorship dropped 9% for the year, to $39 million, while overall non-federal research funding fell 4.7%, to $106.7 million.

Forrest also highlighted the recent $12.5 million in federal funding for the U.S.-China Clean Energy Research Center, a collaboration with Chinese researchers to develop clean vehicle technology. Dennis Assanis, a UM professor and director of the Michigan Memorial Phoenix Energy Institute, will take the lead in this effort, Forrest said.

Later in the meeting, president Mary Sue Coleman noted that she was recommending a renewal of Forrest’s contract, which regents ultimately approved. His appointment will run from Jan. 1, 2011 through Dec. 31, 2016. Coleman cited his leadership in efforts to support economic development and several large projects during his five years as head of university research. He received a round of applause.

Building Projects, Renovations

Regents approved several construction projects during Thursday’s meeting, all but one passing without discussion:

• A $4.9 million renovation to the Auxiliary Services Building on North Campus, for the School of Art & Design. The renovation of 33,000 square feet will allow the school to consolidate graduate student and faculty studios into one location – the school, which is also located on North Campus, currently leases two off-campus sites for those studios. The project is expected to save $114,000 in annual leasing costs and add 13 faculty studios. The architectural firm of SHW Group will design the project, which is expected to be completed in the summer of 2011.
• Schematic design for a $11 million renovation and expansion of the Memorial Phoenix Laboratory – a project that regents initially approved at their Dec. 17, 2009 meeting. The building houses the Michigan Memorial Phoenix Energy Institute. The architectural firm of Lord, Aeck & Sargent Inc. is designing the project, which includes renovating 10,000 square feet of research space and building another 10,000 square feet for administrative use. Terry Sargent presented the schematic design at Thursday’s meeting.
• The addition of permanent night field lighting at Michigan Stadium, at a cost of $1.8 million. The lights are being added in advance of the Dec. 11 “Big Chill at The Big House” hockey game between Michigan and Michigan State, which begins at 3 p.m. but is expected to last into the evening. A night football game at the stadium is also on the 2011 schedule.

Though the issue of night lighting at Michigan Stadium has received some media attention, it drew no comments from regents during Thursday’s meeting. The building-related issue that did provoke discussion related to the seemingly innocuous request to approve an elevator replacement at the South Quad dormitory.

The request was for a $1.15 million replacement of a freight elevator that serves three floors, installing instead a service and passenger elevator that would serve nine floors. The project also requires modification of the building’s kitchen exhaust system, separating it from the elevator exhaust to meet current building codes. South Quad, which houses about 1,250 students, was built in 1951. The elevator is about 60 years old.

Regent Andrew Richner.

Regent Andrew Richner noted that the kitchen is now located a long way from where food is served in the dorm, and he wondered whether the elevator replacement – which includes altering the kitchen exhaust system – takes into account long-term plans to renovate the building and possibly relocate the kitchen.

Tim Slottow, the university’s chief financial officer who’s responsible for facilities projects, said that he’d be bringing a strategic plan to the regents later this year about renovation plans for several residence halls, including South Quad. UM is nearly complete with major renovations of the older “heritage” residence halls on the Ann Arbor campus, he said, but several more residence hall renovations need to be renovated. Among those, East Quad is a priority, he said.

Hank Baier, associate vice president for facilities and operations, added that the South Quad elevator replacement can’t be done without modifying the exhaust systems. Richner said he simply wanted them to consider the longer-term plans involving the kitchen, so that they could possibly avoid spending money on something now that would need to be altered again in the future. Slottow offered to pull the proposal and bring it back to the regents next month. Regent Andrea Fischer Newman suggested that regents go ahead and vote on the item, with the understanding that next month Slottow would report back regarding longer-term renovations.

Richner then joked that he might have to recuse himself from the vote, because his son lives in South Quad. He noted that his son, a freshman, lives on the ground floor and doesn’t take the elevator.

The regents voted and approved the elevator item, along with the rest of the construction items.

Conflict of Interest Items

Regents approved 14 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. Often, the items involve technology licensing agreements or leases.

This month, the disclosures involved deals with the following companies: Logical Images Inc., Accuri Cytometers Inc., Jazz Pie Music, Sherm’s Musical Instrument Repair, Sakti3 Inc., Productivity Improvement LLC, Structured Microsystems, Sakai Foundation, Nico Technologies Inc., Lycera Inc., Rehabilitation Team Assessments LLC, Hearing Health Science Inc., and 3D Biomatrix LLC.

There was no discussion on any of these items.

Public Commentary

Douglas Smith, a UM alumnus, was the only speaker during the public commentary portion of Thursday’s meeting. He noted that two incumbents – regents Andrew Richner and Andrea Fischer Newman – have been nominated for re-election, and that it was a good time to reflect on their service. [Candidates for the board are nominated by their respective political parties and run for eight-year terms. Richner and Newman are Republicans.]

Douglas Smith, speaking to the UM board of regents during public commentary at their Sept. 16 meeting.

He said that both Richner and Newman ran in the last election on promises to limit tuition increases to the rate of inflation, but that since 2002, tuition has risen at nearly three times the rate of inflation. Regents Denise Ilitch and Julia Darlow both voted against a 6% tuition increase last year, he noted, but the other regents did not.

Smith raised concerns about several other issues. The university is transferring some of its health care costs to employees, he said, by increasing employee contributions to health insurance by 50%. He criticized UM’s relationship with China, saying “the real exporter of American jobs to China is not Rick Snyder, it is the University of Michigan.” [Snyder, an Ann Arbor businessman, is the GOP candidate for Michigan governor and has been accused of outsourcing jobs to China while leading the computer company Gateway.] Smith accused the university of allowing its technology to be transferred to Chinese researchers and businesses – particularly technology that can be used for military purposes.

