Dow Foundation Awards $1.5 Million for New Scholarship Program
Margaret Ann (Ranny)
Riecker
The Herbert H. and Grace A. Dow Foundation of Midland, Michigan ”the fourth largest foundation in Michigan” has awarded the University of Michigan Law School a grant of $1.5 million to establish the Herbert H. and Grace A. Dow Foundation Fellows. This exciting new program will provide scholarships for Law School students with scientific training who want to combine their specialties to enter fields such as health law and policy, intellectual property law, food and drug policy and patent law.
Through this gift, the Dow Foundation has equipped the Law School with the means to recruit the best and brightest scientists looking to pursue a career in the law. At a time when many of the laws newest and most complex problems involve science and technology, the Michigan Law School is now poised to become a forum for study and debate of these key issues. In addition, the Law School will become part of the infrastructure necessary to foster and sustain successful technological enterprises in the State of Michigan, a critical step in the states progress toward a flourishing new economy.
This sort of impact is well aligned with the goals of the Dow Foundation, which seeks to improve the lives of Michigan's people by meeting a broad range of needs in a world that constantly presents new challenges and opportunities. Because the Foundation's assets have been products of scientific achievement, the Foundation encourages projects that address new aspects of technology, including the intersection of technology and law. In addition, the Foundation is always interested in improving the quality of education at Michigan's academic institutions, particularly in those specific areas where a given institution already is establishing preeminence, as is the case with the University of Michigan Law School in the area of technology law.
As Margaret Ann (Ranny) Riecker, president of the Herbert H. and Grace A. Dow Foundation, explains, The Dow Foundation's resources originated from chemistry so our Trustees are delighted to support this innovative opportunity to link science, law, and policy to produce better scientific research and sound policy. Graduating Law students with an appreciation and respect for the chemical, physical, and biological disciplines and methodology will be far more effective before an enlightened trial and appeals court system. So also, graduates in the life sciences, engineering, and pharmacology will produce more usable research results if they know boundaries of regulatory legislation and the standards of care expected both by private industry and government. Our grant to the University of Michigan Law School should thus serve as a catalyst for a new law-science compound.
Grace A. Dow established the Herbert H. and Grace A. Dow Foundation in 1936 in memory of her husband, Herbert H. Dow, who founded the Dow Chemical Company and died in 1930. Grace and Herbert Dow were devoted to their family, the community, and to the enhancement of the quality of life for everyone in the Midland area and across Michigan. Their compassionate and visionary philosophy continues to be the guiding inspiration for the Dow Foundation Trustees.