Last week’s interim dean appointment to Central Michigan University’s school of medicine was the first step of many in the lengthy and somewhat expensive venture.

Cam Enarson, a professor of anesthesiology and health policy and ethics at Creighton University, will begin consulting part-time May 1 and commence official dean duties July 1. His annual salary, including deferred compensation, is $308,000, $5,643 more each year than University President Michael Rao’s salary approved by the Board of Trustees in December.

Enarson will carry out the one-year contract with up to $70,000 in performance incentives.

Ray Christie, vice provost of academic administration and medical school program director, said he does not believe Enarson’s position and the initiative during development stages will extract any resources or funds from undergraduate academic programs.

“There are not plans to reallocate existing base funds away from existing colleges and departments,” Christie said. “Other medical schools have reported various impacts. One certainly is a greater image which has led to greater interest in other existing programs.”

After February’s Board meeting, university officials were given directions to carry out a search for an interim dean.

Provost Julia Wallace said the search began after the Board’s permission and a discussion in January with the Liaison Committee on Medical Education, the accrediting body of the more than 100 medical schools across the country and in Canada.

“Typically you would actually go to the college … to talk about what they thought would be important in the interim dean process and then get some feedback,” Wallace said. “Now in this particular case, we don’t have a college of medicine, so it’s harder to do.”

She said CMU searched for someone with a strong medical education and LCME accreditation experience.

Despite looking at individuals who recently retired or were unsuccessful in other dean searches, Wallace said CMU was recommended to Enarson, as he was Creighton’s vice president for health sciences and school of medicine dean for five years.

“We knew the characteristics that we wanted,” she said. “There was no question that Cam stood out.”

Enarson also was on numerous LCME site visits, Wallace said, and can introduce new methods of achieving accreditation given his expertise.

“He could very well be the foremost authority on LCME accreditation standards in this country,” Christie said. “We are at a point where we need someone with the expertise that Dr. Enarson has.”

Christie said to determine Enarson’s salary, he turned to the Association of American Medical Colleges.

According to AAMC records, Enarson’s contract is in the 25th percentile of medical school deans nationwide and up to $200,000 less than the median salary from the 2007-2008 academic year.

Christie said Enarson will be responsible for curricular, administrative and facility developments.

Wallace said quarterly reports will be given to the Board, informing them of Enarson’s progress in achieving accreditation and that he will somewhat maintain an on campus presence throughout its duration.

university@cm-life.com

Old Navy of Mount Pleasant has less than one month of business left.

“The last day is May 25,” said Catherine Rhoades, an assistant communications specialist for Gap Inc., the owner of Old Navy. “I just got confirmation that the store is closing.”

The local Old Navy location, located at 4170 E. Bluegrass Road, is in Union Township’s Indian Hills Plaza east of Mission Street. There are 28 Old Navy outlets in Michigan and 1,003 nationwide, according to the Gap Inc. Web site.

Rhoades said deciding to close a store is on a case-by-case basis and depends on factors such as store location or how a business is doing financially.

“We just try to make sure we have the right number of stores in the right place,” Rhoades said.

Sydney Walsh, a Royal Oak junior, said she heard it was closing through a friend who applied for a summer job at the store.

“I shop at Old Navy a lot, but not up here a lot,” she said. “Most of the time, I clothes shop at home, so it’s not too big of an impact. But once and a while I do, so it is sad.”

For other people like Jessica Vantoll, Old Navy was a money saver, because “$20 goes a long way.”

“It’s a little sad because I always forget it’s here,” the Westland freshman said. “They have the best flip-flops.”

Rumors of other establishments in Indian Hills have circulated, as the majority of people who work on the property say they have not only heard Old Navy will close, but that Kroger, at 4080 E. Bluegrass Road, was moving to a different location.

Kroger management and corporate communications, however, confirms the store has no current plans to close or relocate.

Woody Woodruff, zoning administrator for Union Township, said regardless of the rumors of closing stores, developments for the property seem to have begun.

“I just had a call from a contractor asking questions about permits and stuff they need to renovate the old Wal-Mart,” he said. “My explanation was if they were not adding new space, they would just have to apply for a building permit to tear walls and put up new walls.”

Woodruff said he did not know who the call was on behalf of, but they would not have to come before the township planning authority for approval.

Indian Hills Plaza is owned and leased out by Developers Diversified Realty. Betsy Keck, director of public relations and corporate communications, said in an e-mail the company currently is negotiating leases with two retailers, which involves facility space that totals 34,000 square feet.

“We are working with tenants that have shown interest in the balance of available space,” she said. “The center is very attractive to retailers for its existing tenant mix, as well as its easy access and position in the market.”

metro@cm-life.com

Old Navy, located at 4170 E. Bluegrass Road, has less than one month of business left.

“The last day is May 25,” said Catherine Rhoades, an assistant communications specialist for Gap Inc. “I just got confirmation that the store is closing.”

Gap Inc. is the owner of Old Navy, Banana Republic and The Gap. The local Old Navy location is in Union Township’s Indian Hills Plaza east of Mission Street.