Smith also rebuked the regents for not ensuring adequate oversight of the UM Dept. of Public Safety, and argued that they have allowed the administration to stifle dissent regarding cases involving Andrei Borisov, Catherine Wilkerson and Students Organizing for Labor and Economic Equality (SOLE) protesters.

“In summary,” Smith said, “the performance of this board includes rapidly rising tuition, out of control budgets, new taxes on employees, massive technology transfers to China, lost opportunities for Michigan students, censorship and abuse of police power. I will not be voting to re-elect the incumbents and I would urge the rest of Michigan voters to do the same.”

When Smith finished his remarks, regent Larry Deitch – a Democrat – defended his Republican colleagues, saying he’d served with Newman for 16 years and Richner for eight. Though they didn’t agree on everything, Deitch said they had done a superb job. Regent Libby Maynard said she agreed with Deitch. Regent Martin Taylor said he agreed with Maynard, which prompted a laugh from most of the officials sitting at the table.

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

Next board meeting: Thursday, Oct. 21, 2010 at 3 p.m. at the Fleming Administration Building, 503 Thompson St., Ann Arbor. [confirm date]

UM regent Denise Ilitch, right, talks with Ora Hirsch Pescovitz, executive vice president for medical affairs, before the start of the Jan. 21 meeting of the board of regents. Ilitch, a Democrat from Bingham Farms, did not declare her candidacy for governor at Thursday’s meeting. (Photos by the writer.)

The relatively short meeting also included a report on the university’s contribution to earthquake relief efforts in Haiti.

Two people spoke during public commentary. A local Sierra Club board member, James D’Amour, told regents that the group opposed the Fuller Road Station, a joint UM/city of Ann Arbor project being built on city-owned parkland. He urged them to “take no part in this unethical act.” They later approved the project.

And UM student Alex O’Dell described his vision for TEDxUofM, an April 9 event on campus being modeled after the influential TED Talks, where speakers get 18 minutes to share “ideas worth spreading.”

President’s Opening Remarks

President Mary Sue Coleman began by referring to earthquake relief efforts in Haiti, saying that they were not aware of any UM faculty, staff or student who’d been there during the quake, ”and for that, we are very grateful.” She described the university’s efforts to raise money, collect supplies, and donate blood, among other things, and said student groups were meeting that night to coordinate their efforts too. This is not a short-term effort, she said – Haiti will require assistance in the months and years to come.

UM provost Teresa Sullivan, right, talks with regents Andrea Fischer Newman, left, and Olivia Maynard, center, after the Jan. 21 board of regents meeting. Sullivan has been named president of the University of Virginia, and will be stepping down from her UM post later this year.

Coleman also noted that earlier this month, UM provost Terry Sullivan had been named the first female president of the University of Virginia. She’ll start that job on Aug. 1.

Sullivan walked into the room as Coleman was making these remarks, prompting the regents and other executives to applaud as she made her way to her seat at the board table. She apologized for being late, reporting that she’d been on the phone with a Congressman from Charlottesville. Coleman said they’d miss Sullivan tremendously but wished her well. She joked that they’d all come to visit, since the president’s house there has lots of extra bedrooms. A formal send-off is being planned for later in the year.

Segueing to other transitions, Coleman said that 300 university employees were preparing to move into the North Campus Research Center, known as NCRC – the former Pfizer campus that UM bought in a deal that closed in June 2009. She said they’ll be the first of thousands of faculty, students and staff who’ll use the research and office facilities in the coming years, and that it’s exciting to see activity there begin to unfold. Also invigorating, she said, was a recent Detroit Economic Club event over which she presided at Cobo Center on Jan. 19. At the DEC event, Detroit mayor Dave Bing and leaders of Oakland, Wayne and McComb counties described a positive outlook for the regional economy. UM is playing a role in that, Coleman said.

Finally, Coleman noted the recent death of UM president emeritus Robben Fleming, saying that as president from 1968-78, he had signed the diplomas of many of the regents. She said he’ll be missed, and that she’s grateful for the devotion that he and his wife Sally gave to the university and to higher education.

Research Report: “A Pretty Good Year”

Stephen Forrest, vice president for research, gave a presentation at Thursday’s meeting about the university’s research efforts. Unlike reports that people are getting in the corporate world, he said, “we’ve had a pretty good year in the world of research.”

At left: Stephen Forrest, UM’s vice president for research, following his presentation to the board of regents. Next to him is Royster Harper, vice president for student affairs.

In FY 2009, which ended June 30, the university for the first time surpassed $1 billion in research spending, Forrest said – a 9.4% increase from 2008. The funding was earned competitively, he added: “There are no earmarks in that $1 billion.”

All of this happened in a year that saw the university’s largest research partner – General Motors – declare bankruptcy, Forrest said, and at a time when funding available for research is shrinking.

Last year, researchers were awarded more than $218 million in federal stimulus grants – those dollars aren’t included in the $1 billion total, he said, and will show up in the fiscal 2010 report.

Also during the year, university researchers disclosed 350 inventions – an all-time high – and launched eight start-up businesses. This was despite a market that made it difficult to get financed and in which deals “were almost impossible to put together,” he said. Venture capital investments in UM start-ups topped $82 million last year.

Research is now the third largest entity in UM’s portfolio, Forrest said, following the health system at $2.2 billion and education at $1.2 billion.

One element that will spur even more research growth, Forrest said, is the North Campus Research Center, or NCRC. He called it a “transformational opportunity,” though it’s a transformation that will happen over several years. He said the former Pfizer campus provides the collaborative space to reinvent how research is done, allowing researchers to work with businesses and government agencies, tackling “human-scale” projects – large, interdisciplinary problems in human health and sustainability/energy. Forrest said the NCRC will include operations of the UM Business Engagement Center, Technology Transfer, and possibly a faculty start-up accelerator.

