Editor’s Note: The following actions were taken by the Regents at their December meeting
By Wono Lee, News and Information Services,
and Diane Brown, Facilities and Operations
Gifts received
The Regents, at their Dec. 13 meeting, formally accepted a total of $10,872,035 in gifts received by the University during November of this year.
The total included $6,956,620 from individuals, $1,432,130 from corporations, $1,044,244 from foundations, and $1,439,041 from associations and others.
Endowed named professorships
Appointments to endowed and titled professorships approved by the Regents at their Dec. 13 meeting included:
Charles A. Cain, professor of biomedical engineering and professor of electrical and computer science, will hold the Richard A. Auhll Professorship of Engineering, effective Jan. 1.
Trevor N. Mudge, professor of electrical engineering and computer science, will hold the Bredt Family Professorship of Engineering, effective Jan. 1.
Jessica M. Wilson, assistant professor of philosophy, will hold the William Wilhartz Assistant Professorship of Philosophy, effective Jan. 1.
Cain leads “a very strong research program in the area of noninvasive surgery and image-guided sonotherapies,” said Stephen W. Director, dean of the College of Engineering. “He has over 130 publications in the areas of biomedical ultrasound and bioelectromagnetics and holds 15 patents related to biomedical ultrasound. He has received numerous academic honors and awards.”
Mudge is “a computer engineer in the most complete sense and his research interests are in the areas of computer architecture, computer-aided design and computer technology,” Director said. “He has chaired the doctoral committees of 30 Ph.D. students since 1984 and in the same period has published extensively in refereed journals and been a principal investigator or co-principal investigator on more than 40 externally-funded research projects.”
Wilson is “a very promising metaphysician and philosopher of science whose graduate career at Cornell University was stellar, both as a researcher and as a teacher,” said Shirley Neuman, dean of LS&A. “Her research focuses on a central issue in metaphysics between physicalists who think that nothing exists ‘over and above’ physical properties and substances, and various non-physicalists who hold that various non-physical properties or substances exist ‘over and above’ physical ones.”
Faculty appointments
Personnel actions approved by the Regents at their Dec. 13 meeting included:
Jessica Kimalt Fogel, associate professor of dance, with tenure, will be professor of dance, with tenure, effective Jan. 1.
Lydia H. Liu, a faculty member at the University of California at Berkeley, will join the faculty as the Helmut F. Stern Professor of Chinese Studies, professor of Asian languages and cultures and professor of comparative literature, effective Jan. 1.
James R. Hines Jr., professor of business economics, with tenure, of the School of Business Administration, also will serve as professor of public policy, with tenure, of the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, effective Jan. 1.
Simone Himbeault Taylor, director of career planning and placement, also will serve as associate vice president for student affairs, effective Dec. 17.
WUOM to relocate
The University’s Ann Arbor radio station will be relocated to an off-site building on the west side of Ann Arbor in order to make room for a complete renovation of the LS&A Building. The station currently occupies space on the fifth and sixth floors. WUOM, a public broadcasting station, will move to leased space in the Argus Building, located at William and Fourth Streets, after the Regents approved spending $1.6 million from central administration sources for leasehold
improvements. The upgrade is necessary to provide the required technology, equipment and studio functions necessary to operate the radio station, and to avoid the noise of reconstruction. WUOM is part of the Michigan Radio network, which includes stations in Flint and Grand Rapids.
East Medical Center Drive widening
Two projects were approved to ease traffic flow in the Medical Campus area and provide better access to patient care facilities. East Medical Center Drive will be widened to four lanes from the bridge over the railroad near Fuller Road south to the intersection at East Hospital Drive, while the railroad bridge itself will be widened to five lanes. The project is estimated to cost $3.2 million, which will be provided from the Hospitals and Health Centers’ capital fund. Construction is scheduled to be completed by the fall of 2003. Implementation details, including traffic flow plans, will be announced prior to the beginning of construction in late 2002.
Hill-Kraus steam tunnel
In addition to the restoration of Hill Auditorium (see article page 4), approval also was granted to replace the underground steam tunnel section between Hill and the Edward H. Kraus Building. A section of approximately 200 feet of tunnel will be replaced to relocate a section below Hill and address structural deterioration due to salt usage on the streets and sidewalks above it. The tunnel project, which will be coordinated with the renovations, is estimated to cost $2.5 million and will be funded from utilities reserves.
Palmer Drive Development projects
Three projects were addressed for the Palmer Drive Development—a pedestrian bridge over Washtenaw Avenue, a new architect for the Undergraduate Science Instruction Center (USIC) and an elevated pedestrian walkway.
The bridge will provide a physical link between Medical and Central campus, and allow pedestrians to safely cross the busy curve of Washtenaw Avenue and Huron Street. The bridge will be 17 feet above the street, vary 10–22 feet in width, span 277 feet and connect to the new Commons Building. The design from Venturi Scott Brown & Associates and the SmithGroup, includes gentle grade changes to easily accommodate people walking, in wheelchairs or riding bicycles. The stone-clad, concrete bridge is estimated to cost $3.2 million and will be funded from central administration sources. It is scheduled to be completed in December 2003.
The scope of the Undergraduate Science Instruction Center has increased with the recent decision to locate the LS&A undergraduate biology instructional program in the new building and add a fourth floor to accommodate the project. The biology program will require more wet laboratories. In addition, the Regents approved teaming Venturi Scott Brown & Associates with the SmithGroup to complete the USIC design. To add the expertise in laboratory design demanded by the addition, the budget was increased to $56 million. Funding will be provided from the sale of property to Pfizer Inc.
The elevated walkway will allow pedestrians to walk above the Palmer Drive parking structure on the south and east sides of the Science Instruction Center. Landscape planters, seating and lighting, as well as waterproof membranes and drainage to prevent damage to the parking structure below, are features in the walkway design. The estimated cost is $2 million with funding from central administrative dollars. The walkway is scheduled to be completed in conjunction with the Science Instruction Center in September 2005.
Dental School central sterilization
The 30-year-old central sterilization unit at the School of Dentistry will be renovated, including installation of new equipment and upgrades in plumbing, fire protection, lighting, structural components, and electrical and ventilation systems. Approximately 13,750 square feet on five floors of the Dental Building will be impacted, including the five rooms on the second and third levels where the central sterilization function is located. The project is estimated to cost $3.5 million, of which $2.3 million is allocated for mechanical and electrical systems and equipment. Funding will be provided from Dental School reserves. The project will begin in May 2002 and be completed by early 2003.
West Quad freight elevator
A new hydraulic elevator will be installed this summer in West Quad to replace the traction-type freight elevator that has serviced the kitchen and dining hall since the 1940s. The $550,000 project also will include creation of a new access to the elevator machine room from the kitchen. Residence Operations will fund the project.
Biomedical Science Research Building
The Regents authorized issuing bids and awarding construction contracts for the Biomedical Science Research Building. The Regents had approved the $220 million building project and excavation award activity at the September meeting. Mass excavation for the newest Medical School building is scheduled to begin in March with building occupancy anticipated in the fall of 2005.
