The University’s Board of Regents and members of the Presidential Search Advisory Committee rounded out a series of public forums Friday, holding one at the University of Michigan, Dearborn campus and one for the general public in Ann Arbor.
Regent Julia Darlow (D), Regent Katherine White (D) and Jeffrey MacKie-Mason, dean of the School of Information, were present for both forums, and Regents Denise Ilitch (D) and Shauna Ryder Diggs (D) were present at the Dearborn forum. Search consultant Alison Ranney from Russell Reynolds Associates, the firm hired by the regents to assist in determining qualified and interested candidates, was also present.
White, vice chair of the Board of Regents and acting spokeswoman for the regents during the search process, began each meeting by explaining the purpose of the forums: to give the Presidential Search Advisory Committee a better idea of the opportunities and challenges facing the University, as well as what qualities constituents would like to see in the next University president.
The recurring theme during the Dearborn forum was increased access to the resources and attention that the Ann Arbor campus receives. Many faculty members spoke on the need for expanding resource sharing for students and staff in Dearborn, as well as ensuring that funding for research is made available to Dearborn and Flint faculty.
“We collaborate with Ann Arbor in multiple ways productively, and it’s an extraordinary advantage for us to be one of the three campuses … Ann Arbor has differentiated itself in its marketplace, and its peers are clear,” Catherine Davy, provost for the Dearborn campus, said. “But the Flint and Dearborn campuses also have very distinct identities … Ann Arbor is global, but we have a real role to play in southeast Michigan, in the state in general — and with the help of Ann Arbor, we could get the message out and differentiate among the three campuses.”
As in previous forums, some participants said they hoped the next president would position the University to confront important global challenges and contribute to finding solutions.
“A lot of our problems require technology and science solutions, but also social and behavioral sciences need to be a part of the mix if we’re going to try to solve global warming, adequate food supply and all of those tough problems we face,” Dearborn chancellor Daniel Little said.
Another major theme revolved around improving the Dearborn campus’ competitiveness in recruiting talented students since it faces stiff competition from other regional universities. The Dearborn budget is also highly tuition-sensitive. Dearborn Business Dean Nagraj Balakrishnan estimated in his public remarks to the committee that around 80 percent of the campus’s budget comes from tuition alone.
In an interview after the event, Little said he was proud that Dearborn faculty had come out and shared their concerns with the members of the committee.
“We are distinct campuses, but we are complementary campuses,” Little said. “On the Dearborn campus, we have done an excellent job of articulating a metropolitan vision for this campus … I think as a campus, we have embraced the idea that this campus exists to serve and help move forward the communities of southeast Michigan.”
Little added that the Dearborn campus has to face the unique challenge and historical issues of racial segregation and economic separation — with 60 percent of its students being the first generation in their family to go to college. About 42 percent of Dearborn students are eligible for federal Pell Grants.
Jung Koral, transfer and international student advisor in the College of Engineering and Computer Science at the Dearborn campus, said that in his travels to other higher-education schemes such as the University of California and the University of Texas systems, he saw much higher levels of integration among multiple campuses.
“I don’t understand why the campuses aren’t more closely linked with one another,” Koral said. “It just makes sense.”
Koral, who has worked at all three campuses, said during his time at the University of Michigan, Flint, regional competitor Saginaw Valley State University was “blowing us out of the water” in terms of student recruitment.
He added that the University of Michigan, Dearborn faces tough competition from Wayne State University and Oakland University — but being tied to the Ann Arbor campus provides Dearborn with a unique, if not fully exploited, advantage.
“If you’re in a dogfight on the neighborhood block and your big brother comes up and says, ‘no, this is my brother,’ suddenly the other kids scatter away,” Koral said.
No current Dearborn students attended Friday’s forum.
Later Friday, around 20 people attended the final search forum, which was held in Blau Auditorium at the Ross School of Business. Participants praised University President Mary Sue Coleman’s tenure as president and said they hoped for someone with a long-term plan to maintain the national profile of the University.