To do all this, the university is cultivating a culture of entrepreneurship, Forrest said. As an example, he pointed to a presentation at last month’s regents meeting by “the Toms” – Tom Kinnear, executive director of the 10-year-old Zell-Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies at the Ross School of Business, and Thomas Zurbuchen, associate dean for entrepreneurial programs at the College of Engineering.

Forrest said he’d be asking regents to approve some policy changes in the future that would improve faculty incentives for entrepreneurial activity. He closed by showing an aerial shot of the NCRC, titled “UM’s Field of Dreams.”

Later in the meeting, Forrest also announced that Vic Strecher, a professor in the UM School of Public Health, has been named Distinguished University Innovator for 2010. Strecher founded HealthMedia Inc., an Ann Arbor firm that was acquired by Johnson & Johnson in 2008. [See Chronicle coverage: "Live at PJ's: It's HealthMedia!"] Strecher will be honored at a March 25 ceremony that will be open to the public. The event begins at 4 p.m. in the Biomedical Sciences Research Building Auditorium.

Haiti Relief Efforts

Ora Hirsch Pescovitz, executive vice president for medical affairs, gave a report on relief efforts for Haiti by members of the UM health system. The efforts are being led by Tony Denton, chief operating officer of UM Hospitals & Health Centers. Pescovitz said there’s been an extraordinary outpouring of support from the entire campus. They’ve received calls with requests to work with various federal agencies, she said, and are doing so. “We stand ready to serve in any way we possibly can,” she said.

On Jan. 20 they shipped a 40-foot container of basic medical supplies via World Medical Relief, a Detroit-based charity – the shipment should arrive in Haiti sometime next week, she said. The UMHS Survival Flight has been registered with FEMA (the Federal Emergency Management Agency) – two patients from Haiti had already been transported to UM, arriving the evening of Jan. 20. She asked that the media respect their privacy.

Pescovitz said the best way for people to help was to contribute to the American Red Cross. She also urged the media not to overstate UM’s role in relief operations, which she described as relatively small in the context of national efforts.

Regent Olivia Maynard asked how many UM medical personnel had signed up to volunteer in Haiti. Pescovitz said about 100 people had registered online, but there were very specific criteria for the medical and nursing personnel. At this point, there is one UM resident working in Haiti, she said. The university will only pay for employees who go there under the auspices of a federal agency. And people will likely stay only for two-week periods, she said, because of war-zone-type conditions.

Crisler Arena Renovations, Other Projects Approved

Regents moved through the bulk of their agenda with little discussion. All requests – including several related to UM athletics – were approved unanimously.

Renaming the Michigan Wrestling Center

Ralph and Dorothy Bahna gave $2 million to support the new Michigan Wrestling Center, and regents approved naming the facility in their honor as the Bahna Wrestling Center. The building, which opened earlier this month, is located on the university’s athletic campus on South State Street.

Bil Martin, UM’s athletic director, attended the Jan. 21 regents meeting and spoke briefly about a couple of projects that were on the agenda, including the renovations at Crisler Arena and the naming of the wrestling center.

Bill Martin, UM athletic director, was on hand at the meeting and described Ralph Bahna to the regents as a former 115 pound freshman wrestler who went on to incredible success. At UM, Bahna won an individual Big Ten championship in 1964. The $2 million gift is the largest given to UM athletics by a former varsity letter winner. Bahna is chairman of Priceline.com and was previously CEO of Cunard Lines Ltd., which he transformed from a shipping company into a cruise-line operator.

Crisler Arena

When Mary Sue Coleman asked for someone to move the agenda item for Crisler Arena renovations, regent Kathy White said, “Oh, so moved!”

The project has been on the agenda in different ways for months. At their September 2009 meeting, Don Dethlefs, CEO of the Denver-based architecture firm Sink Combs Dethlefs, showed regents the schematic designs for 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.

At Thursday’s meeting, regents approved  the $20 renovation project for Crisler, and the selection of TMP Architecture for its design. The project includes replacing the roof and conducting asbestos abatement; installing new fire detection, alarm, and suppression systems, an emergency generator, and new heating and ventilation units; and upgrading the electrical system. The project will also replace the seats in the lower level, making changes to meet the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Those changes include relocating and widening the aisles, and adding hand rails and an elevator.

Regent Julia Darlow asked about the ADA compliance, and Hank Baier – UM’s associate vice president of facilities and operations – said they were confident that they’d meet ADA requirements. They’d been meeting with individuals and groups representing the disabled, he said, and would share the new designs with them, as well as discuss the issue with code consultants and the architects.

In a related item, regents authorized the university to issue bids and award construction contracts for the basketball training facility to be added to Crisler.

Brandon Officially Appointed

David Brandon did not join Bill Martin at the regents meeting, where Brandon’s appointment to replace the retiring athletic director was approved with little fanfare. During her opening remarks, Mary Sue Coleman described Brandon – CEO of Domino’s Pizza, a former regent and UM football player who was coached by Bo Schembechler – as “a perfect leader for our athletic program.”

Brandon’s appointment as the Donald R. Shepherd Director of Intercollegiate Athletics, effective March 8, 2010 through March 7, 2015, was approved as part of a list of other personnel actions. It was wedged between an item correcting the criteria for a professorship at the UM Medical School and the naming of Randall Repic as chair of UM-Flint’s Department of Earth and Resource Science.

A cover letter to Brandon’s appointment notes that he will remain chairman of Domino’s, a role that does not require day-to-day responsibilities.

