Past Initiatives

The items listed are either efforts initiated by the Office of the Provost that have been completed, or projects that have transitioned to ongoing units or programs.

Data Science: In 2015, the university launched a Data Science Initiative with plans to invest $100 million over five years to enhance opportunities for student and faculty researchers across the university to tap into the enormous potential of big data. This initiative evolved into the Michigan Institute for Data Science (MIDAS), a collaboration involving more than 400 faculty members from U-M schools and colleges involved in the transformative use of data science and artificial intelligence.

Early Tenure-Track Faculty Research Support Initiative: The Provost’s Early Tenure-Track Faculty Research Support Initiative provides flexible funds to support tenure-track faculty from the Ann Arbor campus as they undertake research, scholarship, and creative practice that has been slowed or postponed by the constraints of the pandemic.

Humanities Collaboratory: The Office of the Provost launched the Humanities Collaboratory in 2015 to “singularly generous grants to support innovative and ambitious forms of humanities scholarship.” The Collaboratory provides humanists with access to the resources needed for diverse projects exploring challenging and complex issues facing the global community.

Michigan Undergraduate Education in the Third Century: In February 2018, the Office of the Provost established a task force of university faculty, students, and staff to address fundamental questions pertaining to “Undergraduate Education in the Third Century.” Over the course of a year, the task force convened to establish a set of shared values, research and benchmark best practices, and challenge the university to build upon the strong undergraduate experience in ways that further its shared values.