News from other Michigan public universities and U-M peer institutions across the nation.
STATE UNIVERSITIES
Blake named interim Ferris provost
Associate Provost Paul Blake will serve as the interim provost at Ferris State University. His appointment comes after current Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Fritz Erickson was selected as the new president of Northern Michigan University last week. During the next two months, Blake will work with Erickson to ensure a smooth transition, before he assumes the job’s full responsibilities July 1.
Public health data, strategies focus of Western Michigan center
Researching and mapping health-related data in southwest Michigan to provide strategies to improve public health is the purpose of a new center housed at Western Michigan University. Focusing on 11 counties in southwest Michigan, the Center for Health Data Research, Analysis and Mapping is a collaboration involving WMU’s interdisciplinary health sciences Ph.D. program, the departments of Statistics and Geography, and Calhoun and Kalamazoo county health departments.
PEER INSTITUTIONS
Website launched to mark Free Speech Movement’s 50th anniversary
Gearing up for the 50th anniversary of the Free Speech Movement during the fall 2014 semester, the University of California, Berkeley, has launched an interactive website at fsm.berkeley.edu with a visual history of the events of 1964. In concert with FSM Veterans, a group of students involved in the protests at Berkeley, the visual history was developed to outline the cultural and political environment of 1964 and the events that influenced freedom-of-speech regulations on college campuses across the United States.
New Columbia Law School dean named
Gillian Lester, acting dean of Berkeley Law, has been appointed the next dean of Columbia Law School, effective Jan. 1, 2015. Columbia University President Lee C. Bollinger said Lester brings accomplished scholarship, admired teaching and first-hand academic leadership experience at a great peer institution to her new role at Columbia. Lester is a nationally recognized authority in employment law and policy, whose research has explored distributive justice and the welfare state, workplace intellectual property, paid family leave and the design of social insurance programs.
University of Minnesota physics and nanotechnology building opens
The new Physics and Nanotechnology Building, which serves the University of Minnesota’s School of Physics and Astronomy and Minnesota Nano Center, is the new home for faculty ranging from nanotechnology researchers to cosmologists probing the origins of the universe. The building hosted an open house and public tours April 24.