Earlier in the meeting, during the report on fundraising by vice president of development Jerry May, regent Martin Taylor said it was notable that David and Jan Brandon had given $800,000 to the university in December. From the development report:

98,523 shares of Dominos Pizza, Inc., common stock; for the David A. and Jan Brandon Scholarship Fund and other support in the Department of Athletics, for the Brandon Professional Resource Center and Archive in the School of Education, for the David and Jan Brandon Prostate Cancer Survivor Fund in the Medical School, and for the Building Project Fund in the Museum of Art; and for support in the Stephen M. Ross School of Business and the C. S. Mott Children’s Hospital. (Valued at $798,529)

May noted that it was a payment on an earlier pledge they’d made during the university’s Michigan Difference fundraising campaign. [The Brandons pledged $4 million in 2006, half of which was earmarked for the new C.S Mott Children's and Women's Hospital. The Brandons, along with former UM football coach Lloyd Carr and his wife Laurie, lead fundraising efforts for the $523 million hospital.]

Fuller Road Station

During public commentary at the beginning of the meeting, James D’Amour – a member of the executive committee for the Huron Valley Group of the Sierra Club – spoke regarding the Fuller Road Station project, which was on the regents’ agenda.

James D’Amour spoke to the UM regents during public commentary, on behalf of the Huron Valley Group of the Sierra Club. The group opposes the Fuller Road Station being built on city-owned property that’s designated as parkland.

Identifying himself as “a proud alumni of this fine university,” D’Amour reported that at the local Sierra Club’s Dec. 14, 2009 meeting, they passed a resolution opposing the project, a joint venture between the city of Ann Arbor and the university. He said they were deeply disappointed that city officials who had recently assured citizens that parkland wouldn’t be sold without a vote by the public were now willing to convert city parkland into a parking structure.

“This violates the spirit of the city’s charter,” he told regents. “It is a breach of trust by the city with its citizens, who believed that they voted on a charter amendment that would protect and maintain its parks for generations to enjoy. The precedent of the city converting parkland to non-park uses is a disaster. The Sierra Club urges you to take no part in this unethical act.”

Regents were asked to approve the project and authorize appointing an architect. From the cover memo:

The first phase of the development of this major intermodal transportation complex is the Fuller Road Station project which includes site preparation and construction of an intermodal facility that includes: four covered bus loading/unloading zones and waiting areas; a covered area for bike hoops and lockers; parking for 1,000 vehicles (78 percent for university and 22 percent for city use); improvements to Fuller Road immediately adjacent to the site for vehicle access; and upgrades to the multi-use path along Fuller Road.

The university will manage the construction of the Fuller Road Station project. That includes building the facility on city property, following city code review and inspection, and collaborating with the city for their approval of design. This project is unique since we would be constructing the facility on city-owned property and following city building codes. We will also need approval for the lease on city-owned land since it would be for a period of greater than ten years. We will seek approval of the lease at a later date, but prior to seeking bids or awarding construction contracts for the project. A parking structure operation and maintenance agreement will be developed concurrently with design of the project. The City of Ann Arbor will manage the site preparation at an estimated cost of $3,000,000. In addition, at the City’s expense, they will undertake an environmental assessment of the property. Although there will be a temporary loss of some leased parking spaces during construction, there will be an increase of approximately 780 university parking spaces as a result of this project.

The estimated cost of the project is $46,550,000. Costs will be shared between the University of Michigan and the City of Ann Arbor in proportion to the number of parking spaces available to each (78 percent and 22 percent respectively). Total university funding, not to exceed $36,309,000 (78 percent), will be provided from Parking resources. The construction cash flow may be provided, all or in part, by increasing the commercial paper issuance under the commercial paper program, secured by a pledge of General Revenues, and authorized by the Board of Regents. The parking structure consulting fm of Walker Parking Consultants will design the project. Design is scheduled to begin immediately, and we will return with a construction schedule when we seek approval of schematic design.

D’Amour and others have spoken at recent Ann Arbor city council meetings on the same issue of parkland sale in connection with Fuller Road Station.

[See Chronicle coverage of the city council's Jan. 4, 2010 meeting and the city council's Jan. 19, 2010 meeting. The issue of using property for this project that's designated as parkland was also discussed at the Jan. 19 meeting of the city's park advisory commission. At that meeting, PAC commissioner Gwen Nystuen said the project “raises all kinds of questions and precedents that we should fully discuss.”]

Regent Julia Darlow expressed concern about the issue raised by D’Amour, and asked if it were true that the structure was being built on parkland. From the map, she said, it looked like it was now a parking lot. The property is located off of Fuller Road, just north of the UM medical complex.

CFO Tim Slottow said the university had been leasing it from the city for use as a surface parking lot for more than two decades. But he said it was a point they should clarify, since they’d be building on property they didn’t own.

Capital Outlay Request

Tim Slottow, chief financial officer, reported on UM’s capital outlay submission to the state, with requests for funding from the legislature. This year, UM is making only one request for a capital project on the Ann Arbor campus for FY 2011: renovation of the G. G. Brown Laboratory Building for the Department of Mechanical Engineering, estimated to cost $64 million.

At their June 2009 meeting, regents approved a $56 million, 66,000-square-foot addition to the building – funding for that project had previously been requested as a capital outlay submission, but the university decided to move ahead on the addition without state aid.

The main building, Slottow said, is in sore need of renovation, but “we’re not holding our breaths” that the state will approve funding. Regent Olivia Maynard asked if there was really any chance of getting state funding. Slottow deferred to Cynthia Wilbanks, vice president for government relations and UM’s main liaison with Lansing. After a long pause, Wilbanks said, “I’m always an optimist” – a remark that drew laughter from the regents.

