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 2023 award cycle is May 9, 2023.
- 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 facultysenateoffice@
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