Two faculty members elected to National Academy of Sciences
Two U-M professors are among the most recent inductees into the National Academy of Sciences, one of the highest distinctions for a scientist or engineer in the United States. U-M’s newly elected NAS members are:
• Vincent Hutchings, University Diversity and Social Transformation Professor; the Hanes Walton Jr. Collegiate Professor of Political Science and Afroamerican and African Studies and professor of political science, LSA; and research professor, Institute for Social Research’s Center for Political Studies.
• Ivette Perfecto, the James E. Crowfoot Collegiate Professor of Environmental Justice and professor of environment and sustainability, School for Environment and Sustainability, and professor of environment in the Program in the Environment, SEAS and LSA.
The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit institution that was established under a congressional charter signed by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863. This year, it announced the election of 120 members and 30 international members in recognition of their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research.
Committee approves final round of anti-racism faculty proposals
Two proposals have been approved for funding in the third and final round for hiring tenure track faculty through the university’s Anti-Racism Hiring Initiative. The selection committee, consisting of faculty members from across campus, chose two proposals, totaling six positions across five schools and colleges and one research institute, for funding. Racial Justice and the Urban Humanities will refocus ongoing efforts to create collaborative models of research, teaching, learning and urban design in and around the Detroit metropolitan region. Addressing Environmental Racism and Promoting Health Equity will examine the connections among racism and racial violence, environmental injustice and racialized health disparities to achieve better knowledge of the way policies and actions exacerbate or ameliorate unequal burdens of harm. Read more about these projects and faculty positions.
New U-M program supports displaced scholars across the globe
Scholars around the world who have been displaced by natural disaster or war are now eligible for a new U-M program that aims to support their continued research. The Michigan Virtual Provost Scholars Program, administered by the Office of the Vice Provost for Engaged Learning, provides such scholars with a U-M affiliation and online access to research materials available through the U-M Libraries and Collections, as well as a connection to U-M researchers with similar interests. U-M units and departments interested in hosting a virtual visiting scholar should identify a U-M collaborator and submit an application, which consists of an application form, a recent CV of the scholar, and a letter of support from the unit’s director or department chair. Applications are open and accepted on a rolling basis. Read more about this program.
Ashley Lucas to receive 10th annual Shirley Verrett Award
The U-M Women of Color in the Academy Project will present its 10th annual Shirley Verrett Award to Ashley Lucas for her visionary leadership that demonstrates the power of theatre to change lives and promote social justice. An award ceremony is set for 5 p.m. May 31 at Stamps Auditorium to honor Lucas, professor of theatre and drama in the School of Music, Theatre & Dance; professor in the Residential College; professor of American culture and of English language and literature in LSA; and professor of art and design in the Penny W. Stamps School of Art & Design. She also is the current director of Latina/o Studies, former director of the Prison Creative Arts Project, a founding member of the Carceral State Project, and a co-primary investigator on an archival project called Documenting Criminalization and Confinement. Read more about this year’s Shirley Verrett Award.
$1.5M grant to support firearm injury prevention research
The university has been awarded a $1.5 million federal grant to launch a postdoctoral research training program focusing specifically on the prevention of firearm injuries among children and teens. The Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development awarded a T32 grant exclusively for firearm injury prevention research to the U-M Institute for Firearm Injury Prevention to expand and strengthen its research pipeline by training 12 scholars in this critical field. IFIP will use the grant funding to recruit and train four postdoctoral researchers each year for the next five years so individuals can explore firearm research and scholarship through multiple disciplines, from social sciences and the arts to engineering, medicine and public health. Read more about this grant.
Museum of Natural History looks at pandemic’s inequities
The Museum of Natural History’s latest exhibit, “Facing the Pandemic,” dissects the disparate impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on different communities and shares stories of personal experiences from early in the pandemic. Compiling data documenting these disparities and tapping into research on racial and economic public health implications, the exhibit shares important truths about social and health inequities across the country and in Washtenaw County. Portraits and personal stories humanize the data and show the breadth of local experience at the onset of pandemic. From a person who was incarcerated, to a frontline worker, to individuals based at home during this time, each story provides a unique perspective on COVID’s influence on their lives. Read more about the exhibit.