Public Commentary

UM student Alex O’Dell gave an energetic report on plans to hold the first TEDx event at UM, called TEDxUofM 2010.

Alex O’Dell, a UM student, spoke to the board of regents about the upcoming TEDxUofM, an event he’s organizing on campus that’s modeled after the popular annual TED conference in California.

TED stands for technology, entertainment and design, and the 18-minute lectures at its conferences – known as TED Talks – are focused on what organizers call “ideas worth spreading.” TEDx events are independently organized, with guidance from the original TED.

O’Dell is organizing UM’s first TEDx event, to be held April 9, 2010 at the University of Michigan Museum of Art. The first TEDx was held at the University of Southern California and since then others have been held, within rules set by TED. But “we’re looking to put on the big one,” O’Dell said.

The theme is “Do You Realize?” and O’Dell ticked off several examples from the university: Do you realize you can make music on your iPhone? Do you realize that there’s flexible concrete?

Organizers are looking to recruit speakers, he said, as well as funding and other guidance from the regents. Speakers should be affiliated with the university or the Ann Arbor community – building connections is one of their goals, he said.

In addition to the group’s website, they can be followed on Twitter or reached at tedxuofm@gmail.com.

Coleman thanked O’Dell for coming: “I know it’s going to be a great event!”

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, Feb. 18 at 3 p.m. in the Fleming Administration Building, 503 Thompson St., Ann Arbor. [confirm date]

UM president Mary Sue Coleman gives opening remarks at the Jan. 21 board of regents meeting.

Ann Marie Sastry, CEO and co-founder of Sakti3, at her company's booth at the Detroit auto show. (Photo by the writer.)

But Sastry and her company, Ann Arbor-based Sakti3, is far from “out in the cold.” They are in the auto business for the long haul and do not plan on being relegated to a basement booth forever. Eventually, if all goes well, her company’s battery technology will be powering the cars upstairs on the main show floor’s Electric Avenue.

What is it about the “Eureka moment” in her UM lab that prompted her to help found a company two years ago? What is it that turned the heads and opened the wallets of the Michigan Economic Development Corp. and cleantech venture capitalist Vinod Khosla, who chipped in $2 million out the gate? What exactly is her company’s battery technology?

Here’s her answer: “We’re interested in both materials and manufacturing technologies at Sakti3. So, we’re sort of looking at the intersection of those things.”

She pauses. She grins slightly, then says somewhat apologetically: “Sorry, I know that’s not good enough.”

This is Sastry’s polite way of saying that any further information is proprietary. She will only add that, “We are working on a manufacturing technology, and we think that’s one of the bottlenecks.”

It’s not surprising that she is guarded. The future of the auto industry is electric – at least, so says Michigan’s governor – and the future of electric plug-in vehicles depends on some big technological leaps in battery technology. If you think you have the secret sauce, you’re not going to tell everybody. Eventually, Sastry says, “We’ll all duke it out in the marketplace.”

Technology Transfer: From Academia

That kind of unabashedly capitalistic tough talk would have been practically unheard-of coming from a university professor in eras gone by – when academics were supposed to be in research for purely academic reasons.

David Cole, who heads the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, remembers the ’70s, when it seemed like a dirty little secret for an academic to commercialize a technology he or she developed. In some cases, Cole says, it’s about academic purity. In other cases, it’s jealousy. “Some people work on technologies that can be commercialized, others do not.”

Sastry says the technology developed in her lab could have gone a number of ways, but in the end she chose automotive battery development rather than pure academics.

“When the founders looked at some results we had, some technology we were looking at, they thought, ‘OK we could absolutely write more papers on this subject and go down that road and try to really focus on this as an academic exercise or we could really go down another road, which is to take what we have and see if we can build it in the steps required for commercialization.’ Both things are difficult. They’re just different.”

Sastry is fortunate enough to work in an academic culture where commercialization is not only no longer frowned upon, but actively encouraged – especially by UM President Mary Sue Coleman.

“The culture has totally turned around,” Sastry says, and not just at UM but in academia broadly.

“There is this space between what we do in our laboratories and getting into commercialization that we have to address,” Sastry says, speaking of a disconnect between the basic research done at universities and their transitions into tangible benefits for consumers. “And we have to help address it. It can’t be all just (marketplace) pull. There has to be some (academic) push.”

Sastry credits Coleman for pushing this cultural turnaround at UM. “Our president has been very specific. She believes that we need to enable tech transfer, and has funded more offices and centers to do that.”

But, she says, no matter how much help a company gets, it’s tough out there.

“It’s a high degree of luck, there’s a high degree of naïveté, there’s a high degree of optimism,” Sastry says, of founding a company.

“In our case, we want to put batteries in cars, so we have a lot to learn about cars.”

The university did not push her in the direction of automotive, she says. The University of Michigan has to rely on the “passion and vision of researchers” to determine where things are going to go. The university, as a whole, starts up very diverse types of companies, from nanotech to biotech to energy and materials.

Cole says that most technologies emerging from blue-sky research can go in multiple directions.

Technology Transfer: What Direction?

“I don’t think Sakti3 would see themselves as … a battery manufacturer,” Cole says. For that to happen, it takes extra push – a combination of public and private funding, in Sakti3′s case – to transition from idea to an actual company that makes things. And Sakti3 is still early stage.

“You see, the one thing that is true with intellectual property is that it’s actually fairly inexpensive,” Cole says. “It’s when you go to commercialize it, put in manufacturing capabilities, that it becomes a different story.”

To help move the “story” along in 2008, the MEDC designated Sakti3 as a Michigan Center of Energy Excellence and awarded the firm $3 million to accelerate its efforts to move to a prototype and to partner with the University of Michigan. This was added to an initial $2 million in financing from Khosla Ventures, led by Silicon Valley venture capitalist Vinod Khosla. Khosla has his hands in many alternative energy and automotive enterprises, including Fisker Automotive.