There are 28 Old Navy outlets in Michigan and 1,003 nationwide. Rhoades said deciding to close a store is on a case-by-case basis and depends on factors like store location or how a business is doing financially.

“We just try to make sure we have the right number of stores in the right place,” she said.

Check cm-life.com for more updates.

The search for Central Michigan University’s College of Communication and Fine Arts dean is nearly over.

Salma Ghanem, chairwoman of the communications department at the University of Texas-Pan American, accepted the position last week and was selected by Provost Julia Wallace over fellow position finalist Jack Bowman, who is dean of the School of Fine Arts at the University of Minnesota Duluth.

“I’m joining a great college,” Ghanem said. “Everything I’ve heard about CMU has been nothing but positive.”

Ghanem said she received an e-mail from CMU media relations Tuesday. Director of Media Relations Steve Smith confirmed Ghanem’s appointment to the position Tuesday afternoon.

When she comes to CMU’s campus, Ghanem said she will work to maintain the quality of students’ education through transparency.

“That has been the way I operate,” she said. “I really want to have an open door policy.”

Quick to plant her roots, Ghanem said the difficulty in coming to Mount Pleasant has nothing to do with CMU.

“I’ve lived in Egypt, in New York, Texas and now Michigan,” she said. “It’s a very bittersweet move. Everybody’s been congratulating me, but there’s been tears.”

Sharon Valdes, Ghanem’s assistant, said she has worked with Ghanem for the last year-and-a-half.

She said Ghanem has gotten along well with students, staff and faculty alike, and they have run a “well oiled machine” in their department.

“We work with her very close everyday,” Valdes said “I love her and I’m going to miss her, but I’m happy for her … she’s going to be the most awesome dean you’ve ever had.”

Ghanem has been at the University of Texas-Pan American for 14 years and has been in her current position for eight. She said she will begin duties at CMU in early August.

Former CCFA associate dean Diane Krider has been interim dean since the beginning of the semester when Sue Ann Martin stepped down.

university@cm-life.com

Mount Pleasant City Commissioners have broken ground in amending the city’s one-day liquor licensing policy.

During a work session Monday, city staff presented the commission with potential policy revisions. Discussion over where licenses would be permitted, what events would be granted a license and how those events would be contained, all resulted from staff recommendations.

As developed by the Downtown Development Board, the policy was originally suggested to make licenses accessible to events held any where downtown in order to attract more people to the Central Business District, located in downtown Mount Pleasant.

“I’ve had business owners downtown say that we don’t need alcohol to bring people downtown,” said Commissioner Sharon Tilmann. “However, I don’t want to preclude someone from applying for a one-day liquor license.”

Available locations for non-profits to obtain a one-day liquor license and hold an event on public property is currently limited to Island Park, 331 N. Main St., though some commissioners discussed support of eventually expanding the policy citywide.

Others advocated adding more location options in small steps, which Director of Public Safety Bill Yeagley said was within his comfort level because of a safety frame of reference in containing events that offer alcohol.

“While my comfort is pretty conservative, I think if we follow what has been laid out here so far in philosophy, that we’ll be well protected, that we won’t allow an event to occur in a location we feel is not safe for this community,” he said. “So it’s the details of the location that make it either work or not work. Not just the location, but the plan to take place in that location.”

Commissioners agreed to take applications for a licence on a case-by-case basis, but were split when it came to fees being required when an event is held out of compliance on public property. City staff recommended a change to in cash bond amounts from $1,000 to $5,000.

Though most matters were postponed to a future meeting, commissioners agreed the policy ought to lower the 90-day waiting period for an application to be approved to 60 days.

“I think taking longer than 60 days on anything is ridiculous,” said Commissioner Jeffrey Palmer. “It’s a long stretch.”

metro@cm-life.com

It could be lights out in the coming months for a population of deer co-existing with some city residents.

City Commissioners discussed and postponed decision of approving a contract with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services for lethal removal of a rising nuisance deer population in southwest Mount Pleasant.

For neighborhood residents near Veits Woods and Chipp-A-Waters Park , damage to landscaping, discovery of deer droppings and numerous close-calls between deer and vehicles is cause enough to implement some form of safe and lethal removal of deer.

“It’s been a problem for that neighborhood. It’s really obvious when you look at where that neighborhood sits,” said City Manager Kathie Grinzinger. “Part of it is that it’s so easy in the city parks. There’s no hunting. There’s a tremendous amount of food supply because you have all the low growing shrubs and stuff.”

The Southwest Association of Neighbors is the body to experience the negative results of the increasing deer population.

Tom Moffit, SWAN president, said what was estimated by city officials to be just a few troublesome deer is probably closer to 100, and that despite past attempts to approach the issue, it has gotten steadily worse.

“We think the number of deer that were counted is sadly undercounted,” he said. “Those of us in the area can recognize the fact we have herds of deer, 10, 15 at a time running through our back yards.”

USDA Wildlife Services, along with Mount Pleasant’s department of public safety, recommended the use of sharpshooters to control the deer population. Two visits from these shooters at $4,000 each would remove 10 to 15 animals, if eventually approved.

