The Senate Assembly will elect three Senate Advisory Committee on University Affairs (SACUA) members at its meeting today (March 21). The three top vote getters will win three-year terms. Additional candidates may announce intent to run up to the time of the election.
As of Record press time, three candidates have indicated they will run in the election:
• Graham Rex Holland, professor of dentistry, Department of Cariology, Restorative Sciences and Endodontics, School of Dentistry; and professor of cell and developmental biology, Medical School
• Frank Stafford, professor of economics, LSA; and research professor, Survey Research Center, Institute for Social Research
• Karen Staller, associate professor, School of Social Work (SSW)
Biographical information and position statements supplied by two of the three candidates follow.
Frank Stafford
Stafford
Education: Doctorate, University of Chicago (1968).
Administrative leadership: Chair of Economics, director of Graduate Studies, Ph.D. placement officer; associate director and acting director, Institute for Social Research; chair, Senate Budget Committee (assessed the induced cost of adding university office and classroom space); member, Tenure Grievance Committee; chair and member, Committee on the Economic Status of the Faculty; chair, Provost’s Advisory Committee on University Budget.
Honors: Fellow, Society of Labor Economists; Who’s Who in Economics; National Academy of Sciences/CNSTAT Committee to Assess the Future of Social Surveys; Census Committee to Redesign the Consumer Expenditure Survey; Panel Study of Income Dynamics selected as the only social science project in the NSF Nifty Fifty/Sixty (2001, 2011); external grant support includes the National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health support in connection with the Panel Study of Income Dynamics and the Michigan Retirement Research Center project to study the foreclosure crisis.
Statement of candidate: “Based on a long and wide range of experience at the University of Michigan, I believe I can make a contribution to the operation of SACUA in an era where educational finance and academic practice is now and will be under increasing pressure to change. I have advised Harold Shapiro on the Michigan financial structure back on the early 1980s. There we carried out a study, The Michigan Economic and Fiscal Structure, which was part of an effort to educate legislators about the basics in the Michigan economy. Under Gil Whittaker I served as chair of the Advisory Committee on University Budgets. As associate and acting director of ISR, I participated in regular meetings of the APG. My current research includes the emergence of the student loan sector after the erosion of home equity as a source for family educational finance. I believe that I can help assess the wide range of academic issues, having served as chair of Economics and on the Tenure Grievance Committee. I have an appreciation for research funding, having run the largest social research project of the National Science Foundation for 15 years.”
Karen Staller
Staller
Education: Bachelor of Arts, art history, Cornell University (1979); Juris Doctor, Cornell School of Law (1985); Doctor of Philosophy (Social Work) with distinction, Columbia University (1999).
Faculty leadership/governance experience: Secretary of the University Advisory Committee, (2010-present); Senate Assembly representative (elected, 2008-present); Model Faculty Grievance Procedure Task Force (provost appointment, 2009); ombudsman (elected, 2008-09); resolution officer, Office of Student Conflict Resolution (2002-06); SSW Executive Committee (elected, 2006-07; 2009-present); SSW Strategic Thinking Task Force (dean appointment, 2010-present); Student Services Committee (2008-09); SSW Academic Difficulty Committee (2003-06; 2007-08); SSW Children & Youth Curriculum Committee; Student Services; Recruitment, Admissions, Financial Aid (RAFA) (2001-03); faculty grievance officer (2001-03; 2005-06); SSW Student Service Committee (2004-06).
Professional practice experience: Attorney, JASA Legal Services for the Elderly in Queens (1985-88); director, Covenant House Under 21/N.Y. Legal Department (1988-91); project director, VOLS West Side Elderly Project (1991-92).
Statement of Candidate: “In ‘The Great American University,’ Jonathan Cole argues for the indispensible role of elite American research universities but notes that for political and economic reasons we are currently under threat. In Michigan and elsewhere, we have seen the increasing corporatization of the academy, threats to the diversity of faculty and student bodies, threats to academic freedom, challenges to the tenure system, significant cost shifting to faculty, students and staff, and the fundamental re-visioning of our libraries. These matters are of central importance in attracting, protecting, sustaining and retaining the best and the brightest faculty. Fiscal realities and financial pressures are driving many decisions that will shape the very essence of the university community and its practices. Given this, a strong faculty voice is critical. SACUA plays an essential role in surfacing arguments that help balance collective well-being with the protection of individual rights. If elected, I will take seriously the role of representing the interests of U-M’s diverse and talented faculties as we move forward in these exciting but challenging times.”