“We were really lucky to engage with Khosla Ventures almost as soon as we decided to do a company,” Sastry says. “There’s a real similarity in approach there, which is great.

“Working with KV is incredible because they really know what they’re doing. They really know a lot about building businesses. We think we know something about building batteries, so that’s really good,” Sastry laughs.

It’s a marriage that works out because there is only so much a bunch of academics can do. You need expert venture capitalists to take it to the next level. “In terms of the mechanics of a business, how to raise funds, how you price real estate, these are things that venture capitalists know a lot about,” she says.

Technology Transfer: Timing

So, when will Sakti3′s materials, or manufacturing technology, or process, or combination of all of them – she is still vague on that “proprietary” stuff – actually see the marketplace?

“We’re a few years off yet,” she says.

Five years? 10 years?

“A few years off,” she repeats.

Then Sastry decides to be somewhat more charitable with her information.

“To be very honest, it depends on a lot of things,” Sastry says. “Depends on how fast we run, depends on the dollars that come in, it depends on how successful and, sometimes, how lucky you are in doing the technology. So, there are a lot of variables. You know, starting a business is very risky.”

It also helps that Sakti3 has a development agreement with GM and – with her university hat on – she runs a development center called ABCD (Advanced Battery Coalition for Drivetrains) to help the automaker develop next-generation batteries.

Sakti3 currently employs fewer than 20 people in Ann Arbor, but Sastry expects that number to grow. And it will grow in Ann Arbor.

But what if, say, a Boston-based company eventually wants to buy the business, she is asked.

“It’s a fair question,” Sastry replies. “I mean, what we decided to do is to start a company to advance our technology to get it into vehicles. And so, where we’re at as an entity five or 10 years from now, I hope that we’re kicking out a lot of batteries that are going into really good cars. There’s a lot of steps between now and then.”

So, at this stage of the company’s development, Sakti3′s goals match those of the University of Michigan to commercialize its basic technology and the goals of the state of Michigan to make the state a center for next-generation automotive battery technology and manufacturing.

“The thing that’s nice about our situation is that the government of the region that’s most important to us – where our customers live – is also strongly supportive of what we’re doing,” Sastry says. “How often does that happen?”

Veteran journalist Howard Lovy has focused his writing the last several years on science, technology and business. He was news editor at Small Times, a magazine focusing on nanotechnology and microsystems, when it first launched in Ann Arbor in 2001. His freelance work has appeared in Wired News, Salon.com, X-OLOGY Magazine and The Michigan Messenger. His current research focus includes the future of the auto industry.

Matt Schroeder, president of the Ann Arbor firefighters Local 693, spoke to UM regents at their Sept. 17 board meeting about how possible firefighter layoffs could affect campus safety. (Photo by the writer.)

University of Michigan Board of Regents (Sept. 17, 2009): UM regents heard two presentations at their Thursday board meeting that closely linked the university and the community of Ann Arbor. Jim Kosteva, UM director of community relations, gave an update on the ways that the university is involved with the city, including payments as well as partnerships. And Matt Schroeder, president of the Ann Arbor firefighters Local 693, spoke during public comment on the possibility of additional layoffs among city firefighters and the potential impact it would have on the university.

Regents also heard several other reports and updates: from the director of the Life Sciences Institute; an architect working on the new basketball practice facility at Crisler Arena; and two alumni who hope to get the university more involved in an effort called Patriot Week.

And during her report on the board’s personnel, compensation and governance committee, regent Andrea Fischer Newman said that UM president Mary Sue Coleman had requested – and the committee agreed – not to raise Coleman’s salary this year.

We’ll begin with the issues most directly related to the Ann Arbor community: Kosteva’s report, and Schroeder’s public commentary.

Community Engagement

Cynthia Wilbanks, UM’s vice president for government relations, introduced Kosteva’s presentation by saying that in any relationship there are ups and downs, and that UM works to achieve more ups.

Kosteva cataloged several ways that the university interacted with the community, starting with UM’s relationship with the city government. UM and city staff meet monthly, he said, to discuss construction projects and other issues that might require planning and coordination. The university contributes about $125,000 annual to street repaving, he said, and is currently providing rent-free space for the Ann Arbor Police Department’s detective bureau, during construction of the city’s new municipal center.

UM partners with several government-related entities, Kosteva said, including the Downtown Development Authority and the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority. He cited specific examples, such as the proposed Fuller Intermodal Transportation Station, the Forest Avenue parking structure (a joint DDA/UM project) and the M-Ride agreement, in which UM pays AATA to allow university students, faculty and staff to ride AATA buses without paying a fare when they board.

The university also pays the city about $8 million each year for water, sewer and stormwater fees, which Kosteva said represented about 20% of the city’s total water and sewer operating revenues. Connection fees that the university paid the city related to construction projects have increased four-fold over the past five years, and represent over 50% of the city’s total connection fees for that period. Examples include about $550,000 for the Kellogg Eye Center, $500,000 for the Biomedical Science Research Building, and $350,000 for the Cardiovascular Center.

Though the university is exempt from paying property taxes, they pay roughly $23 million annually in leases for space they occupy in privately owned off-campus buildings, Kosteva said. The university currently accounts for about 15% of the area’s occupied commercial lease market, he said.

For bus service, the university paid AATA over $1.073 million in fiscal 2009, Kosteva said. There were 2.2 million UM riders on the bus system during that year. Those ridership numbers, coupled with the university’s own bus system, leveraged $895,000 in federal funding for regional transit in fiscal 2009, he said.

