April 5, 2022
Good morning,
Welcome back to The University Insider.
This week, The Daily sat down with Interim University President Mary Sue Coleman for the final interview of the semester, Dean Laurie McCauley was appointed as the University’s next provost, COVID-19 cases increased on campus and more.
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The Michigan Daily sat down with Interim University President Mary Sue Coleman for the final presidential interview of the Winter 2022 semester and of Coleman’s second presidency. Coleman discussed COVID-19 on campus, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the removal of Jonathan Vaughn’s “Hail to the Victims” campsite.
When asked about the COVID-19 policies for Fall 2022, Coleman said the University is monitoring the situation and relying on evidence before they announce updated policies.
Coleman also said the University has not been in contact with Jon Vaughn or GET BIT regarding the private investigation into allegations that the University “sanctioned” a study by Dr. Robert Anderson that researched the sperm of “elite athletes”, and she “doesn’t think there’s anything to it.”
When asked about her favorite pizza place in Ann Arbor, Coleman said that she and her husband love to order Domino’s — with pepperoni and mushroom toppings — for dinner. This stands in stark contrast to former University President Mark Schlissel’s infamous Pizza House orders.
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Introducing the University of Michigan’s new provost: Dean Laurie McCauley
The University of Michigan Board of Regents announced the appointment of Laurie Kay McCauley as the University’s next provost and vice president for academic affairs at their March 24 meeting after Interim University President Mary Sue Coleman recommended McCauley’s appointment on March 15. At the regents’ meeting, Coleman spoke about McCauley’s experience and qualifications for the role.
“As you know, Dr. McCauley is … a proven academic leader and a respected administrator,” Coleman said. “Her expertise and experience will provide critical leadership and stability as a new president comes on board. She is with us today, and I want to thank her for her willingness to assume this vital role.”
McCauley currently serves as the dean of the University’s School of Dentistry. She has held the position since 2013, making her one of the longest-serving deans at the University. McCauley is also a professor at Michigan Medicine’s Department of Pathology.
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COVID-19 cases increase on UMich campus, free antigen tests available
With one month of the Winter 2022 semester remaining, COVID-19 cases at the University are trending upward again after weeks of declining cases, according to a Friday email from Robert Ernst, associate vice president of student life and director of campus COVID-19 response, and Chief Health Officer Preeti Malani.
Ernst and Malani wrote that most of these cases are likely linked to unmasked social gatherings on campus and suggested steps U-M community members can take to address rising COVID-19 case counts in an email to the campus community.
Ernst and Malani pointed to an apparent increase of transmissibility of the BA.2 subvariant of the omicron variant in comparison to the BA.1 subvariant as one factor contributing to the rise in cases. The BA.2 subvariant has become the dominant strain of COVID-19 in the midwest, now representing 50.4% of cases in the region, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Udoka Nwansi/MiC. Installation by Kayla Tate and Chris Flonoury.
Michigan in Color Columnist Udoka Nwansi discusses the history of the Trotter Multicultural Center and its impact on students of Color on campus.
When talking about the early beginnings of Trotter, Karla Bell, Suba (Historian) for the Black Student Union, told The Daily, “Black students really only had Trotter, and it was neither in a safe location on campus nor well funded. Trotter was funded and built at the hands of student labor.”
Campus Blueprint now reflects the percentage of students, faculty and staff who have received a booster shot. Ninety percent of students have reported receiving a booster shot, <1% of students are waiting to be verified and 5% have not reported a COVID-19 booster shot despite being eligible for over 30 days. The dashboard also reports 95% of faculty and 87% of staff are verified as having received their COVID-19 booster shot.
Last week, U-M students accounted for 26% of COVID-19 cases in Washtenaw County as a result of cases also increasing at the county level. Quarantine and isolation housing occupancy rose to 7.4% occupancy from last week’s 1.4%.
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