Project grants advance U-M partnerships, collaborations with Detroit
Six new projects have been selected for funding through the Engage Detroit Workshops grant program, which supports the development of new ideas and projects that connect U-M and Detroit community partners. The interdisciplinary projects for the 2022-23 academic year will bring together students, faculty, staff and Detroiters to discuss common interests and enhance connections and collaborations that will build on the rich history of partnerships in the city. The provosts’ offices on the Ann Arbor, Dearborn and Flint campuses collaborated to jointly support the pilot program. More than $80,000 will be awarded across these projects that strengthen partnerships with Detroit. Read more about the grantees.
IRWG awards 12 seed grants for faculty research projects
The Institute for Research on Women and Gender has awarded 12 Seed Grants for faculty projects on women, gender and sexuality. The grants support individual research activities, initial research efforts, performances and community-based research, with more than $70,000 awarded. A new feature this year is that faculty whose proposals were not funded will have the opportunity to revise and resubmit their projects this summer for a second funding opportunity. See details about the projects.
Advising Council of U-M names inaugural awardees
The Advising Council of U-M is recognizing the efforts of outstanding staff and faculty advisers by awarding ACUM Advising Awards to Kristel Oelke in the Mechanical Engineering Academic Services Office and Bryan Abma in the Newnan Advising Center. This is the first year the award is being offered, with 1,114 nominations for 529 individual staff and faculty advisers. The ACUM Advising Awards publicly recognize the contributions advisers make to undergraduate, graduate and professional students in the Ann Arbor campus schools and colleges. Oelke is the senior undergraduate academic adviser in the College of Engineering’s Department of Mechanical Engineering, and Abma is an academic adviser in LSA’s Newnan Academic Advising Center. Read more about the awards.
New member elected to the Police Department Oversight Committee
Jayapalli Rajiv Bapuraj, clinical professor of radiology in the Department of Neuroradiology at Michigan Medicine, has been elected to a two-year position as the non-Senate faculty member on the university’s Police Department Oversight Committee. The six-member PDOC receives and makes recommendations regarding grievances against any police officer deputized by the university. It includes two student members, two faculty members (one Senate and one non-Senate), and two staff members (one union and one non-union) who are nominated and elected by their peers. More information about the committee is available at hr.umich.edu/pdoc.
New look in place for eProcurement transactions
Employees who use the university’s eProcurement system will find a new look and feel for transactions in the M-Pathways Financials & Physical Resources system. The change is part of a larger effort to update several M-Pathways modules to a responsive design, and it ensures the university maintains vendor support. A complete list of changes is available by reviewing “eProcurement Modernization — Overview of Changes.” More information about the upgrade, including post-launch support hours, is available on the eProcurement Modernization Project website.
UM-Flint named Michigan Veteran Connector school
UM-Flint has again been recognized as a top institution for student veterans. This spring, the Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency certified UM-Flint as one of the first Michigan Veteran Connectors for the university’s role in supporting military veterans. The Connector initiative “identifies and cultivates community partnerships to simultaneously broaden referral capabilities for Michigan veterans and connect them to the best possible resources,” according to the Michigan V.A. UM-Flint is one of eight Michigan colleges and universities to earn this designation. UM-Flint has been named a top school for veterans several times. The Military Times 2021 “Best for Vets: Colleges” list ranked UM-Flint 41st out of more than 360 universities and colleges. U.S. Veterans Magazine recognized the university as a Top Veteran-Friendly School. UM-Flint has had a gold-level ranking as a veteran-friendly institution with the Military Veterans Affairs Agency since 2015.
Record reducing its email, print publications for summer
The University Record’s print and email editions are shifting to a reduced schedule for the summer. The May 20 email was the last daily edition until the fall semester begins Aug. 29. A weekly version will be emailed to subscribers beginning May 25. The weekly email will be sent each Wednesday. The Record website will be updated throughout the week with news for faculty and staff, and the weekly email will include items added to the website during the previous week. The Record’s print edition also will operate on a reduced schedule for the summer, with issues to be published June 6 and 20, July 25 and Aug. 15. The Record will resume its regular weekly print edition Aug. 29.
— Compiled by James Iseler, The University Record
