Scholarships top campaign priorities list for Dearborn, Flint

Updated 4:00 PM May 18, 2004

Scholarships top campaign priorities list for Dearborn, Flint

By Terry Gallagher, U-M-Dearborn Office of University Relations
and George Wendt, U-M-Flint Office of Institutional Advancement

The Dearborn and Flint campuses have announced their plans for "The Michigan Difference" campaign.

U-M-Dearborn will launch its fund-raising effort during a ceremony at 7:45 a.m. May 14 in the Fairlane Center, 19000 Hubbard Dr. in Dearborn. U-M Flint will participate in the celebration on the Ann Arbor campus.

"This occasion provides us a wonderful opportunity for the U-M-Dearborn family—students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends—to come together to celebrate almost a half-century of growth and change," Chancellor Daniel Little says of the event.

The Dearborn campaign will focus on increasing student opportunities, especially through scholarships; strengthening academic programs through endowed professorships; and enhancing the campus's already-strong partnerships in southeastern Michigan.

Thomas Baird, vice chancellor for institutional advancement, says like Ann Arbor, U-M-Dearborn will announce its fund-raising target at the kickoff.

Flint's campaign will focus on four areas: students, faculty,
programs and research/facilities.

"We will announce some major gifts that day, gifts that indicate the dedication and affection our alumni have for their experiences as students at U-M-Dearborn," Baird says.

U-M-Flint officially will begin its campaign the same day but plans another major event in 2006, during the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the campus's establishment in downtown Flint.

Flint's campaign will focus on four areas: students, faculty, programs and research/facilities.

"Students are at the center of everything we do," Chancellor Juan Mestas says. "That is why raising funds for scholarships will be at the top of our priority list."

The campaign also will involve raising funds for endowed chairs and professorships as well as research and other academic activities, Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Renate McLaughlin says.

"Students come to U-M-Flint because of the quality of the education we offer," she says. "There is a direct correlation between the quality of education at a university and the quality of its faculty."

Scholarships top campaign priorities list for Dearborn, Flint

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