Echoes of past in black students’ quest for more diversity at University of Michigan
(Detroit Free Press, Jan. 26, 2014)
They took books off the shelves in the library, confronted board members, and nearly shut down the school in an effort to bring more diversity to the University of Michigan’s student body. Nearly 45 years ago, that group of students pushed U-M leaders to focus on diversity on the Ann Arbor campus, supplying a list of their demands. It’s nearly identical to the demands presented in recent days to the university by a similar group of students. More

• Related: Transcript of U-M Black Student Union President Tyrell Collier’s speech citing demands by the BSU.

Meet Mark Schlissel: 10 things to know about University of Michigan’s next president
(mlive.com, Jan. 24, 2014)
A 56-year-old provost from Brown University in Rhode Island has been named the 14th president of the University of Michigan. The U-M Board of Regents unanimously approved hiring Dr. Mark S. Schlissel as president Friday, Jan. 24. Here’s 10 things to know about the next leader of U-M.

Fate of “Arthur Miller” house begs question: Why do we love famous people?
(Michigan Radio, “Stateside,” Jan. 15, 2014)
Why do we care so much about famous people? What they wear, what they eat, how they live? Well, there is an old house in Ann Arbor where renowned playwright Arthur Miller lived while he was a student at the University of Michigan and there are those who are intensely interested in preserving that house. The house is right next to the U-M’s Institute for Social Research. The University’s expanding the institute and wants that old house out of the way. And if they can’t get someone to buy it, it will probably be demolished. More

University Research Corridor No. 2 in innovation in the nation
(CBS Detroit, Jan. 21, 2014)
Michigan’s three powerhouse research universities are among the top university innovation clusters in the nation, according to a new study. Only the southern California innovation cluster, led by the University of California Los Angeles, the University of Southern California, and San Diego State University, and including the giant Los Angeles-San Diego metropolitan area, topped the Michigan University Research Corridor in the innovation power ranking.  More

U-M partnership to speed connected, autonomous vehicles 
(Detroit News, Jan. 14, 2014)
Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder announced a partnership with the state and U-M to boost autonomous and connected vehicles. Snyder made the announcement at the North American International Auto Show in early January. More

Researchers find prehistoric shark nursery
(Los Angeles Times, Jan. 7, 2014)
In 1969, researchers discovered beautifully preserved fossils of baby Bandringa sharks, as well as their spiral egg casings, along Mazon Creek in northeastern Illinois. At the time, scientists thought the babies might be adult specimens of a mini-shark species that they dubbed Bandringa rayi. Ten years later, in 1979, the same scientists discovered more juvenile Bandringa shark fossils in a different part of Mazon Creek that had once been a brackish swamp. Thinking they were a new species, the scientists called them Bandringa herdinae. That same year, researchers in Pennsylvania found a 10-foot-long adult shark that also had the same long spoon-billed snout and lived in freshwater rivers. A few years later, another large adult was discovered in what was once a freshwater river in Ohio. In a new paper, published in January, University of Michigan paleontologist Lauren Sallan argues that all of the sharks are members of the same species. More

What does it take to be the next president of U-M?
(Detroit Free Press, Jan. 12, 2014)
“It’s like being the CEO of a big company while at the same time being the mayor of a big city or the governor of a state,” says B. Joseph White, who served as interim president at U-M in 2002 and president of the University of Illinois in 2005-09. “You have a lot of responsibility but you share authority with a lot of people — the faculty, the deans, and the board. There’s billions of dollars of revenues and costs to be managed. There’s a reputation and brand to protect. It’s a big job.” More

Half-century of smoking prevention extended 8 million lives: Study
(msn.com, “Healthy Living,” Jan. 7, 2014)
Efforts to limit tobacco use over the past 50 years have prevented 8 million premature deaths in the United States, giving those people an average of nearly 20 additional years of life, according to a new study published in the Jan. 8 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. By calculating the number of people who have avoided premature death by not smoking, the researchers found that, because fewer people light up, overall life expectancy at age 40 has increased by about two years. More

A tribute to Nelson Mandela by U-M professor/Pulitzer winner
(Time, “Lightbox, Dec. 5, 2013)
Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer and U-M associate professor David Turnley spent 28 years photographing South Africa’s struggles of apartheid. Having documented the life of Nelson Mandela and his people, Turnley reflects on his memories of Mandela on the day of his release from prison. Turnley is the winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Photography, the Robert Capa Gold medal for courage, and two World Press Pictures of the Year. He is highly recognized for his coverage of South Africa over the last 28 years. More

What’s behind the need to share on social media?
(Michigan Public Radio, “Stateside,” Jan. 7, 2014)
If you’ve logged onto Facebook, checked your Instagram account, or followed Twitter over the past 48 hours, you’ve no doubt seen the photos — pictures of smart-phone screens showing the negative-digit temperatures, or the photo of a friend with a measuring stick in the snow to prove, yes, indeed, we got 17 inches. Or, maybe you’ve read what all appear to be the same “status updates”telling you pretty much what you already know: It’s cold out there!! Just what is behind this need to share — over social media — what we’re all experiencing? Cliff Lampe is an assistant professor at the School of Information at the University of Michigan. More