Editor’s Note: The following actions were taken by the Board of Regents at its October meeting.
Rackham Building in Detroit to be leased to Wayne State
The University will lease all or a large part of its portion of the Rackham Educational Memorial Building in Detroit to Wayne State University.
The building at 60 Farnsworth St., built in 1941 with gifts from Horace H. and Mary A. Rackham, has been shared by the U-M and the Engineering Society of Detroit. The gift instruments specified that the building was to be used for educational activities by the University and the Engineering Society.
“For more than a decade the U-M has used only a very small amount of its space in the building,” said Vice President Farris W. Womack. “The Undergraduate Admissions office has used a small set of offices as a Detroit outpost, offering admissions counseling to students in the metropolitan area. A couple of other offices and one classroom have been kept available for University use, with the remaining space either leased out or standing vacant.
“Now, Wayne State University desires to lease all or a large part of the U-M’s portion of the building and use it for educational activities.”
Also, Womack added, “the U-M faces the requirement for immediate expenses exceeding $1 million to equip the building to comply with the new Americans with Disabilities Act and perform critical repairs. The cost to upgrade the infrastructure and renovate the building would total $6 million. Such expenditures would appear to be unjustified in light of the U-M’s limited use of the building.”
Wayne State University, he said, agrees “to assume both the responsibilities concerning the educational activities taking place and to make the necessary renovations in this leased space in the Rackham Building.
“In the future, the U-M may consider conveying its portion of the building and adjacent land to Wayne State University.”
However, because of the restrictions in the original Rackham gifts, “an action must be commenced in court to obtain Michigan Attorney General and court approval of the lease or any subsequent conveyance to Wayne State.”
The Board of Regents meeting approved the proposed lease, pending Michigan Attorney General and court approval.
Gift receipts top $4 million for September
The Regents accepted $4,133,227 in gifts received during September. The total included $1,755,060 from individuals, $838,983 from corporations, $783,067 from foundations, and $756,117 from associations and others.
3 appointments approved
The following administrative appointments were approved:
Jonathan D. Lowe, assistant dean for Law School relations since 1986, will continue in that post for another year, effective Dec. 1.
Janice B. Lindberg, associate professor of nursing, who has served as associate dean for student affairs in the School of Nursing for the past three years, will continue in her administrative position for another term, effective Nov. 1.
Marshal Shlafer, professor of pharmacology, will serve as associate dean for student programs in the Medical School, effective Oct. 15.
New site for tennis facility OK’d
A site change for the proposed Tennis Center was approved.
The new site is the northern portion of the recently acquired property on South State Street. When the Tennis Center was approved by the Regents two years ago, it was to be located on the old Par Three Golf Course at the southwest corner of the U-M Golf Course on South Main Street.
At that time, Womack said, “that location appeared to be the best site in terms of providing sufficient land to accommodate the proposed facilities and being a part of the athletic complex. The recent acquisition of the South State Street parcel has altered the situation.
“An analysis of the recently acquired land indicates that the portion of the acreage along State Street and immediately south of the existing U-M Golf Course would be best utilized for recreation facilities and that the southern portion would be best utilized for commuter parking (at least in the foreseeable future). A 250-space commuter parking lot has been developed in the southern portion of the site and is in service now.
“The Athletic Department prefers the new State Street location for the Tennis Center because of its easier access and its easier accessibility to the other athletic and recreation facilities along State Street,” Womack said.
The Tennis Center would include up to 12 outdoor and eight indoor tennis courts. It would be funded through private gifts.
Five building renovation projects receive approval
The following Ann Arbor campus building renovation projects were approved.
—The U-M Hospitals will modify the mechanical systems of Unit 8B in University Hospital to accommodate allogeneic transplant patients who require a higher level of air quality than that which can be produced now. The project is estimated to cost $280,000.
—The U-M Hospitals will renovate a portion of the North Ingalls Building to house MNet, the referring physician computer network program. The estimated cost of the project is $341,040.
—The U-M Hospitals will replace its angiography equipment with a Neuro-interventional Imaging System at an estimated cost of $2.37 million. The Hospitals received a Certificate of Need approval from the Michigan Department of Public Health.
—A suite of rooms on the ground level of the Dana Building will be remodeled as research laboratories for the study of birds. The project is for the School of Natural Resources and Environment and is estimated to cost $300,000.
—The condensate water lines in the School of Dentistry Building will be replaced at an estimated cost of $400,000.
