Nine Ford School students selected for 2022 Dow Sustainability Program

December 20, 2021

Last week, the Graham Sustainability Institute awarded more than $800,000 in tuition and project funding to support the 2022 Dow Sustainability Fellows and two, large international student projects funded by the Dow Distinguished Awards.

Among the 35 selected Dow Fellows, six outstanding graduate students hail from the Ford School: Phong Hong (MPP/MS, W'23), Caroline Leland (MPP, W'23, Moksha Menghaney (MPP/SEAS, W'24), Paolo Mutia (MPP, W'23), Kielan Rathjen (MPP, 'W23), and Rasha Mohamed (MPP, W'22). Each Fellow will receive a $20,000 stipend, along with supplementary project funding, sustainability professional development opportunities, and practical experience working on a team with an external organizational partner. Fellows were nominated by their academic units and selected through a competitive application process.

“We are pleased to welcome a talented new cohort of Dow Sustainability Fellows into this productive, highly selective program,” said Jennifer Haverkamp, Graham Family Director in a statement. “The 2022 Fellows join a community of nearly 1,000 current students and alumni supported by the Dow Sustainability Program at U-M. Over the coming year, they will advance the sustainability goals of their external partners and deepen their own commitment to sustainability, preparing to promote a more sustainable future wherever life leads them after graduation.”

In addition, the Ford School was well-represented on two student teams in the Dow Distinguished Award Competition, designed to foster interdisciplinary collaboration and engaged learning at the graduate level. The 2022 winning teams will be working in South America on year-long projects with external project partners. Both teams are advised by Professor Ana Paula Pimentel Walker of Taubman College of Architecture & Urban Planning.

Fanta Condé (MPP W'22) serves as the student leader for project team one, Greening Low-Income, Self-Managed Housing Projects in Brazil. Darian Burns (MPP, W'22) and Clare Knutson (MPP, W'22) serve on project team two, Climate Action Planning with Biodiversity to Protect Vulnerable Human Settlements in Bucaramanga, Colombia.

Read the award announcement from Graham Sustainability Institute.

About the Dow Sustainability Fellow Program

Since the Program’s inception in 2013, the Fellows Program has supported the next generation of sustainability leaders by promoting interdisciplinary and collaborative engagement. Each year, sustainability-minded graduate students from across campus form interdisciplinary teams and collaborate to co-create actionable, high-impact solutions for the clients they serve. Dow Fellows partner with businesses, non-profit organizations, and communities—all in an effort to advance sustainable practices.