University of Michigan - Michiganensian Yearbook (Ann Arbor, MI)

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VX VX VX Institut nvaae uilding of the new Life Sciences es and bulldozers become us attraction for visitors to see tfthe scenery and buildings campus In a rapidly changing era of science and technology, the University, long a leader in breakthrough research, demon- strated its continued commitment to science by creating the Life Science Initiative. The University invested morethan $500 million in the project, which fell roughly into three segment areas science research, science values, and science educa- tion. Emphasizing the importance of research in the areas of biological sciences, the University began by breaking ground on a series of new buildings, including a $100-million labora- tory Life Science Institute along Washtenaw Avenue and a 500,000 square-foot building on the Medical Campus. The new buildings were planned in order to house thirty new world-class researchers dedicated to the various disciplines of the life sciences. Moreover, the Initiative was the umbrella organization for another project called the Life Sciences, Values, and Society Program. The design of this program was to ask, debate, and answer the ethical issues raised by life science research, spark- ing discussion and action across the entire campus, not just in science-related fields. To implement these actions into the undergraduate expe- rience, University administrators focused on creating new classes in the life sciences. The goal was to prepare students for a society faced with the moral and political issues brought about by new research. There is an intellectual revolution afoot in the life sci- ences one equivalent to the revolutions in chemistry in the 1800s and in physics in the 1900s, said University President Lee C. Bellinger in a press release. Advances in the life sci- ences are raising new questions about what it is to be human, how best to lead a human or humane existence, what it is to be a living organism on this planet, and other crucial ques- tions of human values that will reverberate throughout the social sciences, the humanities, the arts, and medicine. By Caelan Jordan 88 I Life Science Initiative

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In the comfort of her pajamas, Jen- nifer Gates, a senior majoring in English and history, chooses to study in the warmth of her own bed. Especially during the cold winter months, many University students decided that it would be more comfortable and feasible to study at home rather than to go to an outside Source, photo by Betsy Foster Two students at the Media Union on North Campus sit with looks of concentration as they attempt to finish their work. Whether it was because of an unfinished paper or just the availability of the Ethernet connection, printers, and comput- ers, many students found them- selves frequenting computer labs as the right place to get homework done, photo by Abby Johnson Between home, libraries, cafes and restaurants, students had a number of choices suitable for any kind of studying. Most students found University libraries the most logical places to end up. Nevertheless, all the different libraries to choose from meant students were still forced to select the right atmo- sphere for them. Senior English major Edie Cooper frequently studied in the La w Library, stating that she liked it because it ' s quiet and so beautiful and everyone there is serious and focused; it ' s very conducive to studying. Access to a car gave students even more options of places to go, allowing them to venture to other areas of the Univer- sity, like North Campus. Megan Kern, a senior mathematical sciences major, said, I love to study in the Media Union because it ' s open all night and there are comfortable chairs. Other students, whose permanant homes were in Michigan, drove their cars home and escaped University life altogether. At home these students had a study session without the distractions of friends and night-life. Despite the availability of University facilities like libraries and unions, many students frequently found themselves in the local Ann Arbor restaurants and coffee shops. Alongside the general public, students were seen diligently working on math formulas or typing a paper on their personal computers. One such student, senior film and video major Tim Staack, said, I usually study in cafes, like Starbucks or Espresso Royale Cafe, because I don ' t like really quiet places and I don ' t really like the library because of the constant cell phones and all the obnoxious people there. Both Ann Arbor and the University offered an abundance of places for students to choose from in order to study. What- ever place a student chose, it was a decision particular to each student ' s ideal studying environment. By Tiffany Marsch hold, students search for the perfect place s their attention on studies Academics I 87

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MBfiL . j Scheduled to open in 2003, the foundation of the Life Sciences Institute overlooks Washtenaw Avenue and the morning com- muters. Commissioned to be built alongside the Institute was a commons area holding a dining facility and a Science Instruction Center on top of a 1,100-space parking garage, photo by Ben Hayes With the placement of yellow tape, construction of the Life Sci- ences Institute prevents many stu- dents from taking their normal route over the bridge to the Hill area. In 1999, the Regents com- mitted SI 00 million to the build- ing of the Institute, planned to be a six-story, 230,000-square foot building, photo by Ben Hayes Academics I 89