In presenting the request for renaming, Regent Philip A. Power noted that Shapiro is the only former president for whom a building was not named.
“At the beginning of his presidency, he used his expertise as an economist to bring stability to the University’s then-limited resources. He then began to direct the University on a course to rebuild its aging physical plant with the Replacement Hospital Project and with new facilities for chemical sciences, engineering, business administration and a state-of-the-art telecommunications system.
“During this period,” Power said, “he also stimulated the University’s intellectual vitality, leading it toward its goal of educational excellence. Through his efforts, programmatic strengthening in the sciences, qualitative improvements in faculty across many disciplines, and a new emphasis in interdisciplinary research were achieved.
Shapiro’s spouse, Vivian B. Shapiro, was a clinical researcher in the Department of Psychiatry in 1970–80 and associate professor of social work at the time they left the U-M.
“Her devotion to the University,” Power noted, “was shown by her enthusiastic participation in the Capital Campaign and her fund-raising efforts for the Tappan Hall Project.”
Shapiro, the University’s 10th president, now heads Princeton University.