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 send nomination materials to the facultysenateoffice@
- 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: Nominations that are not selected will be eligible for three years.
If you have any questions about the award or the nomination process, please contact the Faculty Senate Office at 734-764-0303. Thank you for your interest.
The deadline for submission of the Awards Nomination is May 1, 2022.

Heather Ann Thompson, Ph.D. - 2021 Award Recipient
Dr. Thompson is a native Detroiter and historian on faculty of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor in the departments of Afro-American and African Studies, History, and the Residential College. Her book, Blood in the Water: The Attica Prison Uprising of 1971 and its Legacy, has been profiled on television and radio programs across the country, it won the Pulitzer Prize in History, the Bancroft Prize in American History and Diplomacy, The Ridenhour Book Prize, the J. Willard Hurst Prize, and a book prize from the New York City Bar Association. Dr. Thompson co-founded the Carceral State Project, an interdisciplinary collaboration that engages in research and advocacy on criminal justice, policing, imprisonment, and inequality.
Previous Regents Award for Distinguished Public Service Recipients
2020 — John Greden, M.D., 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