Regents roundup for October 2024

Chancellor Domenico Grasso provided the following university updates:

• Shared news of a newly awarded $1.5 million grant from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy for their "Closing the Loop: Secondary Life Battery Energy Storage Systems for Grid Applications and Recycling" project. This is the largest research award UM-Dearborn has ever received from the State of Michigan.
• Shared additional grant news regarding Michigan Economic Development Corporation, Argonne National Labs and the Department of Energy awarding funding to UM-Dearborn to establish a state-of-the-art, undergraduate battery-focused curriculum focused on battery design, assembly, testing and modeling; a Boot Camp to introduce new undergraduate students to EV battery technology and build a future pipeline for the Battery Workforce Challenge Program; and the design, building, testing and integration of an advanced EV battery system into a future Stellantis electric vehicle.
• Highlighted our Democracy, Civic Engagement, and the 2024 Elections faculty panel discussion held on Oct. 16.
• Boasted about news that nearly half of our student-athletes have a GPA of 3.5 or better and two thirds have GPAs over 3.25.

The following regular appointments were approved:

New appointments of regular instructional staff

• John J. O’Donnel, DEng, Clinical Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, CECS, Sept. 1, 2024-April 30, 2027.

New appointments of instructional staff represented by the Lecturers’ Employee Organization

• Samineh Barmaki, MS, Lecturer I in Mechanical Engineering, CECS, Sept. 1-Dec. 31, 2024.

• Thomas S. Brice, PhD, Lecturer I in Psychology, CASL, Sept. 1-Dec. 31, 2024.

• Graeme Cave, PhD, Lecturer I in Language, Culture, and the Arts, CASL, Sept. 1-Dec. 31, 2024.

• Arina Done, MD, Lecturer I in Biological Sciences, Department of Natural Sciences, CASL, Sept. 1-Dec. 31, 2024.

• Cornelius Fortune, MA, Lecturer I in Language, Culture, and the Arts, CASL, Sept. 1-Dec. 31, 2024.

• Farid Hallouche, PhD, Lecturer I in Information and Operations Management, COB, Sept. 1-Dec. 31, 2024.

• Rayhan Hossain, PhD, Lecturer I in Physical Sciences, Department of Natural Sciences, CASL, Sept. 1-Dec. 31, 2024.

• Jeremy D. Lynd, MS, Lecturer I in Biological Sciences, CASL, Sept. 1-Dec. 31, 2024.

• Timothy R. Michling, MMus, Lecturer I in Health and Human Services, CEHHS, Sept. 1-Dec. 31, 2024.

• Veronica Son, PhD, Lecturer I in Health and Human Services, CEHHS, Sept. 1-Dec. 31, 2024.

Additional business

The University of Michigan Board of Regents voted to adopt a bylaw establishing a new policy of institutional neutrality for university leaders. The move means the university will adopt a heavy presumption against institutional statements on political and social issues that are not directly connected to internal university functions. This bylaw applies to the U-M president, members of the president’s leadership team (which includes the Dearborn and Flint chancellors), deans, directors, department chairs and others authorized to speak for the university or an academic unit. 

The following schedules were approved:

• 2025 Board of Regents meetings schedule revisions
• 2026 and 2027 Board of Regents meetings schedule

The Regents approved the naming of the road that runs in front of the Monteith Parking Structure. The road will be called Wolverine Way. This action was taken because the UM-Dearborn Department of Public Safety & Security now requires that all buildings on campus be assigned a street address, which shall be registered with the United States Post Office. This road was the only one without a name on campus. This action will allow all internal spaces to be easily searchable and identifiable in the event of an emergency by outside agencies. This building address initiative is an internal-facing change only. The university’s official public-facing address will remain 4901 Evergreen Rd, Dearborn, MI 48128.

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View the Board of Regents meeting agenda.