Commissioner Sharon Tilmann said she understood that there might be a safe record in other communities with sharpshooters using guns to kill deer inside city limits, but is concerned over the safety and legal matters of the situation.

“I have to tell you, it kind of makes me cringe,” she said. “I wonder our insurance carrier, what their take on this is. Where is the liability? Sharpshooters may be sharpshooters, but they could miss.”

Given that any harvest of hired sharpshooters would not begin until the appropriate hunting season roles around, commissioners decided to utilize their time to better understand the issue and to make a decision at a future meeting.

metro@cm-life.com

The search for Central Michigan University’s College of Communication and Fine Arts dean is over.

Salma Ghanem, chairwoman of the communication department at the University of Texas Pan American, accepted the position last week and was selected by Provost Julia Wallace over fellow position finalist Jack Bowman, who is dean of the School of Fine Arts at the University of Minnesota Duluth.

“I’m joining a great college,” Ghanem said. “Everything I’ve heard about CMU has been nothing but positive.”

She said she had received an e-mail from CMU media relations earlier in the day. DIrector of Media Relations Steve Smith said the department was in the process of forming an press release per the proper protocol.

Sharon Valdes, Ghanem’s assistant, said she has worked with her for the last year and half and will be sad to see her leave.

“We work with her very close everyday,” Valdes said “I love her and I’m going to miss her, but I’m happy for her … she’s going to be the most awesome dean you’ve ever had.”

Ghanem has been at the University of Texas for 14 years and has been in her current position for eight. She said she will begin duties at CMU in early August.

Former CCFA associate dean Diane Krider has been interim dean since the beginning of the semester when Sue Ann Martin stepped down.

Check cm-life.com for 24/7 updates.

Mount Pleasant City Commissioners made a series of decisions Monday propelling forward several ongoing matters.

The commission approved changes to the 2009 operating budget and city purchasing policy in development of a mini-stimulus package, which would boost the local economy and push future construction projects ahead to this year.

“If you really want to assure that local people are getting the deal, or are getting the money, you have to do two things,” said City Manager Kathie Grinzinger. “You have to not only approve the projects, but you have to do something to the purchasing policy that gives them some assurance that they’ll get the job.”

City staff gave the commission three options. A fourth option was, however, proposed by Commissioner David MaGuire, which first called for the elimination of $1,500 cap on preferred local purchases.

This was something city staff had also recommended be temporarily taken from the policy. MaGuire’s idea additionally adjusted percentage differentials allowed for chosen low bids of a project to 5 percent for in city businesses and 3 percent to in county businesses. This was suggested up from 3 and 2 percent.

MaGuire’s suggestion was approved.

The budget amendment will adjust the version of the operating budget approved last December to clarify the use of $500,000 from undesignated money in the general fund and $100,000 originally budgeted in for new sidewalks. These funds will be dedicated to five types of shovel-ready projects, residents can expect to begin in the coming months.

Projects included the $600,000 mini-stimulus package are a roundabout at the intersection of Main and Mosher Streets, additional parking on Mosher between Main and Court Street, a mini-circle at Mosher and Fancher Street, sidewalk replacements and brand new sidewalks.

Other business

City Commissioners also discussed and postponed decision of approving a contract with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services for lethal removal of a rising nuisance deer population in southwest Mount Pleasant.

The Southwest Association of Neighbors has reportedly experienced damage to landscaping in personal yards, deer droppings on lawns and several close calls between deer and vehicles.

Incidents have most frequently occurred in neighborhoods surrounding Viets Woods and Chipp-A-Water park.

USDA Wildlife Services, along with Director of Public Safety Bill Yeagley, recommended the city contract the use of sharpshooters to control the deer population.

Two visits from these shooters at $4,000 each would remove 10 to 15 animals.

“I have to tell you, it kind of makes me cringe,” said Commissioner Sharon Tilmann. “Where is the liability?”

Given that any harvest of hired sharpshooters would not begin until the appropriate hunting season roles around, commissioners decided to utilize their time to better understand the issue and to make a decision at a future meeting.

The commission also held a work session during Monday’s regular meeting regarding amendments of the city’s one-day liquor licensing policy.

Discussion over where licenses would be permitted, what events would be granted a license and how these events would be contained, continued from earlier this month.

Commissioners agreed to take applications for a licence on a case by case basis, though the extension of available locations from only Island Park was a different story.

As developed by the Downtown Development Board, the policy was originally recommended to be made accessible to events held any where in the Central Business District.

But proposals of expanding available locations on a city-wide basis appeared.

Yeagley said it was within his comfort level to take it slow in adding more locations because a safety frame of reference in containing alcoholic events is limited to Island Park.

“Any time we try something new, I don’t have that history to fall back on,” he said.

The matter of location was broken down and left for later discussion, whereas the policy was amended to lower the 90-day waiting period for an application to be approved to 60 days.

“I think taking longer than 60 days on anything is ridiculous,” said Commissioner Jeffrey Palmer.

Check cm-life.com for 24/7 updates.