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KALAMAZOO, Mich.—An endowed scholarship fund has been established in honor of a leading scholar and professor emeritus in ɫɫ�� 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 ɫɫ�� 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, ɫɫ�� psychology professor; Drs. John and Barbara Esch, ɫɫ�� 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 ɫɫ��’s Department of Psychology continues to have a focus on Dr. Michael’s areas of scholarly work, even though he is retired.”

Michael

Michael retired from ɫɫ�� in 2003 after a total of 48 years of teaching, 36 years of which were in ɫɫ��’s behavior analysis program.

A UCLA graduate, he began his academic career at the University of Kansas in 1955. While there, he was influenced by B.F. Skinner’s “Science and Human Behavior” and, for the rest of his career, advanced behavior analysis through his teaching and writing.

He held faculty positions at the University of Houston, Arizona State University and ɫɫ��, where he taught generations of leaders in the field of behavior analysis and pioneered many contributions in applied and conceptual training.

Michael is one of the founders of the Association for Behavior Analysis International. He served as that organization's president in 1979, and has earned numerous awards for his achievements. They include receiving a distinguished faculty scholar award from ɫɫ��, distinguished teaching awards from the American Psychological Association and ɫɫ��, and lifetime service awards from ABAI and the Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior. In 2012, he was the first recipient of an award named in his honor by the Verbal Behavior Special Interest Group affiliated with ABAI.

To make a Michael Endowment Fund gift or obtain more information, visit .

For more ɫɫ�� news, arts and events, visit wmich.edu/news.