The University Record, January 11, 1999
Regents’ Roundup
Editor’s Note: The Regents took the following actions at their December meeting.
Renovation projects OK’d
• The tunnel piping for the Central Campus Recreation Building and Ruthven Museum will be replaced.
Both buildings are supplied with domestic hot water supply, return piping and low-pressure steam-heat condensate piping from the Central Power Plant through the tunnel system.
The existing galvanized steel piping will be replaced with new copper piping for the domestic hot water supply and return. The low-pressure steam-heat condensate piping will be relocated for ease of installation and maintenance of the domestic hot water supply and return. The project is estimated to cost $700,000.
• The interior of the Buhr Building addition will be completed at an estimated cost of $1.5 million. When the addition was constructed for housing less frequently used books, only the first floor was provided with shelving.
“Currently, the Library has a year’s worth of material to store on the first level and anticipates that by the end of 1999 all available storage on the first level will be filled,” explained Robert Kasdin, executive vice president and chief financial officer. “This project will provide for the construction of an elevator; stairs; the completion of the lighting, fire protection and alarm systems; and shelving for levels two, three and four. Based on the current rate of storage, completing the addition will provide the Library with an additional eight years of storage space.”
Administrative appointments
Administrative appointments included:
Julie Ellison, professor of English, was reappointed associate vice president for research, effective Jan. 1–May 31, 1999.
Sherman A. James, professor of epidemiology and the John P. Kirscht Collegiate Professor of Public Health, will serve as chair of the Department of Health Behavior and Health Education for a three-year term beginning July 1, 1999.
Allen S. Lichter, professor of radiation oncology, will serve as interim dean of the Medical School, effective Dec. 1. (His nomination to the administrative post was announced Dec. 4.)
Fawwaz T. Ulaby, professor of electrical engineering and computer science, the R. Jamison and Betty Williams Professor of Engineering and the Arthur F. Thurnau Professor, will serve as interim vice president for research, effective Jan. 1. (His nomination to the administrative post was announced Dec. 7.)
Katharine B. Soper, assistant associate provost, was named assistant provost, effective Dec. 21.
Powers named to Davidson Professorship
Martin J. Powers, professor of history of art, was named the Sally Michelson Davidson Professorship of Chinese Arts and Cultures, effective Sept. 1, 1998.
“Prof. Powers is at the top of his international cohort of scholars in Chinese art and cultural history,” said LS&A interim dean Patricia Y. Gurin.
“His first book, Art and Political Expression in Early China, won the Joseph Levison Prize in 1991—in a competition among books in all disciplines of pre-20th century Sinological study. It has generated stimulating controversy and has changed the shape of art historical inquiry in the China field. Prof. Powers works with equal facility as an analyst of Chinese texts and rhetorical theory and as an analyst of visual evidence.”
$13 million in gifts accepted
The Regents accepted $13,483,266 in gifts received during November. The total included $8,963,066 from individuals, $1,486,036 from corporations, $2,659,448 from foundations, and $374,716 from associations and others.
14 faculty retire
Fourteen faculty members were given the emeritus title. They are:
Marjorie R. Barritt, archivist; Howard M. Bunch, associate professor of ship production science and research scientist; Lynn A. Conway, professor of electrical engineering and computer science; Prasanta K. Datta, professor of biological chemistry; Pentti T. Jokelainen, associate professor of anatomy and cell biology; Yasuko Matsudo, senior associate librarian; Alan C. Menge, associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology and associate research scientist;
Richard E. Sonntag, professor of mechanical engineering; Paul L. Stewart, the Catherine B. Heller Collegiate Professor of Art and professor of art; Edward E. Sullivan, professor of education at the U-M-Flint; Julia C. Tai, professor of chemistry at the U-M-Dearborn; Nguyen X. Vinh, professor of aerospace engineering; William A. Werner, professor of architecture; James E. Wheeler, professor of accounting.
Marjorie R. Barritt
Barritt, who joined the Bentley Historical Library in 1982, was “among the first Americans ever to participate in courses offered by the Archiefschool in The Hague, and her subsequent work in the National Archives for Utrecht, The Netherlands, has been recognized as a lasting contribution,” the Regents noted. “At the Bentley Library, Ms. Barritt headed the University Archives and Records Program, which was a relatively new initiative in 1982. As a result of her efforts, the Bentley’s holdings for University units increased dramatically. Her Guide to the Archives of the University of Michigan contains a comprehensive listing of the extant University records and related faculty papers.”
Howard M. Bunch
Bunch, who joined the U-M in 1976, introduced “a sequence of courses in ship production and organized a unique summer internship program to give students practical shipbuilding experience. He established the Marine Systems Division at the U-M Transportation Research Institute in 1982 and served for 12 years as its head. In 1985–86, he was acting director of UMTRI. In 1986–88, he served as special assistant to the undersecretary of the U.S. Navy. Most recently, he was associate director of the Office of Naval Research-Europe. He holds a continuing appointment as senior visiting lecturer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.”
Lynn A. Conway
Conway joined the U-M in 1985. “As associate dean in the College of Engineering, Prof. Conway contributed to many research and instructional initiatives during the period of rapid expansion of the College on North Campus in the late 1980s and early 1990s, including leading the College’s efforts in development, planning and design of the Media Union. At IBM, before coming to Michigan, Prof. Conway contributed major innovations to super computer system architecture. At Xerox, she became internationally known as a pioneer of microelectronics for innovations in design methods that influenced VLSI chip design worldwide.”
