About 20 years ago, Taubman lost a good friend to ALS. And that memory has motivated him to support ALS research at the University of Michigan Medical School. But the research of the Taubman Scholars can be on any disease that affects humankind, from breast cancer and obesity to rare genetic conditions.
James O. Woolliscroft, M.D., Dean of the U-M Medical School and Lyle C. Roll Professor of Medicine, says Taubman's support is critical to identifying fruitful lines of inquiry that can reveal what has not been understood before.
"This additional funding provided to Taubman physician-scientists enables them to pursue creative, high-risk and potentially high return avenues of inquiry that might otherwise go unfunded by traditional government sources," says Woolliscroft. "Mr. Taubman's gift illustrates the power of philanthropy to support research that can address enormous deficits in our understanding of medical science and human health."
Summary: Alfred Taubman's major gifts to the University of Michigan and the U-M Health SystemWith his newest gift to support research at the U-M Medical School, Taubman has become the largest individual donor to the University of Michigan. His major gifts include:???$56 million announced today as the latest portion of a $100 million pledge to the A. Alfred Taubman Medical Research Institute at the Medical School.???$22 million given in 2008, also for the Taubman Institute???$22 million given in 2007, to initially endow the Taubman Institute and support research including that of Eva Feldman, M.D., Ph.D., who is studying stem cells and other approaches to treat amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. ???$30 million for the College of Architecture and Urban Planning, given in 1999, to create an endowment that supports student scholarships and faculty appointments. The College was named in his honor in 1999. ???$4 million, committed in 2006, to the U-M Museum of Art, toward the museum's $35.4 million facility expansion and restoration project. The museum's striking new space for temporary exhibits is called the Taubman Galleries.???$3 million, given in the early 1980s, toward the building of University Hospital and the A. Alfred Taubman Health Care Center, which is a four-story facility for general and specialty outpatient care services.
His other gifts to the University have supported the Taubman Medical Library, the Alfred Taubman Scholarship in the Office of Financial Aid, and the Taubman Program in American Institutions in the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts.
Source: A. Alfred Taubman Medical Research Institute