Remembering Grenmarie Agresar

Grenmarie “Gren” Agresar was an Associate Director for Strategic Initiatives in the Center for Research on Learning and Teaching in Engineering (CRLT-Engin). She joined CRLT-Engin in 2017 where Gren collaborated with administrators, departments, and individual faculty members to implement best-teaching practices in engineering. Her interests included curricular design across modalities, equity-focused engineering, project-based learning, and mastery grading in engineering education. She actively engaged in the Michigan Engineering community, including helping with curriculum design initiatives in Robotics, Technical Communications, Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering, and other units.

 In her role as a lecturer, she was also developing and starting to co-teach a course on Equity-Centered Engineering for our graduate students. Gren was a key collaborator for the Teaching Engineering Equity (TEE) Center, helping to develop and facilitate equity-centered engineering teaching circles. This work supported nearly 50 faculty (from 16 departments/programs) and 6 graduate students. She also worked with the TEE Scholars to co-create a curricular and instructional change framework. For her leadership in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), Gren was awarded the 2024 North Campus Deans’ MLK Spirit Award for Institutional Change & Advocacy.

 Prior to joining CRLT-Engin, Gren earned a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering and Scientific Computation, an M.A. in Education, and a B.S.E. in Aerospace Engineering, all from the University of Michigan. After 4 years as a research fellow in computational modeling of cellular systems, she changed her focus to STEM education and had over 10 years of teaching experience.

Beyond all of her professional accomplishments, Gren was a wonderful colleague and friend. We, at CRLT-Engin, are deeply saddened by our loss, yet we are grateful for the time we spent with her.  If you would like to share any memories of Gren, or express your sentiments of care for Gren’s family as they process her passing, please use this form. We will share your thoughts with her family later in the term.

Losing a member of our Michigan Engineering community affects us all. Whether you were close to Gren or not, a loss such as this may bring forth difficult emotions and may remind you of previous situations that were difficult. 

For those faculty and staff who need additional support now or at any time in the future, we urge you to reach out to FASCCO, the Faculty and Staff Counseling and Consultation Office. To schedule an appointment or inquire about their services, please call 734-936-8660 or email fascco@umich.edu.

For those who are students, these resources are available to you:

• The Michigan Engineering CARE Center (734-615-1405; engin-support@umich.edu) is the central hub to assist engineering students, providing genuine and practical support both inside and outside of the classroom. 
• The University’s Counseling & Psychological Services (CAPS) is available to help you. There is no charge for their services. They are aware of this terrible loss, and are available to support students more urgently through the CAPS Counselor on Duty, available during business hours. To speak with a Counselor on Duty or to schedule an appointment, call 734-764-8312. There is also an after-hours crisis line that you can reach by using the same phone number, and pressing “0.” There are also embedded CAPS College of Engineering counselors on North Campus. They may be reached at caps-engin@umich.edu.
• Additionally, the Dean of Students’ office can provide support (734-764-7420), and all students also have access to a crisis text line by texting ‘4UMICH’ to 74174.