The Department is fortunate to benefit from a number of endowments established by its friends and former students. These benefactors have demonstrated a profound commitment to Michigan and to the social sciences, as well as confidence in the Department and its programs.
Eita Krom Research Fund
Eita Krom, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Barney Krom from Iron River, Michigan, earned a B.A. in sociology at the University of Michigan in May 1923. On August 17, 1923, she and three of her friends were involved in a fatal auto-train collision. To honor Eita’s memory, her family made two gifts: one to create the Eita Krom Prize, an annually awarded cash prize for the best paper on a sociological topic written by an LSA junior or senior, and the other to establish the Eita Krom Research Fund, which is used to provide fellowship and research support for sociology doctoral students. The Eita Krom Prize fund also supports the department's annual award for the best undergraduate Honors thesis as well as research funds for our honors cohort.
Kathryn Ann London Memorial Fellowship
The Kathryn Ann London Memorial Fellowship was established in 1995 upon the passing of one of our graduate students, Kathryn Ann London. In her memory, her family endowed funds to provide support to outstanding graduate students in the department, with a preference to support students who are working on survey research data (specifically dealing with population studies, marriage, and divorce statistics - Kathryn's particular areas of interest)
Mark Chesler Research Award
The endowment for the Mark Chesler Research Award was created in 2004 to honor the sociological vision of Professor Emeritus Mark Chesler upon his retirement from the University of Michigan. The endowment supports two annual cash prizes to recognize students (one undergraduate and one graduate) whose scholarship contributes to the sociological understanding of diversity, social justice, participatory action research, intergroup relations, or service learning.
Bodine Distinguished Graduate Fellowship
In 2008, the Bodine Distinguished Graduate Fellowship was established by Norm (a UM physicist by training) and Danielle Bodine to bi-annually support "an outstanding incoming graduate student in Sociology with interests in identifying general patterns of social inclusion and exclusion that lead to the marginalization of particular populations, often with tragic human consequences." The Bodine Fellow will receive a five-year funding package.
Schweitzer Fellows
The Schweitzer Family Foundation created an endowment in 2008 that provides extra summer support for two highly ranked incoming graduate students. In addition to funding the twoSchweitzer Fellows every year, the endowment also generates expendable funds that are used to support the research-related needs of current graduate students.