News highlights from the last 7 days

Lansing marijuana entrepreneur Michael Doherty was sentenced to 93 days in jail after he called 30th Circuit Judge Joyce Draganchuk “corrupt.” Doherty’s business, Rehbel Industries, was placed in receivership last year. Doherty, who was representing himself, was in court to defend himself against criminal contempt allegations made by the court-appointed receiver. As he approached the bench as a witness, he accused the judge of corruption and called on her to recuse herself for judicial conduct. Draganchuk warned him to behave himself. Once sworn in, he called the judge’s actions “corrupt and unacceptable” — at which point Draganchuk sentenced him. Sheriff’s deputies handcuffed him and removed him from the courtroom. (Click for more on this story, including a video.)

The MSU Board of Trustees released the results of a third-party Title IX review. The board commissioned Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP to review progress within the school’s Title IX office and the circumstances surrounding former business school dean Sanjay Gupta’s forced resignation by then-Provost Teresa Woodruff, which he is suing the school over. The investigation found Woodruff’s discipline to be “disproportionate.” She dismissed him for a number of reasons, but the investigation found that his only error was his initial failure to report that a business school administrator was allegedly drunk and inappropriately touched a student at an off-campus event. The investigators also discovered that former President Samuel Stanley Jr. may not have approved Woodruff’s action. The report listed 14 policy recommendations, including refining training materials for policies and protocols, establishing factors for determining the discipline that violators of the reporting protocol should receive, implementing a policy to govern alcohol consumption at MSU-sponsored off-campus events, implementing a policy requiring at least two mandated reporter employees to stay for the entire duration of MSU-sponsored events and expanding resources for the Office for Civil Rights, which would help the Office of Institutional Equity with reports.

Part of MSU’s Student Union has reopened. The first-floor lounges, Sparty’s mini-market and computer labs are open to the public, as is a gallery featuring memorials and tributes sent by alumni and community members in the third-floor Lake Huron Room. There are therapy dogs to welcome guests as well as staff from counseling and psychiatric services for students and the employee assistance program for faculty. The food court remains closed for the time being. Berkey Hall will remain closed through the end of 2023.

In other related news:

The final student hospitalized after the Feb. 13 shooting at MSU was released from Sparrow Hospital. John Hao, who is paralyzed from the chest down, was the fifth of five students to be discharged. Troy Forbush, Nate Statly, Guadalupe Huapilla-Perez and an unnamed fourth student were previously released.

Anthony Fauci, former chief medical adviser to the president, will address graduates at MSU’s spring commencement. Fauci, who conducted vital research during the global HIV/AIDS epidemic while working for the NIH, oversaw further research as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, developed the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief and spearheaded the country’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, will address doctoral candidates and receive an honorary doctor of humanities degree from the school. Additionally, Jill Hruby, undersecretary for nuclear security for the U.S. Department of Energy and administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration, will address master’s and educational specialist degree candidates and receive an honorary doctor of science degree, and Lisa Cook, an MSU faculty member and the first Black woman to serve on the Federal Reserve, will speak to undergraduate degree candidates and receive an honorary doctor of humanities degree. The ceremony will take place May 5 at the Breslin Center and will be livestreamed via the school’s commencement website.

Sparrow Health System officially became a part of University of Michigan Health. Government regulators approved the merger, which was announced in December 2022. The merger will allow Sparrow “to accelerate the expansion of services, build greater breadth and depth of clinical expertise and seamlessly integrate leading-edge technology and other updates into facilities,” according to U-M Health. It added, “The combined organization is creating a clinical care network that builds upon the strengths of the world-class University of Michigan Health academic medical center and Sparrow’s successful community-based health system.” U-M Health will invest $800 million in Sparrow, which it will fund through “hospital operations and strategic investments over eight years.” Sparrow will keep its name and logo for now, and though U-M Health expects it to transition to more appropriate branding over time, it will ensure Sparrow’s legacy is “appropriately honored.”