In Remembrance of Barbara Israel, Founding Director of the Detroit URC and a pioneering champion of community-based participatory research

Dr. Barbara Israel, founding director of the Detroit Community-Academic Urban Research Center, Professor Emerita of Health Behavior and Health Education,  and a pioneering champion of community-based participatory research, passed away on Friday, February 6, 2026. 

Many of you knew Barbara in different ways, as a colleague, collaborator, mentor, teacher, advisor, or friend. For all of us, her passing represents a profound loss.  She worked and taught for over 40 years at the University of Michigan School of Public Health, leaving behind an indelible legacy of scholarship, mentorship, and advocacy.

A true pioneer in the field of Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR), Barbara dedicated her career to reshaping the relationship between academia and the communities it serves. She helped found the Detroit Urban Research Center more than 30 years ago and shaped it with extraordinary vision, persistence, and care. She established a gold standard for equitable partnerships aimed at addressing health inequities. Barbara modeled community-based participatory research at its very best: rigorous, relational, and relentlessly focused on equity.

Over the years, people have often asked why the Detroit URC has endured when so many partnerships struggle to sustain themselves. The answer is inseparable from Barbara. She believed deeply in shared leadership, mutual respect, and long-term relationships, and she built an organization grounded in those values. That foundation continues to guide our work and our commitments today.

Throughout her distinguished career, Barbara’s contributions were recognized with numerous prestigious honors, including but not limited to:

• Excellence in Teaching Award (U-M SPH, 2007)
• Harold R. Johnson Diversity Service Award (U-M, 2013)
• Game Changer Designation (American Journal of Health Promotion, 2015) 
• Elizabeth Fries Health Education Award (Society for Public Health Education / CDC Foundation, 2022)
• Michigan Public Health Excellence in Practice Award (2023)
• ASPPH Practice Excellence Award (Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health, 2024)

Barbara is remembered by UM School of Public Health alumni for teaching courses on Community-Based Participatory Research, Community Organizing, and Group Process by which so many learned deep and lasting skills they have used throughout their careers.

She has over 240 publications.  One of her most lasting contributions to scholarship has been Methods in Community-Based Participatory Research for Health (Israel, Eng, Schulz and Parker, 2nd edition, 2012).  Barbara is also lead author on the most cited article in the Annual Review of Public Health, Review of Community-Based Research: Assessing Partnership Approaches to Improve Public Health (Israel, Schulz, Parker, and Becker,1998)  It remains a foundational paper on community-based participatory research and has been updated with new developments in the field and areas of future research and emphasis.  It will be released in Summer 2026.  

Beyond her many professional contributions, Barbara was known for her warmth, generosity, kindness, humility, and ability to make people feel seen and valued. Her humanity was as influential as her scholarship, and her impact is reflected in the countless individuals and communities she touched over decades.

Barbara was a devoted mentor who shaped the paths of countless researchers and practitioners. Her commitment to the next generation lives on through the Barbara A. Israel Detroit Urban Research Center Endowed Internship Fund, which she established upon her retirement, to support students dedicated to CBPR and social justice.  

This is a moment of deep sadness for our community. We have lost a giant in community-based participatory research, in public health, and in our shared lives. We are grateful for her life, her leadership, and the enduring legacy she leaves behind.

In community and remembrance.

Enrique, Katrina, Marie, Jade, Chris, and Mary Beth
Detroit Urban Research Center 

Read More about her legacy.