News from other Michigan public universities and U-M peer institutions across the nation.
STATE UNIVERSITIES
Grant Fuels Expansion of MSU Public Health Program
Efforts by Michigan State University’s College of Human Medicine to expand its public health program in downtown Flint are getting a boost from a $9 million grant from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation. The support will help MSU create an endowment to expand the number of students trained in Flint and to recruit top public health researchers to the city through the program.
Grand Valley State announces room rate increase
Students at Grand Valley State University will see a modest increase in room and board beginning with the Fall 2014 semester. The Board of Trustees voted to increase the rate 1.5 percent at its Feb. 14 meeting in Grand Rapids. The Fall 2013 occupancy rate at Grand Valley was again at an all-time high with 5,997 students living on campus.
PEER INSTITUTIONS
UCLA to study hand movement restoration
University of California Los Angeles scientists have been awarded $6 million to study new ways to restore hand movement after paralysis. The National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering has awarded two UCLA researchers the five-year grant to explore new therapies for the approximately 273,000 Americans living with spinal-cord injuries. Some 12,000 Americans suffer such injuries each year. The research will focus on restoring hand function to patients paralyzed from the neck down.
University of Chicago school wins $10 million grant
The University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy is moving forward on initiatives to support students, faculty and facilities with help from a $10 million grant from the Irving Harris Foundation. The new grant will help support student fellowships, junior faculty positions, visiting faculty, a new building fund, general operations and the Cultural Policy Center, dedicated to informing policies that affect the arts, humanities and cultural heritage.
Penn State names 18th president
The 18th president of Penn State University has been named by the University’s Board of Trustees. Eric J. Barron, a former dean at Penn State and current leader of Florida State University, will begin as Penn State’s next president on or before May 12. Barron was appointed Feb. 17 during a special meeting of the Board of Trustees on the unanimous recommendation of the 14-member Trustee Presidential Selection Council. Barron will succeed Rodney A. Erickson.