In addition, other UM payments include the rental of parking lots and classrooms from the Ann Arbor Public Schools, and payments for Ann Arbor police services during home football games and other events, Kosteva said. He also listed partnerships between the university and local groups, including:

• the UM School of Education’s Spanish-language program with the Ann Arbor Public Schools;
• the Regional Alliance for Healthy Schools, also in partnership with AAPS;
• regional transportation efforts, including possible commuter rail;
• economic development through Ann Arbor Spark, to which UM contributes $350,000 annually;
• university spin-off companies and business incubator space;
• collaboration with the Ann Arbor Area Convention and Visitors Bureau to market and attract visitors to the city;
• support for the Washtenaw Health Plan and the Washtenaw Community Health Organization, a joint UM/Washtenaw County partnership;
• funding and in-kind assistance for a variety of cultural events, including the Ann Arbor Summer Festival and the Ann Arbor Art Fairs, and for local nonprofits like the Hope Clinic, Meals on Wheels and the Housing Bureau for Seniors, among others.

Kosteva concluded by citing several projects that are being discussed between UM and the city, including the possible closure of Monroe Street, the Fuller Intermodal Transportation Station, and the issue of easements and staging for the East Stadium Bridges replacement project.

It was the Stadium Bridges project that elicited the only question from a regent following Kosteva’s presentation. Andrew Richner asked what the time frame was for completion of that effort, an estimated $22 million project to reconstruct the current structurally impaired bridges that span South State Street and the Ann Arbor Railroad. [See previous Chronicle coverage for an update on that project.] Kosteva said he believes the city is planning to start construction next fall. “The sooner, the better,” Richner said.

Ann Arbor Firefighters

Speaking during public comment time at the end of the meeting, Matt Schroeder, president of the International Association of Firefighters Local 693, said that his union was concerned about the possibility of 14 layoffs and the possible closure of two stations, due to city budget cuts. They are currently in negotiations with the city, he said, and he was coming to the regents meeting to inform them of the situation. Statements from city administrator Roger Fraser about possible layoffs “send an alarming message to us regarding citizen safety and the safety of our crews,” he said, noting that layoffs would have a direct impact on their ability to provide basic services. There are currently 92 Ann Arbor firefighters.

Schroeder passed out a document that included information on national standards for fire ground staffing, as well as comparisons between communities in the Big Ten and throughout Michigan. Those comparisons looked at general population size, student populations, number of firefighters and equipment. Ann Arbor has the lowest number of career firefighters per 1,000 population of any community in the Big Ten, he said. All but Iowa City have more than 1.1 firefighters per 1,000 people – Ann Arbor has 0.804, a figure that would drop to 0.682 if 14 firefighters were eliminated.

He reminded regents that the university has many large buildings, and relies on Ann Arbor firefighters to respond. [The university does not maintain its own fire department and does not make regular payments to the city for fire service. It does provide rent and operating costs for a north campus fire station, on Beal Avenue near Plymouth Road, which is staffed by Ann Arbor firefighters. The university occasionally makes other contributions, such as $300,000 it paid in fiscal 2004 for a city fire engine.]

Regents expressed support for the issues that Schroeder raised. Regent Larry Deitch said that he was concerned, adding that no other group of people are more selfless and brave than firefighters. Deitch asked what the regents could do to help. Schroeder said that they just wanted to convey the current situation, and that they feel they can’t absorb additional layoffs.

Regent Denise Ilitch said that her sister had been involved in a fire at a Chicago hotel, and a firefighter had saved her life. Rest assured, she told Schroeder, that university officials will do whatever they can to make sure that people in Ann Arbor and students at UM are safe.

President’s Salary: No Raise This Year

Regent Andrea Fischer Newman reported that the board’s personnel, compensation and governance committee had evaluated UM president Mary Sue Coleman and were in unanimous agreement that she was a great president. Newman said she hoped that the Sept. 17 USA Today article, an obituary for NCAA president Myles Brand which mentioned Coleman as a possible successor, was “nothing more than sheer speculation.” Newman cited several accomplishments under Coleman’s tenure during the past year, including completion of a $3.2 billion fundraising campaign and the purchase of the former Pfizer research complex in Ann Arbor.

In recognition of the state’s economic climate, Coleman requested the board not give her a raise this year, Newman said, adding that they complied with that request. [Coleman receives $783,850 in total compensation, including a base salary of $553,500. Last year she received a 4% raise.] Coleman pointed out that none of her executive officers or deans had taken pay raises this year.

Regarding the NCAA job, Coleman said she hadn’t yet seen the article, adding “I’ve got the best job in the world. I just love it.” When someone pointed out that Walt Harrison, a former UM vice president for university relations, was also mentioned as a candidate for the job, Coleman said she thought he’d be great for that position.

Crisler Arena: Practice Facility

Don Dethlefs, CEO of the Denver-based architecture firm Sink Combs Dethlefs, showed regents the schematic designs – which they subsequently approved – for a $23.2 million basketball training facility at Crisler Arena. The two-story, 57,000-square-foot structure 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.

The design includes a “Hall of Fame” entry lobby on Crisler’s south side and a “champions” room overlooking the practice courts. These areas are envisioned for use in fundraising and other events. The lobby will be designed with a lot of glass walls and dramatic lighting, creating more of a “front door” to Crisler, Dethlefs said.

A tunnel will connect the facility to seating and the playing court at Crisler. Though the current project won’t include a roof plaza, Dethlefs said that the building will be designed to support such an addition in the future, and the athletic department hopes to eventually raise money to build it. The current project is expected to be finished in the fall of 2011. When the training facility is completed, the Crisler parking area will have about 100 fewer spaces.

