Gregory Dick appointed Arthur F. Thurnau Professor
Five University of Michigan faculty members, including Gregory J. Dick, a professor at the U-M School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS), have been named Arthur F. Thurnau Professors in recognition of their extraordinary contributions to undergraduate education. Dick is also the director of the Cooperative Institute for Great Lakes Research (CIGLR) at SEAS.
Dick, Stephen Berrey, Gary W. Harper, Lisa H. Harris and Sally Oey will hold the Thurnau title for the duration of their careers at U-M and receive $20,000 to support activities that further enhances their teaching.
The Board of Regents approved the professorships Feb. 16. Their Thurnau appointments are effective July 1.
To become a Thurnau professor, faculty members must demonstrate a strong commitment to teaching and learning, excellence and innovation in teaching, and dedication to working effectively with a diverse student body.
They also must have made an impact on students’ intellectual or artistic development and on their lives, and contributed to undergraduate education in ways that extend beyond the classroom, studio or lab.
The Arthur F. Thurnau Professorships were established in 1988. They are named after Thurnau, a U-M student from 1902-04. The Thurnau Charitable Trust, which was established through Thurnau’s will, provides support for the award.
Provost Laurie McCauley presented recommendations for the professorships and descriptions of each professor’s work and achievements to the Board of Regents. These summaries are taken from the provost’s recommendations.
Dick is a professor of earth and environmental sciences, and of ecology and evolutionary biology in the College of Literarute, Science and the Arts, and a professor of environment and sustainability at SEAS.
His award-winning teaching and deep engagement with outreach and programming have created profound change in the department and discipline of earth and environmental sciences.
He has enlarged pipelines for high school students with his Earth Camp program and summer coursework for Wolverine Pathways.
Further support for pipeline students after their transition to U-M includes development of new courses for the Comprehensive Studies Program. Dick exposes students to real-world problems like the disproportionate impact of environmental issues on minority communities, and gives examples of career pathways in geosciences.
After the COVID-19 pandemic hit U-M, Dick became his department’s go-to person for help with instructional matters. As a teacher, associate chair and undergraduate mentor, he has provided transformative leadership to cultivate a more societally relevant, diverse and inclusive space.