Prasanta K. Datta
Datta, who joined the U-M in 1966, has been “an outstanding and dedicated teacher and has been extremely active with committee participation at all levels of the University as well as internationally. He was one of the founding members of the University’s Graduate Program in Cellular and Molecular Biology. He has had more than 30 consecutive years of research support from the National Institutes of Health for his research in the areas of gene structure and regulation of expression, control of enzyme function by cellular metabolites, and molecular evolution. He has been an invited speaker at numerous national and international symposia and seminars, and was research adviser for more than 25 doctoral and postdoctoral trainees and a dozen undergraduate students.”
Pentti T. Jokelainen
Jokelainen joined the U-M in 1974. “Dr. Jokelainen’s early research constituted a ground-breaking study of the ultra structure of the developing kidney,” the Regents said. “This research still stands as one of the definitive works in this field. Somewhat later, he carried out some technically demanding electron microscopic work on cell organelles during cell division. At the U-M, Dr. Jokelainen divided his career between teaching gross anatomy to medical students and conducting research on hypertension. His hypertension research involved a meticulous study of the genetics of a special strain of hypertensive rats.”
Yasuko Matsudo
Matsudo joined the Library in 1988 as assistant head and curator of the Japanese Collection of the Asia Library. “She has made significant contributions to the continued development of the Japanese Collection, which is one of the most comprehensive library resources for Japanese studies outside of Asia. She has coordinated the Asia Library’s acquisitions and serial operations and served as the major liaison with Japanese studies faculty and students. In more recent years, she has been actively engaged in the teaching of library resources and has participated in the development of electronic resources related to Asian studies.”
Alan C. Menge
Menge, who joined the U-M in 1967, “built the preeminent unit studying the immunology of reproduction, markedly expanding the knowledge base of the immunobiology of sperm and developing clinical assays that are still in use today. He trained a generation of fellows and clinicians and was an active member of the educational program of the department. In 1994, he established the Laboratory of Assisted Reproductive Technologies at the U-M in support of the clinical program. There he refined a number of techniques, leading to his certification in 1995 as a high complexity clinical laboratory director.”
Richard E. Sonntag
Sonntag joined the U-M in 1961. “His research and publications have focused on thermodynamics, including equations of state, equilibrium, properties, new refrigerants, and Helmholtz function representation. He is the co-author of the widely-used textbook, Fundamentals of Thermodynamics, and the co-author of a new book, Thermodynamic and Transport Properties. His contributions to the department are truly exemplary. During his tenure as chair, he earned a strong reputation for dedicated leadership, vision and commitment.”
Paul L. Stewart
Stewart, who joined the U-M in 1973, is “a prolific artist who is internationally recognized. He has a distinguished and lengthy record of exhibitions, and his work has been included in hundreds of national and international shows for which he has received numerous coveted awards. His work is included in many prestigious museums and in private collections all over the world. An avid researcher in printmaking, Prof. Stewart’s technical preparation and innovative processes have contributed directly to the U-M’s reputation as a center for advanced innovative practices in lithography.”
Edward E. Sullivan
Sullivan joined the Flint faculty in 1966. “During his more than 30 years on the faculty, Prof. Sullivan taught courses in the social foundations of education and instructional technology and supervised student teachers and practicum students. He played a leadership role in establishing the education department’s undergraduate foundation block and in establishing the department’s first courses in educational technology. More than anyone, he was responsible for the creation of the department’s first computer lab and took the initiative to ensure the required upgrading of the lab’s hardware and software.”
Julia C. Tai
Tai joined the Dearborn faculty in 1969. “The 30-year span of Prof. Tai’s research career parallels the development of computational chemistry and reflects the tremendous improvement in the technology available for complex computations. She participated in the development of MMI and MMPI, two powerful computational strategies for solving the mathematics used in describing complex molecules. The difficulties of simplifying complex calculations while retaining details of interest to chemists, such as those that may predict properties of chemicals, cannot be underestimated.”
Nguyen X. Vinh
Vinh, who joined the U-M faculty in 1968, has had “an exceedingly distinguished career. His extensive list of publications, consisting of three books and more than 100 technical papers, has had a great impact on the field of aerospace engineering. Prof. Vinh’s educational contributions have been equally distinguished. An effective and popular teacher, his courses have regularly received outstanding evaluations from students. He has worked extensively with many undergraduate and graduate students and has chaired a very large number of doctoral committees. He is widely recognized for his leadership and mentorship to the Vietnamese community.”
William A. Werner
Werner joined the U-M in 1956. “Within the College of Architecture and Urban Planning, Prof. Werner has taught undergraduate level courses in design, structures and construction. He served as chair of the Bachelor of Science Program in 1977-83, assistant to the Architecture Program chairperson from 1983 to the present, and also has served as an active member of many program, college and University committees. In 1975, he received the Sol King Award for Excellent Teaching, in recognition of his deep concern for students, his depth of classroom preparation and the clarity of his presentations. In 1998, he received the Educator of the Year Award from the Architectural Studies Foundation of Michigan.”
James E. Wheeler
Wheeler, who joined the U-M in 1972, is “nationally known for his research and presentations in the areas of accounting for corporate income taxes, international taxation, and tax policy issues. He has played a major role in the American Taxation Association, serving on committees, as trustee and as president. He has worked closely with the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants on tax policy issues and on the CPA examination. The author of the textbook, Advanced Accounting: A Professional Approach, Prof. Wheeler brought his real-world expertise into the classroom to the benefit of hundreds of students over the years.”
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