Dow Foundation Renews Support for Mi-STAR

The Herbert H. and Grace A. Dow Foundation has renewed its partnership with Mi-STAR with a $1.5 million gift. In 2014, the foundation provided the inaugural $5 million funding for Mi-STAR, enabling educators from across Michigan to create a middle school science curriculum aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards and the Michigan Science Standards.

"The Board of Trustees is pleased to continue its support of the Mi-STAR program,” said Ruth Alden Doan, president of The Herbert H. and Grace A. Dow Foundation. “Michigan Technological University’s ability to expand its funding base to support the Mi-STAR program is validation of the value school districts and science education advocates found in the curriculum."

Mi-STAR has also received support from the National Science Foundation, the MiSTEM Advisory Council through the Michigan Department of Education and from schools and districts throughout Michigan. More than 1,200 Michigan teachers are now part of the Mi-STAR Network.

"We appreciate the commitment of the Mi-STAR team to advance the educational outcomes of middle school students throughout Michigan,” said Michigan Tech President Richard Koubek. “They exemplify the role Michigan Tech plays in advancing the vitality of our state."

Stephanie Tubman, Mi-STAR’s coordinator of curriculum development and implementation in Michigan Tech’s Office of the Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, credited The Herbert H. and Grace A. Dow Foundation for Mi-STAR’s success. “Due to that partnership, the program has had the freedom to make tremendous innovations over the last six years,” she said. “Mi-STAR is now generating substantial benefits for middle school students and their teachers around Michigan. None of this would have been possible without The Herbert H. and Grace A. Dow Foundation’s collaboration."