Two-dozen faculty members set to hit Road

Twenty-four faculty members will visit 12 cities as participants in this year's Michigan Road Scholars tour. This sixth annual traveling seminar on the state runs from May 1-5.

The five-day bus tour exposes the faculty, many of whom 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.

Designed to increase mutual knowledge and understanding between the University and people from communities across state, the tour introduces participants to the places the majority of U-M students call home. The tour encourages University service to the public, suggesting ways faculty can help address state and community issues through research, scholarship and creative activities.

The 2006 participants include faculty from 12 schools and colleges on the Ann Arbor campus, as well as representatives from Flint and Dearborn.

"It was another outstanding field of applicants," says John King, dean of the School of Information and chair of the selection committee. "It's encouraging that such a variety of disciplines are represented on the tour each year. It reflects the University's widespread commitment to serving the state. It also is a unique opportunity for faculty interaction that might not otherwise occur at such a large institution as ours."

This year's participants are: Pamela Andreatta, assistant professor of medical education; Dean Bavington, assistant professor of natural resources and environment; Barbara Brush, associate professor of nursing; Neal Clinthorne, research professor, Division of Nuclear Medicine; Patricia Coleman-Burns, assistant professor of nursing; Lan Deng, assistant professor of urban planning; Caroline Eisner, associate director and lecturer, Sweetland Writing Center; John Hagen, professor of psychology; Andrew Hoffman, associate professor of business; Maurita Holland, associate professor of information; Matthew Howard, professor of social work; MaryCarol Hunter, assistant professor of natural resources and environment; Jack Kay, provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs, U-M-Flint; Kim Kearfott, professor of nuclear engineering and radiological sciences; Michael McLeish, research scientist, School of Pharmacy; Milisa Manojlovich, assistant professor of nursing; Anne Mondro, assistant professor of art & design; Susan Neuman, professor of education; W. Russell Neuman, professor of communication studies; Victor Rosenberg, associate professor of information; Montaha Shamoon, lecturer, mathematics and statistics, U-M-Dearborn; Peter Sweatman, director/research scientist, Transportation Research Institute; Christine Waters, associate professor of art and associate dean, College of Arts and Sciences, U-M-Flint; and Adelwisa Agas Weller, lecturer of Asian languages and cultures.

The tour is organized by state outreach staff in the Office of the Vice President for Government Relations.

"The Road Scholars program has exposed faculty to many areas of this state where citizens face interesting challenges and issues on a daily basis, from economic development strategies to education reform to better health care and preservation of the environment," says Cynthia Wilbanks, vice president for government relations. "In this way, it is helping to heighten the University's awareness of the role it can play in the state as a knowledge resource and strengthen its connections from Detroit to Grand Rapids and from Kalamazoo to the Upper Peninsula."

Participants are selected from applications submitted to a faculty committee headed by King. Committee members include: Tony England, associate dean of academic affairs, College of Engineering, a 1999 Road Scholar; Austin Agho, dean of the School of Health Professions, U-M-Flint, a 2003 Road Scholar; Lisa Rudgers, vice president for communications, a 2001 Road Scholar; and David Lossing, associate director of state outreach, Office of the Vice President for Government Relations.

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