'A-Team' hopes to expand regents' focus

By Lisa Koivu

Daily Staff Reporter

While one may often hear the term "the A-Team" during the next few days before the election, the term is not referring to the 1980s television hit - it's the campaign slogan for Wendy Anderson and Susy Avery, the two Republican candidates for seats on the University Board of Regents.

Anderson and Avery are graduates of the University's Dearborn campus. Avery currently serves as the vice president of Travel Michigan, and Anderson spends her time taking care of her two young children. Anderson has previously worked as a legislative staff members for several state senators.

Both candidates would like to work to improve the relationship between the University's Ann Arbor campus and its Flint and Dearborn campuses.

"The two satellite schools have really grown in stature. I don't know if Ann Arbor believes that Dearborn and Flint are up to that high of a level," Avery said recently during an appearance on WKAR-AM 870 with host Bill Ballenger, editor of Inside Michigan Politics.

Avery said graduating from the Dearborn campus gives them a different perspective from any of the regents, because no one currently on the board has attended either of the University's satellite campuses.

"There is a difference in perspective when coming from a background like Wendy and I - we need to be heard," Avery said.

Anderson said she would like to see the University take the initiative in generating charter schools.

"A University of Michigan outreach program to start charter schools would be tremendous," Anderson said on the radio program.

Avery said she would like to follow the lead of every other state in the nation by having the governor appoint all regental positions.

"I think the regents should be appointed - not many people have the means to go through this campaigning," Avery said. "There are a lot of qualified people without the opportunity or know-how to get through this."

Anderson said while she agrees, she also thinks voters should have some influence on who is elected.

"I understand where Susy's coming from, on the other hand, voters need to have some type of influence on the University," Anderson said.

The two said one of the biggest things they would like to tackle as a regent is rising tuition rates.

"One of the biggest challenges facing the University is tuition. The University of Michigan has not met the threshold of having a tuition rate lower or equal to the rate of inflation," Avery said.

Repeated telephone messages left for Anderson and Avery were not returned.