Regents Roundup — November 2015

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The following items were approved by the Board of Regents at its meeting Thursday.  

University Hospital infrastructure projects planned

A $1 million project is planned to complete the upgrades of the critical power distribution system at University Hospital to support new technology, incremental medical equipment, changes to areas that have occurred, and provide reserve capacity for future requirements. Hospitals and Health Centers’ resources will fund the project, with work scheduled to be completed next summer.

Another project at University Hospital will replace the fire detection and alarm system on floors 2 and below, enabling connection to the recently installed fire command center. The $3 million project will be funded from Hospitals and Health Centers’ resources and is scheduled to be completed in the spring of 2017.

Renovations at University Hospital South planned

Approximately 9,500 gross square feet at University Hospital South will be renovated to accommodate the relocation of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) services from the University Hospital operating room post-anesthesia care unit (PACU). The relocation will streamline the ECT patient experience and relieve congestion within the PACU. The project is estimated to cost $3.6 million to be funded from Hospitals and Health Centers’ resources. Construction is scheduled to be completed next summer.

Biological Station to be enlarged

U-M plans to purchase 80 acres of vacant land in Cheboygan County, Michigan, adjacent to its Biological Station that contains a unique wetland habitat known as the Smith Fen. The $100,000 land purchase funded from gifts will create opportunities to preserve the special habitat of the fen and allow for future educational and research activities.

Ann Arbor campus

Faculty appointments and promotions with tenure

Ehsan Afshari, associate professor of electrical engineering and computer science, College of Engineering, effective Sept. 1, 2016.

Scott E. Page, professor of complex systems, LSA, effective Jan. 1, 2016.

Named professorships

*Ronald M. Gilgenbach, Chihiro Kikuchi Collegiate Professor of Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences, CoE, effective Jan. 1, 2016-Dec. 31, 2020.

Carlos Gonzalez-Cabezas, Richard Christiansen Collegiate Professor of Oral and Craniofacial Global Initiatives, School of Dentistry, effective Dec. 1, 2015-Nov. 30, 2020.

Gary B. Huffnagle, Nina and Jerry D. Luptak Research Professor, Medical School, effective Nov. 1, 2015-Aug. 31, 2020.

Timothy Y. James, Lewis E. Wehmeyer and Elaine Prince Wehmeyer Professor of Fungal Taxonomy, LSA, effective Dec. 1, 2015-Nov. 30, 2020.

David Leheny, Toyota Visiting Professor of Japanese Studies, LSA, effective Jan. 1, 2016-April 30, 2016.

Bhramar Mukherjee, John D. Kalbfleisch Collegiate Professor of Biostatistics, School of Public Health, effective Dec. 1, 2015-Nov. 30, 2020.

Jianming Qian, David M. Dennison Collegiate Professor of Physics, LSA, effective Nov. 1, 2015-Aug. 31, 2020.

Nicola Terrenato, Esther B. Van Deman Collegiate Professor of Roman Studies, LSA, effective Nov. 1, 2015-Aug. 31, 2020.

Michael P. Wellman, Lynn A. Conway Collegiate Professor of Computer Science and Engineering, CoE, effective Nov. 1, 2015-Oct. 31, 2020.

Administrative appointments

Theresa Kaiser-Jarvis, assistant dean for international affairs, Law School, effective Nov. 1, 2015-Aug. 31, 2018.

Thomas J. Templin, associate dean for undergraduate affairs, School of Kinesiology, effective Sept. 1, 2015-Aug. 31, 2020.

Dearborn campus

*William I. Grosky, chair, Department of Computer and Information Science, College of Engineering and Computer Science, effective Sept. 1, 2015-Aug. 31, 2016.

*Armen Zakarian, chair, Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering, College of Engineering and Computer Science, effective Sept. 1, 2015-Aug. 31, 2017.

*Reappointments

Retirements

Dr. Mark B. Orringer, Cameron Haight Distinguished University Professor of Thoracic Surgery, Cameron Haight Collegiate Professor of Thoracic Surgery, and professor of surgery, Medical School, effective Nov. 30. Orringer joined the faculty in 1973. He served as head of the Section of Thoracic Surgery (1985-98), program director of the Thoracic Surgery Residency Program (1985-2006), and head of the Section of General Thoracic Surgery. A leader in the field of thoracic surgery, Orringer focused much of his academic career on the diagnosis and treatment of benign and malignant esophageal disease. He developed the pioneering transhiatal esophagectomy without thoracotomy and the combined Collis-Nissen hiatal hernia repair. His research endeavors included the optimal methods of resection and replacement of the esophagus. Orringer published more than 275 journal articles, served on the editorial boards of several prestigious journals, and was actively involved in a number of professional societies. He played an instrumental role in the development of a structured curriculum and received the University of Michigan’s Outstanding Clinician Award in 2012.

Ahmad A. Rahman, associate professor of history in the College of Arts, Sciences, and Letters, University of Michigan-Dearborn. He died Sept. 21. Rahman joined the UM-Dearborn faculty in 2004. He was a leading authority on African and African-American history, the Black Power and civil rights movements, Pan-Africanism, and slavery in Africa and the United States. During the late 1960s and early ’70s, Rahman was a member of the Chicago and Detroit branches of the Black Panther Party, where he was involved in community organizing. In 1971 he was sentenced to life in prison for a murder he did not commit, and served nearly 22 years in prison before his sentence was commuted in 1992. Rahman was the first inmate in the Michigan penal system to earn a university degree, in 1977. Rahman shared his expertise and time with in the Detroit community, and was named College Professor of the Year by the Michigan Council for the Social Studies in 2013. 

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