STATE UNIVERSITIES
NMU alumnus commits $1.1 million for heritage and welcome center
Dr. John Beaumier, a retired orthopedic surgeon and Northern Michigan University alumnus, has committed $1 million to the NMU Foundation for the future Beaumier Alumni Welcome and U.P. Heritage Center. This center will be built through an addition and renovation to NMU’s Gries Hall, and will include a reception area, instructional space and staff offices.
Oakland University to inaugurate sixth president
The Oakland University Board of Trustees has announced the presidential inauguration of George W. Hynd, to take place on April 29. Hynd was appointed as Oakland University’s sixth president in 2014, succeeding Betty J. Youngblood. With more than 40 years of educational experience, Hynd’s career includes a number of other leadership roles, including positions at Arizona State University and the College of Charleston (South Carolina).
WMU engineering receives first-ever NIH award
A Western Michigan University engineering professor, Dr. James Springstead, has been awarded a $416,816 grant from the National Institutes of Health to continue his research into understanding the underlying biological mechanisms that lead to heart disease. Springstead, assistant professor of chemical and paper engineering, is the recipient of the first NIH award ever to WMU’s College of Engineering and Applied Sciences.
PEER INSTITUTIONS
UPenn researcher receives two-year $250,000 grant
The National Endowment for the Humanities has awarded Grant Frame, University of Pennsylvania professor of Near Eastern languages and civilizations, a two-year $250,000 grant for his Royal Inscriptions of the Neo-Assyrian Period Project. The award brings to nearly $950,000 the total NEH grants Frame has received for the RINAP Project since 2008.
Ohio State dedicates $400 million to improving educational value
The Ohio State University will dedicate at least $400 million over five years to lowering the cost and improving the value of students’ Ohio State education, President Michael V. Drake has announced. In the first year, the plan will produce $15 million in affordability scholarships to reduce the need for student loans. Over five years, scholarship support for low- and middle-income students is expected to grow by $100 million.
