University of Michigan Institute for Social Research awarded $25 million for construction, election studies
Today is a $25 million payday for the University of Michigan Institute for Social Research.
The ISR received word it has won a $14.8 million grant for construction and renovation, which it will use for an addition - including a high-tech, 220-seat auditorium - to its 1965 building at 426 Thompson St. in Ann Arbor.
And the National Science Foundation awarded $10 million to the institute to fund the American National Election Studies, one of its most well-known endeavors.
ISR has conducted the ANES since 1948, and it shares the award with the Stanford University Institute for Research in the Social Sciences. The award will allow ISR to study voter participation and decision-making in the mid-term elections of 2010 and the 2012 U.S. presidential election.
The injection of cash from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, via the National Institutes of Health, brings total ARRA stimulus funding for the ISR to $48.3 million.
ISR Director James Jackson said the construction and renovation project is expected to create as many as 200 short-term and long-term jobs.
This 1964 photo from the Bentley Historical Library shows construction on the University of Michigan Institute for Social Research. ISR will receive a $14.8 million American Recovery and Reinvestment Act grant for construction and renovation.
Photo courtesy of University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library
The ISR's five centers and $80 million annual budget support the research of 200 scientists across 20 disciplines. In addition to survey studies, the ISR develops and tests survey methodologies, hosts a global archive of computerized social science data and serves as a training ground for researchers and students.
"I appreciate the National Institutes of Health continued commitment to maintaining the excellence of institutes of social research and improvement," Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich., said today in a written statement. "ISR is internationally renowned and respected around the nation for the work they accomplish."
Jackson said at the ISR's 60th anniversary celebration last October that the future will include more disciplines, more funding, a greater international reach and a focus on climate change.
"The construction grant will help us build and develop space that will allow programs of research to evolve that really address these issues," Jackson told AnnArbor.com today.
The building currently lacks a large-scale meeting place, he said.
The infusion of construction money and addition will allow for a large, modern communication space that encourages collaboration, as well as an increase in research and training facilities.
Jackson called the ANES project a great opportunity. "We're very excited," he said.
The project will include face-to-face interviews with voters before and after the presidential election. There will be a large focus on race and ethnicity via a series of new Internet surveys, and overall, the study will seek to include large numbers of black and Hispanic voters.
"We will use the study to probe the extensive political and social dynamism of the period between 2009 to 2013, a remarkable period of American history marked by a dire economic situation, two wars and the inauguration of the country's first African American President," U-M political scientist Vincent Hutchings, a principal investigator for the four-year project, said in a written statement.
Hutchings said other survey topics will be selected via an online commons designed to include input from a range of scholars.
Juliana Keeping covers higher education for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at julianakeeping@annarbor.com or 734-623-2528. Follow Juliana Keeping on Twitter
Comments
Diagenes
Sat, Feb 27, 2010 : 9:37 a.m.
This is another payoff to the education establishment that has supported Rep. Dingell and the Democrats for decades. Borrowing money from China to give to U of M to build a building to study voter opinions is NOT a legitimate function of the Federal government. Its projects like these that cause the Feds to be trillions of dollars in debt. Can someone show me in the Constitution where it says the Federal Government is responsible for funding buildings for State Universities? That goes for football stadiums and basketball arenas as well.
Lets Get Real
Fri, Feb 26, 2010 : 11:37 p.m.
No wonder Obama is coming to speak at UM graduation. He's coming to fill up his ego: to receive thanks and accolades for allocating funds to the UM - did I really read nearly $50 million? Between the unions he's rewarded and these funds to the UM, he's guaranteed to be wined and dined and treated like a savior. Let's Get Real - the jobs to construct the building will be maybe 1 year jobs. Better than none, but certainly not sustainable jobs. Let's get real about the "good paying white collar jobs for years to come" - how long do you think this election study will continue on that amount of money? And as for these researchers starting small businesses - Let's Get Real. These researchers never leave academia. They spend their entire careers being paid by public dollars - your money - whether you have a job or not: to feed your family or pay for health care or have a safe bridge to drive over - they will study the elections.
Dobsonion
Fri, Feb 26, 2010 : 9:58 a.m.
The two stated goals of ARRA are to: 1. Create Jobs 2. Spur economic activity, long term economic health. When ARRA is applied to infrastructure, it does satisfy these two goals. But there are many more ways to achieve the two goals than just investing in infrastructure. The ISR funding will help the US get an accurate read on voter opinions, free of the bias inherent in polling conducted by the "blues" and the "reds." The ISR funding will provide good-paying white collar jobs for years to come.
DennisP
Fri, Feb 26, 2010 : 7 a.m.
I have no beef with the U-M but it astounds me that ARRA funds cannot be found to repair the Stadium Blvd bridge but $15M can appear out of nowhere to put an addition on a research institute building. When Obama talked about stimulus spending, he kept mentioning "infrastructure". He was right. The infrastructure (roads, sewers, utilities, etc) are in terrible shape due to aging and monies need to be spent to upgrade them throughout the nation. In contrast, the ISR is a perfectly fine building and if the U-M needs more space, well it can find some in one of the many other buildings around campus or lease it as it has done in the past. This is a boondoggle--pure and simple. I don't see any reason why NIH should be disbursing ARRA funds when they are desperately needed for bona fide infrastructure projects.