Weiser Gift to name centers and establish programs for emerging democracies at the University of Michigan

[Meloche, Sylvia]

Weiser Center for Europe and Eurasia
Weiser Center for Emerging Democracies
Center for European Studies-European Union Center
Center for Russian and East European Studies
University of Michigan 
1080 S. University Ave., Suite 3668
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1106

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 15, 2008

Contact: Marysia Ostafin
Telephone: 734.764.0351
Email: mostafin at umich.edu

Weiser Gift of $10 million to name centers and establish programs for emerging democracies at the University of Michigan

Ann Arbor, MI - When he arrived in Slovakia in 2001 as U.S. Ambassador, Ronald Weiser saw a country transitioning from communism to democracy that was in danger of returning to authoritarian rule. He saw the efforts of the nation's young people and civil society to prevent the pendulum from swinging back. His experiences convinced him that studying the role of civil society in countries struggling to achieve freedom was vital to understanding how democracies are born.

To further this research Ambassador Weiser and his wife, Eileen, have donated $10 million to the International Institute in the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts to advance interdisciplinary study of and public engagement with Europe and Eurasia. The gift will establish the Ronald and Eileen Weiser Center for Europe and Eurasia (WCEE) that will serve as the umbrella organization for the Center for Russian and European Studies (CREES), the Center for European Studies-European Union Center (CES-EUC) and a newly formed center to be known as the Weiser Center for Emerging Democracies (WCED). The Weiser gift will also support the Ronald and Eileen Weiser Professor of European and Eurasian Studies, who will direct WCEE, as well as funding for graduate fellowships. With matching funds from the University President's Donor Challenge Fund, the Weiser gift will total $11.5 million.

Michael Kennedy, a sociology professor and past director of CREES, CES-EUC, and the International Institute, has been appointed to direct WCEE and WCED and named as the Weiser Professor. Kennedy said the Weiser gift is "transformational." "It facilitates the connection between two great area studies traditions at U-M in European and in Russian and East European studies," said Kennedy. "It also helps us to support student and faculty learning about emerging democracies in Europe and Eurasia in places such as Poland and the Czech Republic after communism or Germany and Spain after fascism. Through effective public dissemination and engagement, we also seek to inform prospective democratic transformations in other parts of the post-communist world."

The gift will also encourage collaborations among other U-M units as well as institutions in the United States and abroad that will create courses, seminars, conferences, lecture series and opportunities for teaching, learning, research and outreach. These initiatives will be advised by a Policy Board and Advisory Council composed of distinguished public figures and scholars from across North America, Europe, and Eurasia.

Weiser, (BBA '66, Michigan) was appointed by President George Bush as U.S. Ambassador to Slovakia from 2001-2004.  In addition to his diplomatic responsibilities he organized three international investment conferences attended by investors from hundreds of companies. In 2004, he received the White Double Cross from Slovak President Rudolf Schuster, the highest award given to non-Slovaks, and the Cultural Pluralism Award from the U.S. Commission for the Preservation of America's Heritage Abroad for his work in the restoration of the Jewish cemetery in Zakopane, Poland, and one of Slovakia's most cherished historical sites, the medieval Trenčín Castle. In 1968, he founded McKinley Associates Inc., a national real estate investment company, and served as its chairman and chief executive officer until 2001.

Eileen Weiser (MMUS '75) served as the executive director of the McKinley Foundation, a public community foundation founded by the couple in 1984. She has also served as a board member for numerous community arts and civic affairs organizations. In 1998 she was elected to Michigan's State Board of Education, and now chairs its Professional Standards Commission for Teachers. She served as the state board of education member on the U.S. Department of Education's National Assessment Governing Board, and currently is a member of US/ED's Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education. 

For information on the Weiser Center for Europe and Eurasia, visit: www.ii.umich.edu/wcee 

For information on the Weiser Center for Emerging Democracies, visit: www.ii.umich.edu/wced



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