Nominations sought for Distinguished University Innovator of the Year

Innovation Partnerships is seeking nominations for the 2026 Distinguished University Innovator of the Year Award, the university’s highest honor for faculty who have shown leadership in bringing new ideas to the marketplace. Nominations are due May 1. This award recognizes not only scientific and scholarly excellence, but also the vision, persistence and leadership required to translate discovery into practice. Research translation and commercialization may take many forms, including licensing to an existing company, participation in startup company formation or the development of strategic commercial partnerships. Nominees whose work demonstrates meaningful progress along one or more of these pathways and showcases a measurable impact and enduring contribution to society are encouraged. The award was established in 2007 by the Office of the Vice President for Research and is supported by endowments from the U-M Office of Research and the Stephen and Rosamund Forrest Family Foundation.

UMMA appoints Kelly Kivland as deputy director of curatorial affairs

The University of Michigan Museum of Art announced that Kelly Kivland has joined as deputy director of curatorial affairs to lead the museum’s curatorial vision and exhibition program. Kivland joins UMMA following two decades of curatorial and executive leadership at the Wexner Center for the Arts, Dia Art Foundation, and most recently Michigan Central Art in Detroit. At UMMA, Kivland will work in close partnership with museum Director Christina Olsen and senior leadership to shape a forward-looking exhibition program that strengthens the museum’s national and international visibility. She will oversee the museum’s artistic program across curatorial strategy and residencies and commissions, and steward the museum’s collection and acquisition strategy, cultivating projects that travel beyond Ann Arbor while also deepening engagement with the U-M campus and surrounding communities. Kivland began her new role March 2.

U-M Health again named among world’s best hospitals

The flagship Ann Arbor hospitals of U-M Health have once again ranked among the best in the United States, and in the world, according to a new review of more than 2,500 hospitals in 32 nations. Coming in at 12th in the U.S. and 52nd in the world, U-M Health is the only hospital in Michigan to make the list of the 250 World’s Best Hospitals for 2026 compiled by Newsweek and Statista. The ranking is based on objective quality measures, recommendations of medical professionals, and data from patient surveys. In a broader ranking of 416 U.S. hospitals also released, U-M Health was the only Michigan hospital to earn awards for both infection prevention and patient experience, in addition to earning the highest score in the state. Also earning spots in this top tier of U.S. hospitals: UM Health-Sparrow Lansing and Chelsea Hospital, a joint venture between U-M Health and Trinity Health. 

Senate Assembly passes resolution in support of U-M foreign language education

A new resolution, formally adopted by the Senate Assembly on March 2, expresses concern over federal withdrawal of Title VI funding, which jeopardizes the teaching of less commonly-taught languages (such as Quechua, Swahili, Uzbek) housed in U-M’s International Institute. The statement also urges the U-M administration to provide immediate financial support and advocate for restored federal funding. The election saw 61 Assembly members — 79.2% of eligible electors — cast ballots over three days of electronic voting that followed a Feb. 23 Senate Assembly meeting. The vote for the resolution was: Yes: 54. No: 3 (4 abstained) Each resolution is advisory in nature. The Senate Assembly consists of 77 elected faculty members from the Ann Arbor, Dearborn and Flint campuses, with each member serving a three-year term. Elections of Senate Assembly members are held by individual schools and colleges. 

U-M researcher part of team to receive Cancer Grand Challenges funding

A global, interdisciplinary team of researchers, called ILLUMINE, has been selected to receive a Cancer Grand Challenges award of up to $25 million over approximately five years to tackle the challenge of the dark proteome. John Prensner, the Barry J. Glick Early Career Professor of Pediatric Oncology, assistant professor of pediatrics and of biological chemistry in the Medical School, and pediatric neuro-oncologist at U-M Health C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital, will be part of the initiative. Cancer Grand Challenges is a global research initiative that identifies the toughest challenges in cancer research and empowers a global community of world-class, interdisciplinary research teams to come together and take them on. For this award, Prensner will work with a team of researchers across eight institutions in the Netherlands, U.S. and Israel to understand the “Dark Proteome” of cancer. This emerging area of research focuses on undiscovered and uncharacterized proteins that are produced by alternative DNA and RNA processing.