South State Street to remain closed through late September
South State Street between East William and East Liberty streets is expected to remain closed through late September as crews continue work on streetscape, road and utility enhancements. Pedestrian traffic will generally be maintained on the sidewalks. In the event of any sidewalk closures, detours will be posted. The street will not be reopened for U-M home football games in September. For information on U-M and AAATA bus route detours, visit ltp.umich.edu/news/transit-alerts.php and theride.org/rider-alerts. For more information on city road and lane closures.
Temporary federal loan forgiveness program extended through Oct. 31
U-M faculty and staff who are among the estimated 154,000 Michigan residents eligible for federal public-service loan forgiveness of federal student loan debt have until Oct. 7 to apply to the Temporary Expanded Public Service Loan Forgiveness program to get credit for payments that previously didn’t qualify. View the Federal Student Aid website at studentaid.gov for details and eligibility requirements. The program continues through Oct. 31, but faculty and staff who want to apply must complete their portions of the application process by Oct. 7 through U-M’s Shared Services Center. Applicants must submit a completed TEPSLF Employment Certification & Application Form through an SSC eform. Complete, sign and date the first page of the ECF, then complete the Verification of Employment eform. The SSC will complete the employer portion and forward the completed form to the U.S. Department of Education. The SSC does not determine eligibility. Questions should be directed to student loan servicers.
Longtime softball coach Hutchins retires; top assistant Tholl named successor
Carol Hutchins, the legendary Michigan softball head coach, announced Aug. 24 that she is retiring after 38 seasons leading the Wolverines. Later that day, Bonnie Tholl, a former U-M softball standout who spent 29 years as the Wolverines’ top assistant, was named Hutchins’ successor. Hutchins recently completed her 39th overall season as head coach and is the winningest coach in NCAA softball history with 1,707 victories and a career winning percentage of .755. She guided Michigan to the 2005 NCAA championship to highlight a career that included 22 Big Ten Conference championships, 10 Big Ten Tournament crowns, 29 NCAA Tournament appearances and 12 Women’s College World Series appearances. For more on Hutchins’ retirement and career. Tholl served the last 20 years as associate head coach and also is the program’s longtime recruiting coordinator, helping to bring in players that account for 63 of Michigan’s 69 All-America honors and 15 Big Ten Player of the Year and 12 Big Ten Pitcher of the Year awards. For more on Tholl.
Update on negotiations between U-M and nurses union
The University of Michigan has been sent an action filed in the Michigan Court of Claims by the Michigan Nurses Association and UMPNC related to ongoing contract negotiations. The lawsuit seeks an injunction against the university over what the union says is a “refusal to bargain” over union demands for fixed, mandatory nursing staff/patient ratios in hospital units. The union demands contract language designating what the fixed staffing ratios will be, with disputes decided by a labor arbitrator who has no medical training or experience in rendering patient care. U-M Health plans to vigorously defend itself in this lawsuit. U-M Health makes staffing determinations with patient safety at the forefront of its decisions, and this has produced outstanding safety results. The health system continuously receives recognition as Michigan’s safest hospital.
Coming Events to begin highlighting events a day in advance
The University Record is changing the way it highlights events in the Coming Events feature of its daily email. Beginning with the Record email’s Aug. 29 edition, Coming Events notices will be for activities that take place the next day. In the past, the Record mainly highlighted events that occurred the same day the email was delivered. The change is designed to give readers a bit more planning time if they wish to attend an event, whether it takes place in person or virtually. This change only affects events in the Record’s email edition. Highlighted events will continue to appear on the Record’s homepage — record.umich.edu — as they have in the past, including those taking place that day. The Record chooses events to highlight from those that are listed each day in the university’s primary events calendar, Happening@Michigan.
— Compiled by James Iseler and Jeff Bleiler, The University Record
