Taubman springs $22 million gift on U-M for medical research

The University of Michigan is caught in a catch-22, and that's just fine.

A. Alfred Taubman, the retail mogul, gave the university $22 million for medical research last week. That's one year after the former U-M student gave his alma matter another $22 million.

The first $22 million helped endow athe new Taubman Medical Research Institute, which is focused on understanding, treating and preventing human disease. The second $22 million, which will be bequeathed to the university, will also go toward the endowment.

The money will fund research from U-M's top scientists (cleverly called Taubman Scholars) from the university's Medical School. There are currently five Taubman Scholars who receive $200,000 per year over three years to help pay for their laboratory teams to research things like stem cells.

Taubman is one of U-M's most generous supporters, giving of more than $60 million before the latest $22 million installment. Most of that was raised by the University's $2.5 billion Michigan Difference campaign.

Source: University of Michigan
Writer: Jon Zemke