University of Michigan School of Information professor Ron Eglash was appointed a 2024 University Diversity and Social Transformation Professor at the July Board of Regents meeting. The honor recognizes faculty who have demonstrated exceptional contributions to diversity, equity and inclusion through research, teaching and service.

“This is such an honor,” Eglash says. “I am very grateful for the folks who granted permission to share their Indigenous knowledge, urban crafting and other ‘heritage algorithms’ with our team, as well as the university students, faculty and programs that helped turn these into computational tools for empowering those communities. Decolonization is not just a critique, it also has a positive, generative role to play in the advancement of science and technology.’”   

Eglash, a founding figure in the science and technology subfields of ethnocomputing and ethnomathematics, joined UMSI in 2018. His research focuses on fundamental questions about human nature and technology. Eglash’s work on fractals has been integral in understanding and recognizing the impact African cultures have had on science, technology, engineering and math. 

Eglash was nominated by UMSI professor and dean Andrea Forte. 

“Eglash’s passion for justice is evident in his work and he has been instrumental in bridging culturally significant design concepts with contemporary STEM fields,” Dean Forte says. “His work in cultural and computational fields, particularly his exploration of African fractals and culturally responsive STEM education, has had profound academic and societal impacts.” 

Since joining UMSI, Eglash has earned a 2019 Harold R. Johnson Diversity Service Award from the Office of the Provost, a 2020 Joan Durrance Community Engagement Award for his work in building partnerships with communities in order to develop information-related projects that can lead to social change and a National Science Foundation grant for research on how technology can be used by artisans to empower, not replace, their labor.  

Eglash’s project with the African Bead Museum in Detroit created pivotal community connections, connecting Detroiters to African plants through a solar-powered greenhouse. Eglash’s research has been featured in a CBC docuseries, and he regularly gives keynote speeches on the potential harms and opportunities of AI to decolonize communities. 

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Learn more about Ron Eglash by visiting his UMSI faculty profile. 

Read "Regents name University Diversity and Social Transformation Professors" at The Record.