exhibitions, performances and presentations. Dave Forbes, dean of the College of Health Professions and Biomedical Sciences, says everyone benefits from research. “The very best faculty are those actively involved in creating new knowledge and bringing that cutting-edge knowledge to the classroom,” he says. “Those faculty also are seeking new and innovative methods to share their ideas and knowledge with those outside the University.” Strong faculty and student scholarship are integral to the University’s ability to offer educational programs. UM works to advance today’s technology to produce tomorrow’s products, contributing to innovation, job creation and business opportunities. To measure success in this arena, UM will monitor the number of publications and patents produced, as well as new business startups, spin-off companies and jobs created. In nonresearch creative scholarship, the University will gauge success by the number and stature of publications, performances, presentations and exhibitions. Campus also will monitor the number of national and international awards and recognitions in all areas to help gauge progress. In addition, UM will continue providing regular and systematic evaluation of faculty performance to measure productivity, quality and impact. Campus also will continue offering students multiple venues to share their creative work, such as exhibitions, poetry readings and poster presentations. “We’re preparing students to go out in the workforce prepared in a way they wouldn’t have been otherwise,” Fanguy says. Even as a UM senior, Pinson worked on an electron transport protein called asurin in the lab of biological sciences Associate Professor Michele McGuirl. He found undergraduate research opportunities readily available at UM, setting him on a path toward a doctorate and a future in science.
Pinson strolls campus with his wife, Roslyn, who works with UM’s Center for Biomolecular Structure and Dynamics. “She’s the reason I came back alive,” Pinson says.
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In Iraq, Pinson was the gunner on a Humvee with the charge of protecting his commanding officer.