Annual Michigan Road Scholars tour April 30-May 4

EDITORS/NEWS DIRECTORS: If you would like a tour itinerary, a list of the 2001 Road Scholars, and names of previous participants who have agreed to be interviewed, call David Lossing at (734) 764-9256 or 764-8029.

ANN ARBOR—Be prepared, organizers of the third University of Michigan Road Scholars tour urge the 30 faculty and administrators who leave
Armed with fat briefing books that describe the regions and sites they’ll be visiting, the scholars are becoming students of the Great Lake State, familiarizing themselves with areas of the Michigan that the majority of U-M students call home.

At several sites, community residents, civic and educational leaders will join the Road Scholars for meals and to talk about their region’s industry, education system, medical care delivery and tourism.

In addition, the experience is expected to develop beneficial ties and promote interdisciplinary discussion among the touring faculty, most of whom have never met, according to trip organizer David Lossing, associate director of community relations in the Office of the Vice President for Government Relations at U-M.

In fact, a chance meeting on a previous tour is creating a more permanent and personal alliance—a marriage that takes place this summer when Michael Gould, assistant professor of music, weds Aline Cotel, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering. They met on last year’s tour, and while they will be married in France, the bride’s home, they are planning a “roadie” party in Ann Arbor in the fall.

Days one and two of the Road Scholars trip includes stops at Focus Hope in Detroit, the U.S. Army TACOM in Warren, the Flint Institute of Arts, the GM Truck and Bus Assembly plant in Flint and the Flint Institute of Arts. Farther north, the group receives a sweet surprise at the Monitor Sugar factory in Bay City, tours the Hartwick Pines State Park, meets with the president of the Mackinac Straits Fish Company and learns about economic development efforts throughout the Upper Peninsula.

Heading south on day three, the group makes a brief stop at the U-M’s Biological Station at Douglas Lake, then lunches with representatives of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa near Suttons Bay. A quick stop at the Sleeping Bear National Lakeshore in Empire precedes a dinner and reception at the Dennos Museum Center in Traverse City.

Days four and five take the group to Muskegon Community College, the Muskegon Correctional Facility, the Grand Rapids Public Museum, the Van Andel Life Institute, a Grand Rapids elementary school that partners with Steelcase, then on to a tour of the State Capitol in Lansing. Last on the itinerary is a visit with Ann Arbor area state representatives and senators.

The tour exposes the scholars, many of whom have come to the University from other states and abroad, to Michigan’s economy, government and politics, culture, educational systems, health and social issues, history, and geography, and is designed to increase mutual knowledge and understanding between the University and the people and communities of the state. The tour encourages service to the public, suggesting ways in which faculty can help address state issues through research, scholarship and creative activity.

Participants include faculty from 13 schools, colleges and other academic units on the Ann Arbor campus, as well as representatives from the Flint campus.

The tour, the University’s third, is funded by the Office of the Provost and administered by State Outreach staff in the Office of the Vice President for Government Relations. To encourage interaction, Earl Lewis, dean of the Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studies, continues to provide funding that allows Road Scholars to apply for special seed monies for project ideas that stem from their experiences on the tour. In general, these funds are intended to provide initial support and most awards are between $2,000 and $10,000.

“We hope residents will suggest new ways the University of Michigan can help address state and local issues through service, collaboration, partnership and research, and that they’ll become familiar with projects we’re already undertaking in their communities,” says Cynthia Wilbanks, U-M vice president for government relations.

For more information on the 2001 tour, plus photos and lists of current and past participants, visit the Web at www.umich.edu/~govrel/facultytours.html, or call David Lossing at (734) 764-9256 or 764-8029.

Road ScholarsOffice of the Vice President for Government RelationsMichael GouldOffice of the ProvostCynthia Wilbankswww.umich.edu/~govrel/facultytours.html