Join a distinguished group of citizens who included IHAA (formerly ECIR) in their Estate Planning. Living Legacy and Estate Gifts help support Global Engagement for Understanding at IHAA and provide numerous benefits to IHAA residents, the campus community, and the general public.
Contact Linda Kentes at lkentes@ihouseaa.org to create a Legacy Gift that makes a difference.
Roger Pohl Memorial Fund
Roger was Executive Director of IHAA (formerly ECIR: Ecumenical Center and International Residence) in Ann Arbor from 2000-2009, working in a cross-cultural interfaith setting with University of Michigan students from around the world. Seeking justice and community organizing were central to him. He served on the Human Relations Board of the City of Lansing and was Co-President of the Mid-Michigan Unity Coalition.
Shirley Lewis Legacy Fund
“Shirley was very active with trying to forge international understanding. I remember an excellent weekend conference she coordinated on the black African experience. She was a great listener and counselor. Her attic apartment was open to students, and she hosted evening gatherings there on numerous occasions. She often showed slides of her travels to India, China and talked about her experiences with eloquence. I admired her for living her faith and her tireless work for international understanding, and world peace. She was a fine woman and will be greatly missed.” – Winnie Tan, Chiang Mai Thailand
Edward G. Voss Legacy Fund
“If it’s in Michigan, it’s in Voss.” That sentence is a shorthand tribute to the work of University of Michigan Professor Edward G. Voss whose three-volume catalog of Michigan flora is the authoritative source documenting the botanical diversity of the state. His work, which was the culmination of 40 years of collecting, identifying and describing more than 2,500 plants native to Michigan, will be consulted by students and scholars for decades to come. Voss also was a legendary teacher, especially beloved by the generations of students who took his courses in the field botany of northern Michigan at the U-M Biological Station.
In addition to his fascination with the natural world, Voss also embraced human diversity, inspired by the example of his parents, Katherine and David Voss, who often welcomed international students and visitors in their home. Appreciation for diverse cultures became a prominent theme throughout his life. Over many years, Voss was a dedicated volunteer and generous supporter of the International House Ann Arbor (IHAA), formerly known as Ecumenical Center International Residence (ECIR), a living-learning intentional community that has served students and visiting scholars at the University of Michigan for more than a century.
When he died in 2012, Prof. Voss left a generous bequest to IHAA, a portion of which has been used to establish an agency endowment fund at the Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation. “I am indeed grateful for Ed’s legacy of appreciation for the natural and cultural diversity of our planet,” said IHAA’s former Executive Director, Dr. Bruce D. Martin. “This endowment will help us carry on as he would have wished, promoting understanding and peace among diverse peoples and cultures of the world.”