University of Michigan leaders are encouraging campus community members to nominate faculty members who have demonstrated a commitment to public service for the president’s awards for public engagement and impact.
Launched in 2017, the President’s Award for National and State Leadership and the President’s Award for Public Impact aim to celebrate faculty public engagement at U-M.
more information
The award for national and state leadership honors individuals who have held leadership and service roles in major national or state capacities. Recipients will have contributed to the health, resilience and prosperity of the nation, state and society at large, or support a safe global environment.
The award for public impact honors individuals who have offered their academic research and expertise in tangible service of a major public sector challenge. Nominees should be individuals who have actively addressed significant challenges in society and have used their academic capacity and expertise to combat such threats in cooperation with other stakeholders, both governmental and non-governmental.
The awards are part of the university’s greater institutional effort to promote and support faculty public engagement, an initiative President Mark Schlissel said aims to help faculty share their expertise with the public, as well as to show the public the value of its support in U-M.
“Greater faculty engagement outside the university will better connect U-M’s broad intellectual power and expertise to areas of society where research and greater understanding can make a difference in lives and communities,” Schlissel said.
“I’m proud to recognize faculty who disseminate their work and share their expertise in service of our mission, leading to positive change and helping the public to better understand the full value of the University of Michigan.”
Nominations for both awards must be submitted by Dec. 7. Recipients will receive $5,000.
Awardees will be recommended to the president by a committee appointed by Schlissel that consists of members of the faculty, the U-M Office of Research and the Office of Government Relations.
The award is open to tenured, tenure-track or research faculty from all U-M campuses, schools, colleges and units. Members of other categories of instructional faculty may also be nominated.
Last year, there were two inaugural recipients for each of the awards to celebrate the diverse ways U-M faculty successfully participate in public engagement activities.
The President’s Award for National and State Leadership went to Ella Atkins, professor of aerospace engineering and of electrical engineering and computer science, and James Jackson, the Daniel Katz Distinguished University Professor of Psychology and research professor at the Research Center for Group Dynamics.
The President’s Award for Public Impact went to Meghan Duffy, associate professor of ecology and evolutionary biology, and Arthur Lupia, the Hal R. Varian Collegiate Professor of Political Science and research professor for the Center for Political Science.
Ongoing awards will feature one recipient for each award.
