Faculty Senate to meet Oct. 4 with Schlissel, Collins; consider resolutions
The University of Michigan’s Faculty Senate members will hear from President Mark Schlissel and Provost Susan M. Collins and also vote on five motions when they meet at 3:15 p.m. Oct. 4. The meeting will be in the Honigman Auditorium at the Law School, with members invited to attend in person or participate via Zoom. Faculty Senate members will be sent a link to register to attend the Zoom meeting, which will also be available to view through a livestream at umich.edu/watch/. The resolutions deal with various topics related to the university’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and sexual misconduct by former provost Martin Philbert. View the full proposed resolutions. The Faculty Senate is part of U-M’s central faculty governance system. It has more than 4,000 members and consists of all professorial faculty, librarians, full-time research faculty, executive officers and deans.
University seeks nominations for honorary degree recipients
The U-M community is being asked to nominate individuals who have contributed to their field or society to be considered for honorary degrees. Nominees may be individuals who have advanced their field of endeavor in significant ways, or who have made compelling contributions to society. “Honorary degrees give us the opportunity to celebrate with pride the accomplishments of those whose contributions have changed the world,” President Mark Schlissel said. Although nominations can be submitted at any time, the committee typically meets once in the fall and once in the spring to consider nominations. The deadline to nominate individuals to be considered to receive an honorary degree as early as at the 2022 Spring Commencement is 5 p.m. Oct. 21. The committee, chaired by Rackham Graduate School Dean Michael J. Solomon, includes faculty members from the Ann Arbor, Flint and Dearborn campuses, students and alumni — all of whom are appointed by the Board of Regents on the recommendation of the president. U-M commencement speakers are typically drawn from the pool of those approved for honorary degrees. View eligibility requirements or submit a nomination. View a list of committee members.
Focus on well-being, connection and self-care at MHealthy’s virtual event
Self-care, connection and staying well at work and home is the focus of MHealthy’s “Be Well Your Way” virtual event on Oct. 6 and 7. Registration is now open for more than a dozen sessions. This is a free event open to U-M faculty and staff. It’s the second year MHealthy has hosted the virtual event, offered in place of its annual Be Well at the Big House event at Michigan Stadium. To give participants more flexibility, this year’s event takes place over two days. Sessions are available from 7-9 a.m. and 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Oct. 6, and 11 a.m.-2 p.m. and 3-6 p.m. Oct. 7. Most sessions are 40 minutes with topics covering creating social connections, ergonomic tips for work and home, budget-friendly cooking, financial well-being, supporting your student/child’s well-being, exploring DEI and wellness, yoga and meditation. Also, fewer registrations are needed to attend multiple sessions each day. This will give participants quick access to the sessions that interest them most. View the full list of sessions and register at mhealthy.umich.edu/bewell. Email questions to mhealthy@umich.edu.
DPSS issues update on implementation of task force recommendations
The Division of Public Safety and Security has made significant progress on implementing a number of recommendations identified by the University of Michigan Advancing Public Safety Task Force. Following the publication of the final report on May 6, President Mark Schlissel and Provost Susan M. Collins provided a memo on the next steps, which was followed up by a statement of support from the DPSS executive director. Throughout the summer months, DPSS created a workgroup to implement action items related to the task force and published a web page to keep the community informed. Highlights of that work can be found on the DPSS website at news.dpss.umich.edu/2021/09/2771.
Detroiters want police reform, but also increased police presence, survey shows
Competing concerns about police brutality and high crime rates are reflected in Detroiters’ attitudes toward the police, according to U-M research. A recent survey by U-M’s Detroit Metro Area Communities Study finds that about six in 10 adult Detroit residents believe police killings of both Black and Latino people are part of a broader pattern of mistreatment of people of color by the police and would like to see significant police reforms. At the same time, Black, Latino and white Detroit residents were each about three times as likely to say a greater police presence in their neighborhood would make them feel more safe than they were to say a greater police presence would make them feel less safe. For more details about the survey results.
— Compiled by James Iseler and Ann Zaniewski, The University Record
