By Kyle Swanson, Daily News Editor
Published August 21, 2010
The race for two seats on the University’s Board of Regents will heat up this weekend when both the Democratic and Republican parties hold their nominating conventions to choose candidates for the two posts.
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And while it has not yet been publicly announced which two Democrats will seek seats on the University’s highest governing board, the two Republican incumbents whose terms will expire at the end of the year have told The Michigan Daily they will be seeking re-election.
Regent Andrea Fischer Newman (R–Ann Arbor) and Regent Andrew Richner (R–Grosse Pointe Park) told the Daily last May they would both seek re-election to the Board of Regents.
In more recent interviews with the Daily, both regents — the only two Republicans on the Board — laid out why they made the decision to run for re-election and, if re-elected, what they hope to accomplish in their next eight-year term.
Newman, the senior vice president of government affairs at Delta Airlines and a University alum, said she decided to seek another term on the Board because she feels she can be “helpful” in advancing the mission of the University.
“I think in the past two terms a lot of good has happened and some things you can do today you couldn’t do 10 or 15 years ago,” Newman said. “It’s incredible the environment we’re in and it’s incredible how well we’ve done.”
But despite the University’s current positioning, two-term Board veteran Newman said she believes there is still more work to be done.
At the top of that list right now, she said, are several key priorities — including major capital improvements to the University’s Medical Campus, work to advance the University higher in national and international rankings and extensive renovations to several residence halls on campus.
“We compete not only on academic excellence and academic integrity and quality, but we compete on housing, we compete on athletics, we compete on research,” Newman said. “We compete on all different levels depending on the student and we have to meet all of those levels.”
With the belief that the University Health System needs to start planning for a new adult hospital and new facility for the School of Nursing, Newman said advancing the mission of the hospital will require an investment in facilities.
“We need to continue to update and move the institution forward to stay at the top of the pack,” Newman said. “I think I can be helpful there because I’ve seen us do it, and I know what it takes to maintain excellence and grow.”
Newman went on to explain that she believes improving the quality of student housing should also be a top priority for the University. However, she said her commitment to this issue is nothing new, adding that she's fought for improved facilities throughout her time on the Board.
“Since the day I came on the Board of Regents, I have been asking for new housing for students,” Newman said, highlighting the construction of North Quad and the renovations of Stockwell Residence Hall, Mosher-Jordan Residence Hall and the ongoing renovation to Couzens Residence Hall. “Now, we need to do East Quad. We need to do South Quad. We need to do West Quad. We need to figure out what we can do to North Campus to make it more attractive.”
It’s part of Newman's plan to make life in student housing attractive enough that students will opt to live on campus after their freshman or sophomore year.
“We need everyone to have a Michigan experience and we need to have the option of having them stay in student housing if that’s what they want to do,” Newman said. “I think those are important both for the student but also for the quality of our education.”
Newman added that beyond the overall quality of education, more work must be done to help the University to grow on both the national and international stages.
“I think what we’re looking at doing now is moving Michigan up higher in the academic rankings,” she said.
