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GIVING
Dear MSE Alums:
In my last MSE Newsletter I mentioned President Coleman's establishment of a new campaign, the President's Donor Challenge to support graduate education at the University of Michigan. President Coleman has allocated up to 20 million dollars to provide 50% matching for funds raised for gifts and pledges to this campaign through December 31 of this year. Materials Science and Engineering is participating enthusiastically in this campaign and has established a fellowship fund for first year graduate students. I am writing to ask you to consider a contribution to this fund to help us take advantage of this great opportunity to make our graduate program even stronger.
Over the decades, you have generously provided support for undergraduates, largely through donations for scholarships and for improving undergraduate laboratory teaching facilities, and of course your continued contributions for undergraduate support is most appreciated. In these times the President's Donor Challenge is especially important to our department and to the institution. As you know, support for graduate education in the fields of engineering and the sciences in the US is provided primarily through federal grants, awarded through a competitive process; industrial support accounts for approximately 7% or less. In recent years federal funding for research and graduate education has declined, despite the compelling case made in the recent National Academies report, "Raising above the Gathering Storm", as well as the yet-to-be-realized promises, made in association with the America Competes Act, to double federal funding for research. We are, therefore, asking for your support to help in our efforts to continue to attract the very best graduate students and support them with research fellowships in their first year. Indeed our ability to attract the very best of graduate students from around the world is based on the financial support that we can provide and our reputation for producing high quality, cutting edge research, basic and applied. In recent years, universities have played an increasingly important role in discoveries of new materials and Michigan's MSE faculty and graduate students have been actively contributing to these discoveries.
You can help us maintain excellence in graduate education and research by making a contribution to our fund as part of the Presidents Donor Challenge. You will have the satisfaction of knowing that your contributions, and the match by President Coleman, will help launch the research careers of the "Leaders and Best" materials scientists and engineers.
Thank you for your continued support of Materials Science and Engineering at Michigan. Go Blue!
With Best Regards,
Peter F. Green