The University of Michigan has announced a $10 million gift from Fred and Barbara Erb to enhance the research and education initiatives of its Frederick A. and Barbara M. Erb Institute for Global Sustainable Enterprise.

The gift builds upon two earlier gifts of $5 million each from the Erbs, and together with the earlier gifts represents the largest known commitment to a university for interdisciplinary teaching and research in the area of global sustainable enterprise, a field dedicated to exploring how organizations can achieve long-term success by harmonizing economic, environmental, and social interests. The gift will allow the institute to increase the size of its MBA/MS program in the discipline and dramatically expand its research initiatives.

"This generous new gift will allow the institute to fund Ph.D. students, post-doctoral fellows, and important research collaborations with faculty in such diverse areas as business, environmental science, engineering, public health, and public policy, to discover and disseminate the leading-edge research required to address the complex issues that matter so much to the health of our planet," said university president Mary Sue Coleman.