No Record email the week of July 4
The University Record will not distribute an email edition the week of the July 4 holiday. The email will resume its weekly summer schedule on July 12. While the email is skipping a week, campus news of interest to faculty and staff will be posted to the Record website. The Record will publish printed editions on July 3 and 24, and Aug. 14. The Record will resume its regular weekly print publication and daily email with the beginning of the fall semester on Sept. 5.
CREES signs agreement with prestigious Russian university
The Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies has embarked on a formal relationship with the National Research University Higher School of Economics, St. Petersburg. The purpose of the memorandum of understanding between the two entities is to promote cooperation in history, sociology, political science, anthropology, and other social sciences and humanities units involved in academic research between CREES and the HSE Center for Historical Research. The terms of the agreement, which do not involve a financial obligation from either university, include commitment from both parties to promote joint research projects, symposia, workshops and conferences; provide opportunities for faculty development and exchange; and support student and visiting research scholar exchanges.
Stamps, UMMA projects awarded NEA grants
Two U-M art projects dedicated to memory loss have been awarded funding from the National Endowment for the Arts. Anne Mondro, associate professor of art and design, Penny W. Stamps School of Art and Design, received $20,000 to support “Between the Earth and the Sky: Intergenerational Interactions of Visibility,” a collaborative, community art-making project for teens and memory-impaired adults. The project is co-created with Charlie Michaels, a U-M alumnus and assistant director of student and faculty engagement at the Center for Social Engaged Design. The U-M Museum of Art received $40,000 to support expansion for its guided multi-sensory gallery experience for adults with memory loss.
U-M alumni gift largest ever for Gamelan and Indonesian Studies
The U-M Alumni Association of Indonesia has pledged $400,000 to the existing U-M Javanese Gamelan Endowment, as well as $100,000 to establish a new endowment called the U-M Indonesian Alumni Student Support Fund. These gifts are made in celebration of the university’s bicentennial, which also marks the 50th anniversary of the U-M Gamelan ensemble. The Javanese Gamelan Endowment exists to fund educational programs, concerts and upkeep of the instruments, as well as visits and residencies by expert Javanese musicians, dancers and puppeteers. The new U-M Indonesian Alumni Student Support Fund will support U-M students’ study abroad in Indonesia, including those who wish to pursue the study of gamelan.
Kellogg Eye Center startup raises $4.25M
Research on retinal detachment and its impact on vision loss, conducted by Kellogg Eye Center’s David N. Zacks, professor of ophthalmology and visual sciences, reached a new milestone as his biopharmaceutical company ONL Therapeutics closed $4.25 million in Series A funding. The funding came from several investors, including Novartis, the university’s Michigan Investment in New Technology Startups Program, Capital Community Angels, Invest Michigan, Biosciences Research and Commercialization Center and Hestia Investments. It will be combined with a $1 million grant from the National Eye Institute. The startup company is preparing a clinical trial to assess ONL 1204, a FAS pathway inhibitor designed to protect retinal cells. Retinal detachments affect 50,000 people each year in the United States, most of them over age 50. ONL 1204 is being developed as an intravitreal injection aimed at blocking photoreceptor cells from dying before surgery to reattach the retina. Death of these cells is a root cause of vision loss.
Bio Research Shuttle will launch on-demand service
Logistics, Transportation & Parking will bring on-demand convenience to the Bio Research Shuttle beginning July 10. The shuttle is a shared service intended only for the transport of passengers with bio-research material. Riders will be able to request pick-ups via the TapRide mobile app or by accessing the website, tapride-researchshuttle.herokuapp.com/ride/#/. Riders also may call 734-936-0472. The service will continue to operate from 8 a.m.-5:15 p.m. Monday-Friday year-round, with a service break from noon to 12:30 p.m. Stops include: North Campus Research Complex, Ann Arbor VA Hospital, Cooley, Cancer Center circle drive, Cardiovascular Center driveway and MSRB III (Lot M-69). For more details, go to ltp.umich.edu.
Amal Dahmani elected to Police Department Oversight Committee
Amal Dahmani, registered nurse in Michigan Medicine Children’s Emergency Services, has been elected as the bargained-for staff representative to the Police Department Oversight Committee for a two-year term beginning July 1. The committee receives and makes recommendations regarding grievances against any police officer deputized by the university. The six-member oversight committee consists of two student members, two faculty members (one Senate and one non-Senate faculty), and two staff members (one union and one non-union), who are nominated and elected by their peers for two-year terms. For more information, visit the Police Department Oversight Committee website, hr.umich.edu/working-u-m/workplace-improvement/police-department-oversight-committee.
— Compiled by Safiya Merchant and Jill A. Greenberg, The University Record
Kathleen M. Donohoe, University Human Resources
