ANN ARBOR—The University of Michigan School of Social Work and the Flint community will benefit from a $2.25 million gift by U-M regent Olivia Maynard and her husband, Olof Karlstrom. Their gift will provide momentum for the University’s fund-raising campaign that’s scheduled to kick off in May 2004.

In addition to supporting the top-ranked School of Social Work, Maynard and Karlstrom wanted their gift to have an impact in the Flint community, said U-M alumnus and campaign co-chair Richard Rogel.

“This wonderful and thoughtful gift reflects the care and concern both Libby and Olle have always demonstrated for their community and for the most vulnerable among us,” said U-M President Mary Sue Coleman. “I am deeply touched by their generosity in creating a mechanism within Social Work to expand education and research on some of the most important social problems of our time.”

The gift will establish an endowment for the Olivia P. Maynard Professorship in Social Justice. The faculty member who holds this named professorship will teach and conduct research in the field of social justice, poverty, diversity or social welfare policy. In addition, he or she will teach and work with students in community-based research at the Ann Arbor and Flint campuses.

The gift will also support the involvement of faculty and students in the community with the creation of the Olivia P. Maynard and S. Olof Karlstrom Faculty Award Fund for Community-Based Research. This fund will promote the work of an outstanding faculty member and students in communities in need throughout Michigan, including Detroit and Flint.

“Nathanial Hawthorne wrote, ‘Generosity is the flower of justice.’ Two generous donors have taken this quote to heart,” said Paula Allen-Meares, dean of the School of Social Work. “The School of Social Work faculty, staff and students are delighted about this gift from Regent Maynard and Olof Karlstrom, which establishes an endowed chair in social justice.

“This endowed chair will create an opportunity for the School of Social Work, the Flint campus and community, and the Detroit community to work together to solve pressing social and economic problems for vulnerable populations,” she added. “This gift will allow faculty and students to engage in community-based research and development, as co-benefactors in the learning endeavor.”

“Social justice has been, remains, and will continue to be a major factor in our nation’s public policy life. It is appropriate that our gift be given a special place in the School of Social Work,” Maynard said. “We have always been involved with our home community. We welcomed the opportunity to assist in fostering research and teaching that directly involves the two places that have figured so prominently in our lives, the University of Michigan and the Flint community.”

Maynard, a Democrat from Goodrich, was elected to the U-M Board of Regents in 1996. She received a master’s degree in social work from the University of Michigan in 1971. She is currently president of The Michigan Prospect and sits on the boards of the C.S. Mott Foundation, the Council of Michigan Foundations and Planned Parenthood of Michigan. Karlstrom holds three degrees from U-M and is an attorney in private practice in Flint.

The U-M School of Social Work, founded in 1921, is ranked No. 1 nationally by U.S. News & World Report and is one of the largest schools of social work in the United States. The School’s innovations in curriculum have impacted the study and practice of social work across the country. Its faculty and students work to integrate scholarly research and training with community partnerships and practice to improve the well-being of economically and socially disadvantaged populations. Social work researchers are involved in many projects, including those involving poverty, mental health, health, gerontology, domestic violence and non-profit organizations. For additional information, visit the school’s Web site at http://www.ssw.umich.edu/.