Mott Foundation gives MSU $25M for Flint-based research

Advertisement

Advertise with us

LANSING, Mich (AP) — The Charles Stewart Mott Foundation donated $25 million to Michigan State University to expand public health in Flint, Michigan, it was announced on Wednesday.

Read this article for free:


or

Already have an account? Log in here »

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Subscribe and receive a limited-edition Free Press branded hat or tote.

Digital Subscription

One year of digital access for only $205*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles

*First annual payment billed as $205.00 + GST for one year. This annual subscription will automatically renew at $233.00 + GST every 52 weeks (10% off the regular annual price of $259.35). Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional

$1 for the first 4 weeks*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles
Start now

*Your next Brandon Sun subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $17.95 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.95 plus GST every four weeks.

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 26/01/2022 (1696 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

LANSING, Mich (AP) — The Charles Stewart Mott Foundation donated $25 million to Michigan State University to expand public health in Flint, Michigan, it was announced on Wednesday.

The grant will bolster MSU’s public health program in Flint, adding 18 tenure-track faculty members, along with other support, University President Samuel L. Stanley Jr. said at a media conference.

Officials at the event said focus areas for research by the faculty will include mental health, addiction and impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, among other public health topics.

The announcement came as Flint still heals from a water crisis that started in 2014 when the city’s water supply was switched to the Flint River without properly treating the pipes to avoid lead contamination.

In the last decade, even before the water crisis, Mott had given MSU $12 million to expand and relocate its public health program from East Lansing to Flint, in addition to granting $7.7 million to renovate the former The Flint Journal building to be the new home of the program.

Shortly after the ribbon was cut on the building, the need for public health research became even more important, Mott Foundation President and CEO Ridgway White said at the news conference.

Research began in 2014 and it was in 2015 that Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha discovered the link between children’s elevated blood lead levels in Flint and the change in the city’s water source.

The predominately Black city has also hosted MSU’s Dr. Debra Furr-Holden who’s done research toward curbing the racial disparity in COVID-19 cases and deaths in the state.

Flint Mayor Sheldon Neeley added that programs like the one MSU operates in Flint help lift the quality of life for everyone in the state.

“We talk about health care disparities, especially in communities of color or low to moderate income areas'” he said. “We need programs like this, partnerships like this, to make sure that we can deliver a better quality of life.”

___

Anna Liz Nichols is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

Report Error Submit a Tip

More Stories

Letters, Sept. 18

7 minute read Preview

Letters, Sept. 18

7 minute read Updated: 8:52 AM CDT

When you think about it, the manner in which Donald Trump has gone about exercising his power and influence during his second term bears a significant resemblance to the manner in which Vladimir Putin corrupted the emerging democracy in Russia upon the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Read
Updated: 8:52 AM CDT

Sex sounds in stereo a sad score for singleton

Maureen Scurfield 5 minute read Yesterday at 2:00 AM CDT

DEAR MISS LONELYHEARTS: I just moved into a big old house with two buddies who curl and play hockey with me. They have girlfriends, but I don’t.

I thought they’d be staying at their girlfriends’ places on nights they were “sleeping” together, but oh no!

So now I get to listen to the duelling sex noises of two couples, on weekends and some weeknights as well.

Do I have any rights here? I really don’t want to admit defeat and move back in with my parents, when feels like I just moved out. But it’s really uncomfortable to be the only guy with no sex life in this household, and then having to hear it, while it’s happening.

‘Parental rights’ issue resurfaces

Maggie Macintosh 4 minute read Preview

‘Parental rights’ issue resurfaces

Maggie Macintosh 4 minute read Yesterday at 2:00 AM CDT

Trustee campaign material that condemns rainbow flags is being met with outrage of all kinds, written complaints and, in one case, a cease-and-desist order.

“Parental rights,” including questions about classroom diversity, equity and inclusion policies, are resurfacing heading into school board elections across Manitoba.

“People are trying to advance their politics and their issues while simultaneously calling teachers ideologues and brainwashers,” said Shannon Moore, an associate professor at the University of Manitoba who studies sexual health education. “And I find that rich.”

Moore said parents have a right to choose independent school or homeschool, but they do not have a right to dictate curriculum that is currently developed using research and mainstream morals.

Read
Yesterday at 2:00 AM CDT

Teenage e-scooter driver in critical condition after crash

Chris Kitching 6 minute read Preview

Teenage e-scooter driver in critical condition after crash

Chris Kitching 6 minute read Wednesday, Sep. 16, 2026

A teenager riding an e-scooter suffered life-threatening injuries when he was struck by an SUV in southwest Winnipeg on Monday night.

Witnesses provided first aid to the injured rider, who police said is under 18, after the collision happened at Waverley Street and Arbour Meadow Gate/Lake Crest Road at about 9:30 p.m.

“It feels like it happened in slow motion,” said driver Audrey Vanderspek, who was waiting at a red light when she witnessed the incident. “Maybe it’s because you’re helpless, that it just feels like everything slows down in the moment.”

Police said the electric scooter rider was crossing Waverley and was hit by a southbound 2010 Honda CR-V. The posted speed limit on that stretch of Waverley is 70 kilometres per hour.

Read
Wednesday, Sep. 16, 2026

‘A new future’: city dentist Cholakis donates $2M to school of dental hygiene

Melissa Martin 3 minute read Preview

‘A new future’: city dentist Cholakis donates $2M to school of dental hygiene

Melissa Martin 3 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 3:25 PM CDT

Dental hygienist training in Manitoba is getting a big boost, after a major gift from a local dentist.

On Thursday, the dental hygiene school at the University of Manitoba’s Dr. Gerald Niznick College of Dentistry unveiled a new $2-million donation from Dr. Ernest Cholakis. It’s the largest gift the program has ever received, and in honour of the funding, the school will be named the Cholakis School of Dental Hygiene.

The gift was unveiled at a ceremony Thursday morning at the U of M’s Brodie Centre in the Health Sciences Centre complex. The benefactor and other dignitaries, including Premier Wab Kinew, were in attendance, as well as the three-year program’s current students.

Cholakis, who graduated from the U of M’s dentistry school in 1982, had high praise for the dental hygiene profession.

Read
Updated: Yesterday at 3:25 PM CDT

A quick look at where provinces and territories stand on time changes

The Canadian Press 2 minute read Preview

A quick look at where provinces and territories stand on time changes

The Canadian Press 2 minute read Updated: 6:28 AM CDT

WINNIPEG - Manitoba's government said Thursday the province will be sticking with daylight time year-round, making it the latest jurisdiction to move away from twice-annual time changes. Here's a look at where things stand across Canada:

British Columbia said in March that it was moving to permanent Pacific daylight time. The change also means that parts of northeastern B.C., which have been on mountain standard time year round, are now in alignment with the rest of the province.

Alberta also switched to permanent daylight time this year in what it calls Alberta time. The change means it now has the same time as Saskatchewan year round.

Saskatchewan has been on permanent central standard time since 1966.

Read
Updated: 6:28 AM CDT