[웨스턴미시간대학교]Endowed scholarship honors psychology professor’s legacy/Western Michigan University(항공정비학과)

[웨스턴미시간대학교]Endowed scholarship honors psychology professor’s legacy/Western Michigan University(항공정비학과)

An endowed scholarship fund has been established in honor of a leading scholar and professor emeritus in Western Michigan University’s Department of Psychology.

The Dr. Jack Michael Endowment Fund serves as a tribute to Michael’s influential legacy in the field of behavior analysis. It is intended to support a doctoral student in the department, as well as an external mentor who can advise the student consistent with Michael’s work in applied research and conceptual training.

“Dr. Michael has expertise in areas of behaviorism that many do not, including verbal behavior,” said Dr. Stephanie Peterson, professor and chair of psychology. “It’s important for this area of expertise—his legacy—to continue and expand in our field. In order for that to happen, students need to study it and faculty need to mentor those students. This endowment will make it possible for WMU graduate students to devote time exclusively to studying those areas in which Dr. Michael was an expert and to have the support of faculty from around the world as mentors.”

The scholarship was launched with the help of a committee consisting of Dr. Vincent Carbone, chief executive officer of New York’s Carbone Clinic; Dr. Alyce Dickinson, WMU psychology professor; Drs. John and Barbara Esch, WMU alumni; and Peterson. The committee hopes to raise $1.5 million for the endowment over five years. A lead gift from Dickinson has paved the way toward that goal.

“With the help of this endowment, students will develop expertise through opportunities that might not otherwise be possible,” Peterson said. “It will ensure that WMU’s Department of Psychology continues to have a focus on Dr. Michael’s areas of scholarly work, even though he is retired.”