Awards

Regents’ Award for Distinguished Public Service

In June of 1990, the Regents supported a recommendation of the Senate Advisory Committee on University Affairs (SACUA) and established the “Regents’ Award for Distinguished Public Service” to honor extraordinary distinction in public service by members of the University faculty. We request nominations of faculty members deserving recognition for their contributions in this area. All members of the University Senate (assistant, associate, and full professors, research scientists, and librarians who are Senate members) are eligible for consideration.

The award of $1,000 is to recognize public service activities that relate closely to teaching and research and reflect professional and academic expertise. The service activities may occur outside the University in local, state, national or international arenas.

Please submit nomination materials with the faculty awards nomination form. The deadline for the 2024 award cycle is May 3, 2024.

  • A nomination letter describing the nominee’s work and contributions to public service and details of any accomplishments related to that service. (Required)
  • Nominee’s CV (Required)
  • Supporting statements (optional)

Note: Nominees are eligible for three years: the current year and, if not selected, they will also be automatically included in the pool of candidates for the next two award cycles.

If you have any questions about the award or the nomination process, please contact the Faculty Senate Office at facultysenateoffice@umich.edu or at 734-764-0303. Thank you for your participation.

Thomas C. Henthorn - 2023 Award Recipient

Dorothea E. Wyatt Professor of United States History and professor of history in the College of Arts and Sciences, UM-Flint

 

 

 

 

Henthorn brings public history and urban development to life for his UM-Flint students, as well as to those living in greater Flint and across the state of Michigan. Through community-based research and cooperative partnerships, he engages wide audiences and imparts rich, local history to learners of all ages. Henthorn’s research centers on the city of Flint, its neighborhoods and their pressing challenges. He studies the antecedents of racial discrimination to bring awareness to the consequences of residential segregation and unequal urban development, such as health disparities and inequitable treatment in labor markets. Henthorn works side-by-side with groups dedicated to social justice and historic preservation. He reaches his audiences through classroom and online teaching, YouTube videos, museum exhibits and bicycle tours. The most popular tour offered through Flint City Bike Tours is Henthorn’s “Riding the Red Line: A Historical Tour of Residential Segregation in Flint.” Henthorn has served as state scholar for Michigan Humanities, arranging programming and delivering lectures for five exhibits, each traveling to some 30 communities in Michigan, over five years. In 2021, Michigan Humanities named Henthorn the Humanities Champion of the Year.

The 2023 awardee information (above) was written and provided by the Office of University Development, as published in a 2023 University Record article.

Previous Regents Award for Distinguished Public Service Recipients

2022 — Oveta Fuller, Medical School

2021 — Heather Ann Thompson, LSA History and African American Studies

2020 — John Greden, Medical School

2019 — Brant Fries, School of Public Health

2018 — Howard Markel, Medical School

2017 — Kevin Fu, College of Engineering

2016 — Khaled Mattawa, LSA Department of English Language and Literature

2015 — Ashley Lucas, School of Theatre, Music and Dance

2015 — Matthew Davis, School of Medicine & Ford School of Public Policy

2014 — Sridhar Kota, College of Engineering

2013 — Dana M. Muir, Ross School of Business

2011 — Robert Axelrod, Public Policy and LSA Political Science

2008 — Barbara Anderson, LSA-Sociology

2006 — Anne Ruggles Gere, Education and LSA-English

2005 — Bunyan Bryant, Natural Resources and Environment

2004 — Amid I. Ismail, Medicine and Dentistry

2004 — Julie Ellison, LSA-American Culture and LSA-English

2003 — Billy J. Evans, LSA-Chemistry

2003 — Scott Kurashige, LSA-American Culture

2000 — Elizabeth Marie Petty, School of Medicine

1999 — Robert E. Megginson, LSA-Mathematics

1998 — Lloyd D. Johnston, Survey Research Center

1997 — Edward M. Gramlich, Public Policy

1996 — Orin G. Gelderloo, SNRE and UM-Dearborn CASL

1995 — William Alexander, LSA-English

1994 — Barry Checkoway, School of Social Work

1993 — Josef M. Miller, School of Medicine

1992 — Richard Bailey, LSA-English

1992 — Sharon Sutton, Architecture

1991 — Beth Glover Reed, School of Social Work