 |
|
|
| |
OPPORTUNITIES FOR GIVING
A gift is a personal gesture, reflecting the loyalty, the affection and the interests of the giver. Gifts to the Psychology Department are also personal. Sometimes they reflect loyalty built during an experience as a student, researcher, member of the faculty or staff. Gifts may express gratitude for a particular experience, for the department in general, or for an individual mentor, instructor, student, staff member, faculty member, or colleague. Or a gift may come as a result of a desire to see progress made in a particular area of research. Our website provides information about the research interests of our faculty and potential donors may find particular themes of research ripe for funding.
All gifts to the Psychology Department are administered in strict compliance with the instructions of the donor. An unrestricted gift—any gift not accompanied by instructions—is one where the donor leaves the administration of the funds to the discretion of the department chair.
There are many avenues to support the Department of Psychology, and all gifts are appreciated. At the present time, the Psychology Department Strategic Fund is a high priority effort; information about this and other funds can be found below. Please support these endowment funds, or talk with us about establishing a new endowment. In addition to these endowments we also have needs for specific capital investment for equipment and research apparatus. To contribute or to request more information, please contact us at psych.giving@umich.edu.
About the Funds
Psychology Department Strategic Fund
Fund Code: 308084
The ability to respond in a timely manner is critical to any organization. The strategic fund provides resources for the department's focused initiatives. The fund facilitates the creation of new undergraduate courses based on important current events (such as a course on the Psychology of Terrorism or Psychological Aspects of Globalization) and facilitates the purchase of specialized equipment for new courses (such as the kind needed for a course on the use of psychophysiological techniques). The fund permits a focused response to innovative opportunities that build on the talents of our faculty and the interdisciplinary strength at the University of Michigan, such as joint faculty hires with Women's Studies or research with the School of Engineering on optimal user-centered product design. The strategic fund also facilities a departmental response to the recruitment and retention of the best faculty and graduate students. The Strategic Fund provides resources for the development of new research projects, which require preliminary results ("pilot data") in order to mount a competitive proposal for federal and nonfederal grant support. This fund is an excellent way to make an investment in the future of the Department of Psychology.
Undergraduate Research Fund
Fund Code: 309961
We are proud that research is a major cornerstone of our undergraduate curriculum. Undergraduate psychology students are actively involved in research projects--in many cases those projects lead to important results that appear in conference presentations or in published articles. In April 2005, 20 of our undergraduates attended the international meetings of the Society for Research on Child Development in Atlanta, Georgia. This fund facilitated travel expenses for those 20 students. One student commented "going to the SRCD convention was a great experience for me as an undergraduate student." The support of undergraduate research projects is becoming increasingly important as graduate schools across the country require some form of research experience for admission.
Patricia Gurin Fellowship Endowment
Fund Code: 570508
 For her many years of service to the Department of Psychology and to the University of Michigan, a graduate fellowship has been created to honor Pat Gurin. This fellowship endowment fund will provide financial support for one or more graduate students in the Psychology program. Specifically, it is to be awarded to a student who exemplifies Pat Gurin's active research program in the areas of identity, diversity, self-efficacy, and control.
Eric Bermann Research Award
This Endowment Fund honors Eric Bermann, who recently retired after four decades of highly productive research and devotion to many students in clinical psychology. The Award will be granted annually to facilitate the dissertation research of a UM predoctoral student in Psychology. Specifically, it is to be awarded to the best proposed research on family processes, broadly conceived to include any of an array of possible family focused topics.
Project Outreach Fund
Fund Code: 310715
The quality of our social environment has dramatically improved due to the achievements of Project Outreach. Funds are being solicited to further enrich the student academic experience. Goals for the new Psychology Project Outreach Fund include:
- An Endowment for a Faculty Community Liaison will ensure the program will remain strong. Dick Mann, the original faculty liaison for the program, notes, "Project Outreach never would have gotten off the ground in the 60's without the energetic personal and budgetary support of Bill McKeachie, but those lovely days of fiscal flexibility are long gone. Now, Outreach needs the energetic financial support of all the people who benefited from taking or teaching in this great project. That's us, folks."
- Transportation/Vehicles will ensure students reach their chosen project site in the community. Transportation Coordinator Jennifer Catey, AB'02, knows all too well the effect of increased gasoline prices are having on the transportation/vehicle budget. She notes, "for transportation to be successful, three key items need to come together: dedicated staff to maintain the program, strong faculty support, and continued financial supportÑall of which have a strong history in the department."
- Awards to recognize students for their service and faculty for mentoring students. "Donations will help to ensure the continued breadth and success of the many activities Project Outreach provides to the community. In addition, we would like to establish one or more awards for students to recognize their special service learning achievements," says current faculty liaison Jerry Miller, PhD'75.
- Specific Projects make a difference. Gifts may be designated to support a specific project. Professor Emeritus Bill McKeachie, PhD'49, fondly remembers a project called Hooked on Books, designed by the late Richard Guttler, former U-M Psychology Professor and Vice President of Academic Affairs. Forty years ago, Guttler distributed paperback books to the students at Maxey Boys Training School, which made a significant difference in the reading levels of the young men.
We welcome gifts of any size. All gifts are appreciated and will be put to good use. You may send a check or use the link below to make a gift online. When giving online, please be sure to include the fund name and code provided on this page. If you have a specific desire for your gift that does not appear here or if you would like more information, please contact us by email to psych.giving@umich.edu or call us at 734.764.7429.
Related Links
|
|
|
|
