Regents Roundup

May 23, 2022

The May 19 Board of Regents meeting, which took place on campus and was streamed online, shared news about new appointments and major gifts. Chancellor Domenico Grasso also gave campus updates regarding the Dearborn Wolverine softball team, a conference that focused on local river clean-up efforts and more.

Chancellor Domenico Grasso provided the following campus updates at the public meeting:

  He recommended Gabriella Scarlatta be approved as provost and executive vice chancellor for academic affairs.

  UM-Dearborn was the host and one of the organizers for the biannual State of the Strait conference. He spoke about the impact of the work completed in the Detroit and Rouge Rivers and the collaboration needed to sustain momentum.

  The Dearborn Wolverines women’s softball team won their conference championship tournament this month for the first time in program history and posted the second highest GPA amongst UM-Dearborn sports teams with a team GPA of 3.43. 

With the meeting at UM-Dearborn, some campus research was highlighted. Assistant professor DeLean Tolbert Smith provided an update on her research, "Leveraging Lab: Engineering Education Research" in relation to her NSF Career Award. Tolbert Smith's research aims to understand and improve minority engineering enrollment trends and remove barriers to STEM education among communities of color. She was accompanied by students: Aishwary Pawar, Emmanuella Ejichukwu and Donte Woodget.

The Regents approved the following personnel actions.

New appointment of regular instructional staff

Finn M. Bell, M.S.W., Assistant Professor of Health and Human Services, CEHHS, August 29, 2022 – April 30, 2023.

Kathleen M. Darcy, J.D., Assistant Professor of Behavioral Sciences, CASL, August 29, 2022 – April 30, 2023.

Promotions of clinical and research staff

Shan Bao, from Associate Professor of Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering, with tenure, CECS, UM-Dearborn, Associate Research Scientist, University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute, College of Engineering to Associate Professor of Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering, with tenure, CECS, UM-Dearborn, Research Associate Professor, University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute, College of Engineering, September 1, 2022.

Jiangtao Li, from Lecturer I in Physical Sciences, Department of Natural Sciences, CASL, UM-Dearborn and Assistant Research Scientist, Astronomy, College of Literature, Science, and the Arts to Lecturer I in Physical Sciences, Department of Natural Sciences, CASL, UM-Dearborn and Research Associate Professor, Astronomy, College of Literature, Science, and the Arts, University of Michigan, September 1, 2022.

Retired faculty

Joe H. Lunn, Professor of History, Department of Social Sciences, with tenure, CASL, April 30, 2022.

Dan J. Swift, Associate Professor of Psychology, Department of Behavioral Sciences, with tenure, CASL, April 30, 2022.

Reappointments of regular instructional staff and selected academic and administrative staff.

Charu Chandra, as the Donald Ross Cowan Endowed Collegiate Professor, COB, effective July 1, 2022 through June 30, 2025 (also professor of operations management, with tenure).

Vivek Singh, Richard E. Czarnecki Endowed Collegiate Professor II, COB, effective July 1, 2022 through June 30, 2025 (also professor of accounting and finance, with tenure).

Karen S. Strandholm, associate dean, COB, effective July 1, 2022 through June 30, 2025 (also interim chair, Department of Management Studies, and associate professor of strategic management, with tenure).

Joint or additional appointments or transfers of regular associate or full professors and selected academic and administrative staff.

Aaron C. Ahuvia, Richard E. Czarnecki Endowed Collegiate Professor I, COB, effective July 1, 2022 through June 30, 2025 (also professor of marketing, with tenure, COB, and professor of art and design, without tenure, Penny W. Stamps School of Art and Design, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor).

Maria Gabriella Scarlatta, provost and executive vice chancellor for academic affairs, effective July 1, 2022 through June 30, 2027 (also professor of French, with tenure, Department of Language, Culture and Communications, CASL).

Promotions to the ranks of professor and associate professor

College of Arts, Sciences, and Letters

John Abramyan, associate professor of biology, with tenure

Maya P. Barak, associate professor of criminal justice studies, with tenure

Michael G. Dabkowski, associate professor of mathematics, with tenure

Keith A. Dye, associate professor of African and African American studies and history, with tenure, and associate professor of collegewide programs, with tenure

Jennifer C. Finlayson, professor of English, with tenure

Timothy O. Kiska, professor of communications, with tenure

Krim Lacey, associate professor of collegewide programs, with tenure

Terri Laws, associate professor of African and African American studies, with tenure

Lisa A. Martin, professor of collegewide programs, with tenure, CASL; and professor of health and human services, with tenure, CEHHS

Kristin Poling, associate professor of social sciences, with tenure

Rusi Sun, associate professor of social sciences, with tenure

Dale E. Thomson, professor of political science, with tenure

Rose E. Wellman, associate professor of anthropology, with tenure

Yunus E. Zeytuncu, professor of mathematics, with tenure

College of Education, Health, and Human Services

Christopher J.F. Burke, professor of science education, with tenure

Kirsten D. Hill, professor of education operations, with tenure

College of Engineering and Computer Science

Georges Y. Ayoub, associate professor of industrial and manufacturing systems engineering, with tenure

Faculty Senate bylaw changes

Changes to UM-Dearborn’s Faculty Senate bylaws were approved. The revisions incorporate the following: voting members; appointment of voting members; officers of the Faculty Senate; elections of Faculty Senate representatives, non-voting representatives for lecturers; and ex-officio members. The revisions also include the computer code to calculate the number of senate seats for each college.

 The following gifts of $10,000 or more were recognized.

· Ford Motor Company Fund, $10,000 in support of the Alan Mulally Leadership in Engineering Scholarship

·  Heising-Simons Foundation, $14,502 in support of the Preparing the Galactic Science Community for LSST research

·  Help Yourself Win Foundation, $15,000 in support of the Help Yourself Academy Fund

·  Elizabeth R. Haar, $20,000 in support of the Ron and Liz Haar Scholarship Fund

·  Magna International Inc., $100,000 in support of the UM-Dearborn Formula SAE Combustion Team, Formula SAE Electric Team, CECS Senior Design Day, Intelligent Systems Club, Society of Women Engineers, Talent Gateway, Engineering Lab Building Renovation Fund, National Society of Black Engineers, Michigan Aeronautical Science Association and the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers

·  Ronald N. Weiser, $125,000 in support of the Engineering Lab Building Renovation Fund

View the entire Board of Regents’ meeting agenda.