Regent Andrea Fischer Newman asked for a report at some future date, giving a summary of all the construction projects that the athletic department has undertaken since Bill Martin took over as athletic director in 2000. Tim Slottow, UM’s chief financial officer, noted that a $3 million renovation to the UM football locker room in 2003 was the first investment after the department’s “difficult, dark days,” referring to the years when the department ran a deficit under the previous athletic director Tom Goss.

Other Construction Projects

The regents approved several other capital projects, with no discussion. They include:

• A $9 million electronic building access system. The university will install electronic card readers on the exterior doors of over 100 buildings on campus, which are currently locked and unlocked manually. The system will provide increased security, said Tim Slottow, UM’s chief financial officer, giving them the ability to remotely lock down buildings during emergencies, for example.
• Authorization to issue bids and award construction contracts on a $6 million soccer stadium – regents approved schematic designs for the project in June 2009.
• A $1.5 million infusion center at the East Ann Arbor Health and Geriatric Center.
• A $4 million project to upgrade the University Hospital emergency power system.

Life Sciences Institute

Early in the meeting, Alan Saltiel, director of the Life Sciences Institute, gave an update on the organization that was founded six years ago. When she introduced Saltiel, UM president Mary Sue Coleman said that he’d been inundated with calls since he announced his most recent research findings: A gene found in mice appears to control obesity. “Everyone wants to join the human clinical trials,” Coleman joked. Saltiel said his main job in life had become managing expectations.

The LSI started with the goal of recruiting a diverse group of top scientists who could work across disciplines to make new discoveries in the life sciences, Saltiel said. They now have 29 faculty with labs at the LSI building, with disciplines ranging from biology and bioinformatics to genetics and chemistry. In total, some 450 researchers work at LSI, including 150 students from across 14 different departments. They’ve secured over $150 million in research funding since the institute’s inception.

Collaboration is their mantra, Saltiel said. He cited his own research into the “obesity gene” – which long-term has potential to treat diabetes – as stemming from collaboration with several other researchers at the institute.

After Saltiel’s presentation, regent Martin Taylor asked whether the institute was the right size. Saltiel said that the building is full, but that it’s difficult to say whether it should be larger. Now, everyone knows each other, which makes it easier to collaborate. Coleman said that it’s a legitimate question to ask – the LSI model might extend to the North Campus Research Complex (NCRC), the new name for the 174-acre former Pfizer site that UM acquired earlier this year.

Research Funding

In his report to regents, Stephen Forrest, UM’s vice president for research, noted that the university had crossed a major threshold by logging a record $1.016 billion in federal research funding during fiscal 2009, which ended June 30. That’s up 9.4% from the previous year, he said, and includes only a very small amount – about $130,000 – of federal stimulus funding. Stimulus dollars will show up in the report for the current fiscal year, he said. So far, university researchers have been awarded $103.2 million in stimulus grants.

He joked that it took the university 192 years to reach the $1 billion mark, but he has set the goal of reaching $2 billion in eight years. “We’re well on our way,” he said.

Public Commentary

Patriot Week: Two speakers came to encourage UM to become engaged in Patriot Week, which ran from Sept. 11 through Sept. 17, Constitution Day. UM alum Michael Warren, an Oakland County circuit court judge and former member of the state board of education, said that he and his 10-year-old daughter, Leah Warren, came up with the idea for Patriot Week as a way to celebrate the country’s history and founding principles. Each day is dedicated to a different principle – such as the rule of law or equality – as well as a specific historical figure, founding document and symbol, as represented by a flag. He encouraged the university to embrace the event. [On a related sartorial note, Warren was wearing a bow tie with a stars-and-stripes motif.]

Accompanying Warren was David Weissman, who said he holds medical and undergraduate degrees from UM. He noted that Americans – even elected officials – score embarrassingly low on tests of civic knowledge and American history, and that it’s increasingly difficult to compete for attention to teach this information. Patriot Week is a focused approach to address this problem. He said they’d like to see UM host symposiums, student debates and celebratory events to mark the week, and to get students involved in partnerships with local high schools and elementary schools.

In response to a question from regent Andrew Richner, provost Terry Sullivan said that since 2005, the university has already been involved in events related to Constitution Week, which runs from Sept. 17-23. Specifically, she cited a panel discussion being held later that day at the law school, focused on court cases that have challenged the Constitution.

Department of Public Safety: Two people spoke on the same issue related to the DPS. Douglas Smith, a UM alumnus, spoke about the treatment of Dr. Andrei Borisov, whom Smith described as a whistleblower who was beaten by campus police then arrested for assaulting police officers. Smith said Borisov had been a research assistant professor in the university’s pediatrics department when a tenured faculty member took control of – and credit for – some of his work. Smith described a chain of events that he said led to several UM administrators conspiring to fire Borisov and prevent him from getting other jobs at the university. At one point, DPS officers escorted Borisov to his office to retrieve his personal property, Smith said, and ended up arguing with him about the contents of a briefcase, ultimately pushing him against a wall and charging him with trespassing. Smith said that Borisov discussed this incident with Stephen Hipkiss, chair of the DPS Oversight Committee, but that Hipkiss discouraged Borisov from filing a complaint against the officers. This matter should be investigated, Smith said.

Hipkiss also spoke during the time for public comment, and defended both the DPS and the oversight committee that he chairs. He described the committee’s role, and said that it was an advisory group, not a tribunal – they hear grievances, then make recommendations to the university’s chief financial officer, who has responsibility for the department. Hipkiss said that DPS has complied with all of the committee’s requests for information during the 11 years he has served on the committee. He disputed Smith’s claim that there’s not adequate oversight.

The media desk during the UM board of regents meetings. The bottle contains sanitizer for hands, not news reports. (Photo by the writer.)