First look inside U-M’s $50M state-of-the art nursing school
(MLive, September 17, 2015)
Back in 2008, Kathleen Potempa and Michelle Aebersold had a vision to bring state-of-the-art simulation centers to a dedicated learning facility for students and faculty of the University of Michigan’s School of Nursing. Seven years and $50 million later, Potempa, a professor and dean of the school, and Aebersold, a clinical associate professor and the director of its clinical learning center, will celebrate the grand opening of the brand new building — the most up-to-date and advanced School of Nursing facility in the country. More

New hand transplant program starting up at U-M 
(Michigan Radio, “All Things Considered,” September 16, 2015)
The University of Michigan Health System has launched a new hand transplant program, saying it’s the first of its kind in Michigan. U-M says hand transplants are quite rare, and only seven programs in the United States offer hand transplants with about 100 having been performed worldwide. More

Survey: U-M is world’s fifth-most innovative university 
(The Detroit News, September 16, 2015)
The University of Michigan is the world’s fifth-most innovative university, according to a survey released Wednesday by Reuters. Stanford University topped the Reuters Top 100: The World’s Most Innovative Universities, followed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University, the University of Washington and U-M. More

U-M regents give praise — and a raise — to President Schlissel
(Detroit Free Press, September 17, 2015)
After listening to his bosses praise him in their annual review of his performance, University of Michigan President Mark Schlissel had one simple request. “I’d like a copy of those for my mom,” he quipped, drawing laughter from those at the Thursday’s Board of Regents meeting. The regents had nothing but nice things to say about Schlissel, who is starting his second year as the head of the school. They also backed up their words by approving a 3 percent raise for him. That’s $22,500. His base salary had been $750,000. More

Former U-M president is named next leader of AAU
(Chronicle of Higher Education,September 29, 2015)
Mary Sue Coleman, the former president of the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor and the University of Iowa, will become the next president of the Association of American Universities. Coleman will succeed Hunter R. Rawlings III, who has been president since 2011, in June of next year. The association represents the interests of 62 top public and private research universities in the United States and Canada. More

U-M attorney headed to Michigan Supreme Court
(Detroit Free Press, September 30, 2015)
Will Gov. Rick Snyder turn to his alma mater to fill a vacancy in the Michigan Supreme Court, in an announcement expected today? Speculation on who will replace Justice Mary Beth Kelly is centering on Joan Larsen, special counsel to the dean for student and graduate activities at the University of Michigan, where Snyder obtained his bachelor’s, master’s, and law degrees. More

Michigan gets $9.5M for study of impact of environmental factors on children’s health
(Associated Press, September 28, 2015)
The University of Michigan is getting $9.5 million to study the impact of the environmental factors on children’s health. The Ann Arbor school announced Monday that it will serve as one of six national research hubs over the next four years as part of the new National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences’ Children’s Health Exposure Analysis Resource program, or CHEAR. The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences is part of the National Institutes of Health. More

U-M computer model shows Straits pipeline break would devastate Great Lakes
(Detroit Free Press, September 25, 2015)
A rupture of 61-year-old, underwater oil pipelines running through the Straits of Mackinac would be “the worst possible place” for a spill on the Great Lakes, with catastrophic results, according to a University of Michigan researcher studying potential impacts of a spill. David Schwab, a research scientist at the U-M Water Center, retired from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, where he studied Great Lakes water flows and dynamics for more than 30 years. He’s the author of a new study done in collaboration with the National Wildlife Federation looking at different scenarios for potential oil spills in the Straits from Canadian oil transport giant Enbridge’s Line 5. More

A million thanks: Pro athletes are sharing the wealth with their alma maters
(The New York Times, September 25, 2015)
Universities have long turned to wealthy alumni to help finance their athletic departments. The Nike founder Phil Knightfueled Oregon’s rise to prominence, for example, and the oil tycoon T. Boone Pickens subsidized a building boom at Oklahoma State. Now universities are increasingly soliciting financial support from a previously untapped cohort of former students: athletes who have gone on to make fortunes in professional sports. And the gifts are getting bigger. “The whole phenomenon of athlete philanthropy is becoming much more formalized and institutionalized,” said Katherine Babiak, a sports management professor at the University of Michigan. “It really is part of the athlete’s brand, their identity, their persona.” More

Researchers finish study of Michigan oil, gas fracking
(Associated Press, September 23, 2015)
Michigan’s oil and gas industry and its regulators have a long way to go toward convincing the public that hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is environmentally sound, said the director of a study on the practice released Wednesday. Researchers with the University of Michigan spent three years studying how the drilling process is conducted and overseen in the state, and what might be done to improve it. The analysis takes no position on the use of fracking and makes no recommendations, but offers numerous options, such as including local residents in the decision making and strengthening regulation of freshwater use for fracking. More