Foundation Relations

President Joe Biden signed a historic executive order called Revitalizing Our Nation’s Commitment to Environmental Justice for All, which will direct federal agencies to focus on confronting longstanding environmental injustices, furthering the administration’s commitment to environmental justice. Kyle Whyte, the George Willis Pack Professor at the University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS), a U.S. Science Envoy, and a member of the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council, served as an advisor on the development of the new environmental justice executive order and stood behind Biden in the Rose Garden at the signing.

UM’s Board of Regents approved naming the school the Marsal Family School of Education during its meeting Thursday, Feb. 16, in recognition of a new $50-million gift that will support initiatives to prepare and support a diverse population of teachers, build partnerships with schools and communities and conduct research in collaboration with education professionals.

University of Michigan environmental justice expert Kyle Whyte is one of seven distinguished scientists in the country named U.S. Science Envoys by the U.S. Department of State. Through the Science Envoy Program, eminent U.S. scientists and engineers travel to foreign countries as private citizens, leveraging their expertise and networks to forge connections and identify opportunities for sustained international cooperation.

The David and Lucile Packard Foundation announced today the 2022 class of Packard Fellows in Science and Engineering. This year’s class features 20 innovative early-career scientists and engineers—including University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS) Assistant Professor Brian Weeks—who will each receive $875,000 over five years to pursue their research.

Misha Teplitskiy, assistant professor at the University of Michigan School of Information, was awarded a $115,655 grant from Schmidt Futures for his research project “Study of Discrimination in Science - Exploring Whether the Identities of Scientists Affect Peer Evaluations.” The award provides funding for one year. Teplitskiy’s research has frequently focused on making sure science is equitable and reproducible. For this project, Teplitski will investigate how biases show up during peer reviews and how that might affect researchers.

The history between Hollywood and the University of Michigan goes back decades. For example, there’s 1955 alumnus and Darth Vader voice James Earl Jones and the 1983 film “The Big Chill,” in which all the main characters graduated from UM together. The Film, Television and Media department, part of the College of Literature, Science and the Arts, has been partially funded by the John H. and Patricia W. Mitchell Scholarship since the 2020-21 school year. The scholarship is named for the Columbia Pictures Television founder and his wife.