Editor’s Note: The following actions were taken by the Regents at their June meeting.
Units can borrow funds for equipment purchases
The Regents authorized the University to use a small portion of its working capital to lend money to U-M units for equipment purchases.
“The reasons for considering this idea,” Vice President Farris W. Womack said, “are the difficulty units would have obtaining external financing because of the limited size of the loans and the limited collateral value of the purchased equipment, which would most probably increase the cost of borrowing by the units. In addition, lease/purchase arrangements would bear higher effective interest rates than would internally financed equipment loans.”
The loans, which will provide cost-saving benefits to units, will be funded with money from the University Investment Pool.
“The Treasurer’s Office will set the interest rate on such loans on a case-by-case basis depending on prevailing market interest rates and the structure and term of the loan arrangement,” Womack explained.
The lending program can use up to 2 percent of the University Investment Pool’s market value.
Renovation projects move forward
The following building renovation projects were approved:
The costs of individual projects range from a low of $40,000 for cooling tower work on the G.G. Brown Building to a high of $650,000 for a chiller and cooling tower replacement for the Ruthven Museum. Total cost is estimated at $6,312,000.
Ellis-Don Michigan wins Randall construction contract
A $19,923,160 construction contract for the proposed addition to the nearly 70-year-old Randall Laboratory was awarded to Ellis-Don Michigan Inc. of Kalamazoo.
The four-story addition will provide space suitable for modern physics research. “An extensive renovation is nearing completion in the existing building, relatively light duty research space,” Womack noted.
The total budget for the addition is set at $22,400,000. Of that, $21,400,000 has been funded by the February 1993 sale of tax-exempt bonds secured by a pledge of student fees. The remaining $1 million will come from non-recurring capital resources.
Contract let for addition to Undergrad Library
A $9,152,300 construction contract for the addition to the Undergraduate Library and renovations to upgrade the existing building was awarded to Spence Brothers of Saginaw. The Regents approved the project’s design last November. The total budget is set at $11,050,000.
The 30,000-square-foot addition will allow the consolidation of science libraries into the Undergraduate Library, Womack noted, adding that “the need for upgrading the Library has been a long-term objective for the University.”
The $6,850,000 addition project has been funded by the February 1993 sale of tax-exempt bonds secured by a pledge of student fees. The renovation and connector bridge (from the West Engineering Building to the Undergraduate Library) projects, totaling $4,200,000, will be funded from non-recurring capital resources.
Holbrook is associate provost
Economics Prof. Robert S. Holbrook, who has been associate vice president for academic affairs since 1981, will become the U-M’s associate provost.
His new appointment is for a three-year term beginning July 1.
“This is a change in the title Dr. Holbrook has held for a number of years,” said Provost Gilbert R. Whitaker Jr. “I am recommending this change to reflect more accurately that his principal role is involved with the budgetary side of the Academic Affairs operation. This appointment is, in fact, a reappointment of Dr. Holbrook with no change of duties.”
14 administrators appointed
The following administrative appointments were approved.
Carol S. Hollenshead was reappointed director of the Center for the Education of Women for a five-year term beginning July 1.
Thomas E. Toon, associate professor of English, was reappointed director of the Program in Linguistics for a one-year term, effective July 1.
Malcolm S. Cohen, director of the Institute of Labor and Industrial Relations, will extend his administrative appointment for an additional two months, effective July 1.
George J. Siedel, the Arthur F. Thurnau Professor of Business Law, will be associate dean in the School of Business Administration for a three-year term, effective July 1.
John R. Birge, professor of industrial and operations engineering, will chair the Department of Industrial and Operations Engineering for a three-year term, effective July 1.
Chelsea C. White III, professor of industrial and operations engineering, will serve as senior associate dean in the College of Engineering for a three-year term, effective July 1.
Richard D. Alexander, the Theodore H. Hubbell Distinguished University Professor of Evolutionary Biology, will direct the Museum of Zoology for a five-year term, effective July 1.
Jennifer E. Robertson, associate professor of anthropology and of women’s studies, will direct the Center for Japanese Studies for a three-year term, effective July 1.
Ronald G. Suny, the Alex Manoogian Professor of Modern Armenian History, will be acting director of the Center for Russian and East European Studies for winter term 1994.
John F. Ward, professor of physics, will be interim chair of the Department of Physics for a one-year term, effective Sept. 1.
Steven A. Goldstein, professor of surgery, will be assistant dean for research and graduate studies in the Medical School, effective June 1.
Gregory T. Wolf, professor and interim chair of the Department of Otorhinolaryngology, will serve as chair of the department, effective June 1.
Lynne Aspnes, associate professor of music, will be associate dean for academic affairs in the School of Music for a five-year term, effective July 1.
Clarence E. Coleman Jr., associate professor of music and assistant dean in the School of Music, also will serve as acting chair of the Department of Theatre and Drama during fall term 1993.
2 faculty appointed
Tenured faculty appointments included:
Kimberlee Kearfott, from the Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University, will become professor of nuclear engineering, effective Sept. 1.
Randal J. Kaufman, director of molecular and cellular genetics, Genetics Institute, Cambridge, Mass., will become professor of biological chemistry, effective July 1.
$6.4 million in gifts accepted
The Regents accepted $6,347,051 in gifts received during May: $3,321,404 from individuals, $683,932 from corporations, $1,399,788 from foundations, and $941,927 from associations and others.
Appointments of Cornell, Samuels approved
The appointments of Richard G. Cornell as interim dean of the School of Public Health and of Allen Samuels as dean of the School of Art, were approved. The nominations were announced in the June 7 Record.
